PPP Poll: Virginians Don’t Support the Radical Right
By Mike Signer | March 4, 2011 | One Comment
Virginia is for lovers, but anyone who thinks that Virginians are in love with the radical right has another think coming. A new PPP poll was released today showing that Virginians favor leadership and results rather than divisive, backward-looking partisanship.
Take Senator Mark Warner. As Senator, he’s putting his nose to the grindstone on tough issues that matter, like regulatory reform and fiscal policy. As Governor, it was things like getting government to work more efficiently and transparently, putting more dollars into education, and expanding child health care.
This is why Warner is by far the Commonwealth’s most popular politician, with a 58 - 29% approval/disapproval rating. He’s among the nation’s most popular Senators, doubly impressive in a time when Washington is so unpopular. Key to his success is his 59 - 30% showing among independents, who tend to eschew posturing for governance.
Compare this with the results for the current crew in Richmond. The most stunning result was for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. As AG, Cuccinelli rapidly started a quest to become a national celebrity. He frequently travels to appear on Fox News and he uses taxpayer dollars for lavish stunts such as a lawsuit against a UVA professor whose climate research he personally disagrees with. This all might have gotten him the national fame he’s seeking, but it’s a different story among us back home. 37% of Virginians approve of Cuccinelli, while 40% disapprove.
Think about that — almost two-thirds of Virginians cannot say they approve of their Attorney General. To put it another way: if you walked into a diner with 100 folks and asked everyone to stand up who couldn’t approve of Cuccinelli, it would be so crowded you couldn’t see the folks sitting down.
Our two-term Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling isn’t faring much better, especially given this is his second time trying. Even though he’s now the “Chief Jobs Creation Officer” for the Commonwealth, it hasn’t done much good. 33% of voters approve of Bolling, with 26% disapproving.
And Governor Bob McDonnell only has a 46 - 34% approval-disapproval rating.
All this means that Virginians aren’t seeing the ideas and results they deserve, and are saying so. The Richmond crew has been doubling down on the Old Dominion, but they’re playing solitaire.
Good piece Mike, though maybe making too much of poll numbers. All changes when voters go to the polls. So if they fear big government more, they will bite the bullet for these righties. Explains why moderate congressman like Hurt expelled your champion upsetter Periello.
So Mike, who will lead your party’s ticket to replace Webb? I vote Signer!