New Poll: Public Trusts GOP on Economy

The latest Rasmussen poll shows that for the second straight month, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on economic issues. These numbers are not cause for celebration, but rather a signal for Republicans to continue to focus on preparing better policies.

The results of the latest Rasmussen national telephone survey show that for the second straight month, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on economic issues by a margin of 46%-41%.  These numbers represent only the second time in the last two years that Rasmussen has shown the GOP ahead of Democrats on the economic issue, with the GOP’s victories coming this month and last month. 43% of those surveyed rated President Obama’s performance on the economy as “poor.”  Republicans showed improvements across the board; not only did they retain their lead on the economy but Republicans gained ground on both health care and education. One particularly noteworthy tidbit from the poll is that independents trusted Republicans more on the economy by a very comfortable margin of 46% to 32%.  This result suggests that the Democrats, particularly President Obama, are not holding the support of independents that trended heavily Democratic in the last Presidential election. Republicans should not get too excited.  President Obama retains solid, albeit falling approval rankings and it would be truly troubling if Republicans could not make up ground on the Democrats at a time when unemployment stands at 9.5% (highest since 1983) and consumer confidence has fallen off considerably (lowest point in the last three months) .  That said, this week we began to hear grumblings from some Democrats in the House about the need for a “second stimulus.”  These calls come amid a time when the President is increasingly on the defensive about his first stimulus.  If unemployment numbers do not fall over the next few months and the economy remains in the toilet, Republicans will have an opportunity to deliver a formidable blow to the Democratic opposition.  To deliver such a blow, Republicans will have to effectively argue to the public that the poor state of the economy is a direct consequence of Democratic missteps and, just as important, they will need to have alternative, better policy options to present to the American people. The state of the economy hurts every single American citizen, Republican or Democrat.  Any Republican cheering against the economy for political reasons (Rush, I’m talking to you) is cheering not against the Democrats but against the well being of the American people.  These numbers are not cause for celebration, but rather a signal of the need for preparation.  President Obama has taken his shot and we should all hope for the sake of ourselves, our neighbors, and our country that it works.  But if it does not, Republicans need to be ready to go with fresh ideas for a country that continues to hurt.