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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (151989)	12/10/2010 9:43:47 PM
From: Paul Smith	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542131

Obama's tax-cut deal upsets many major donors Some say they will withhold funds for the next election. Even if they come around before the campaign kicks into gear, the initial backlash could hurt early Democratic efforts to counter GOP-allied groups. December 09, 2010\|By Matea Gold President Obama's advisors are confident that liberals dismayed by his agreement to extend tax breaks for the wealthy will forgive him by the time the 2012 election kicks into gear. But the current backlash on the left may intensify the immediate challenge Democrats face in building a new campaign finance apparatus to challenge Republican-allied outside groups that flexed their muscles in this year's midterm election. Democratic operatives are already laying plans to set up new independent expenditure committees that can raise unlimited funds, and hope to enroll early contributors to establish a beachhead for the coming campaign. But some stalwart party donors are vowing to withhold funds because of their anger over the tax-cut deal. "I do not plan to support Obama and his reelection effort," said Utah-based hedge fund manager Art Lipson, who gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party and its allies in recent elections. He views the tax-cut compromise as a giveaway to Republicans that will increase the deficit. "He's got many great qualities, but he is not a fighter," Lipson said of the president. "I've met with many donors and the level of disappointment is extreme." Other discontented contributors are taking a wait-and-see approach. "I would say I'm not a happy camper," said Paul Egerman, a software entrepreneur in Boston, who said this was the first time he felt Obama reversed himself on a significant policy issue. "That troubles me. I need to be convinced he really had no alternative." The discontent in the party was underscored Thursday when House Democrats rejected the tax-cut plan in a rowdy closed-door caucus, raising questions about the measure's chances of passing. Democratic officials said they were confident that both Obama and the party would have plenty of money in 2012, noting that the Democratic National Committee raised a record $195 million in this cycle despite anger in the liberal wing about the lack of a public option in healthcare reform and the slow pace of repealing the ban on gays serving openly in the military. But the breach between Obama and his liberal financial backers comes at a time when Democrats are frantically trying to play catch-up with the GOP in building robust independent expenditure operations. Early fundraising in 2011 would help Democrats lay the groundwork, particularly in countering a slew of issue ads conservative groups are expected to air in the coming months. "I can see why they're going to have some of difficulty," said Dennis Mehiel, a longtime Democratic contributor who runs a corrugated-packaging company in New York. Mehiel said he would consider backing a well-planned independent expenditure operation, but noted, "People that have the capacity to write those kinds of checks are used to getting a return when they spend money," and that they may be reluctant to contribute if they do not feel the administration is effective. This month, many Democratic donors joined a campaign dubbed Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength that called on the president to allow the tax cuts for the wealthy to expire. They are now expressing frustration — and some even fury — at the compromise he struck with GOP congressional leaders to extend the cuts for two more years. "I would not financially support his candidacy again," said Guy Saperstein, an environmental activist and former trial lawyer in Piedmont, Calif. Saperstein was an early Obama supporter in 2008, but he said he had lost so much confidence in him that he would consider backing a viable primary challenger to run against the president. "I think what he's shown is incredible weakness, which I don't think many people would have predicted," he said. It's unlikely a serious Democratic challenger will emerge. But the willingness of formerly fervent Obama backers to even raise that prospect speaks to the challenge fundraisers will face in some quarters. Party activists who work closely with Democratic donors said that reaction to the tax-cut deal had been split. Some contributors view it as an irrevocable breach, while others are disappointed but sympathetic about the difficult political calculus Obama had to make. A third group has come to view the agreement as a net positive because Obama extracted concessions from the GOP on unemployment benefits and payroll taxes. "I think given the set of circumstances, it was a great deal for the America people," said Austin real estate developer Kirk Rudy, who was a member of Obama's national finance committee in 2008. "I feel good about it as a donor, and I feel as good about helping and working for the president as I ever have." Many contributors were heartened by Obama's tone in a news conference this week, in which he compared Republicans to hostage-takers. "I was worried he was going to come out and say, 'The Republicans extended a hand of friendship,' " said David desJardins, an early Google employee who is now an investor and philanthropist. "At the moment, I feel like I'm hopeful the administration understands they do need to draw lines." Garrett Gruener, a venture capitalist who founded Ask.com, said he wished Obama had extracted more from Republicans, but added that the angst felt by many on the left would likely fade when the campaign draws near. "Right now, we are having an intramural conversation about how we can do this better," Gruener said. "By the time we get to 2012, we will be comparing alternatives." articles.latimes.com

To: JohnM who wrote (151989)	12/11/2010 9:31:56 AM
From: Paul Smith	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542131

This may add a little light - you need to look at Gallop poll now vs. the last Gallop poll - that simple analysis will show the mistake you made in arriving at your faulty conclusion. Here is the link - huffingtonpost.com ALSO- Here's some more background for you on the new situation - WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's approval ratings have sunk to the lowest level of his presidency, so low that he'd lose the White House to Republican Mitt Romney if the election were held today, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. The biggest reason for Obama's fall: a sharp drop in approval among Democrats and liberals, apparently unhappy with his moves toward the center since he led the party to landslide losses in November's midterm elections. At the same time, he's gained nothing among independents. "He's having the worst of both worlds right now," said Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in New York, which conducted the national survey. "As he moves to the center, he's not picking up support among independents and he's having some fall-off among his base. If his strategy is to gain independents and keep the Democrats in tow, it isn't working so far." The poll was taken from Dec. 2 through Wednesday, as the president proposed a two-year freeze on federal civilian workers' pay and cut a deal with congressional Republicans to extend expiring tax cuts — even those for the wealthy, which he'd opposed. Overall, just 42 percent of registered voters approve of how he's doing his job, while 50 percent disapprove. Obama's standing among Democrats dropped from a month ago, with his approval rating falling to 74 percent from 83 percent, and his disapproval rating almost doubling, from 11 percent to 21 percent. Among liberals, his approval rating dropped from 78 percent to 69 percent and his disapproval rating jumped from 14 percent to 22 percent. His position among independents remained virtually the same, with 39 percent approving and 52 percent disapproving. A month ago, it was 38-54. The president's continued failure to rally independents could ruin his bid for re-election. A hypothetical 2012 matchup showed him getting the support of 44 percent of registered voters and Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, getting 46 percent. Obama now is running slightly ahead of Republican former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, drawing 47 percent to Huckabee's 43 percent. Both results were within the poll's 3.5 percentage point margin of error. He'd easily defeat Republican former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, however. He'd get 52 percent of registered voters and she'd get 40 percent, if the election were held today. The key in each matchup is independents. Romney had the best advantage over the president among independents, preferred by 47-39 percent. Independents break for Obama over Huckabee by 42-40 percent. Palin fares much worse among independents. They favor the president over her by 52-35 percent. "In head-to-head matchups, it's the independents who seem to be shaping the early discussion," Miringoff said. "We have a lot of polarization. And the middle is in its classic position of being the swing vote." There was one sign that Obama's effort to "triangulate" by centering himself against both parties on the tax cuts issue may work; he ripped Republicans for favoring the rich and the Democrats for criticizing his deal to go along. The poll found that voters are inclined to blame congressional Democrats and Republicans more than the president if the deal to extend tax reductions falls apart and taxes go up on Jan. 1. On issues, registered voters lean in another direction, with 47 percent saying the top priority for the new Congress should be to cut the federal budget deficit and 22 percent saying it should be to cut taxes. Another 28 percent said that maintaining services and benefits should be the top priority. They also think the people at WikiLeaks who revealed classified U.S. cables should be prosecuted rather than protected by the First Amendment, by 59-31 percent. METHODOLOGY: This survey of 1,029 adults was conducted Dec. 2-8. People 18 and older residing in the continental United States were interviewed by telephone. Telephone numbers were selected based on a list of telephone exchanges from throughout the nation. The exchanges were selected to ensure that each region was represented in proportion to its population. To increase coverage, this land-line sample was supplemented by respondents reached through random dialing of cell phone numbers. The two samples that were combined. Results are statistically significant within 3.0 percentage points. There were 873 registered voters. The results for this subset are statistically significant within 3.5 percentage points. The error margin increases for cross-tabulations. Read more: mcclatchydc.com