OP-ED | Dems Ignore Voters’ Grumpy Mood at Their Peril
by Susan Bigelow | Apr 27, 2012 11:18am
(6) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Opinion
On Wednesday, Quinnipiac University released the sort of poll that should give Democrats a headache. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, whose approval inched up to 44 percent in March, is back down to 37 percent. Voters broadly disapprove of Malloy’s handling of the economy, taxes, and, crucially, education. The Democrat-controlled legislature is even worse, only 32 percent approve of their performance.
Voters believe the economy is bad, they disapprove of the recent death penalty repeal, and even President Obama’s approval has sunk to a miserable 49 percent, with 47 percent disapproving.
Democrats don’t seem worried. These numbers aren’t exactly news, after all. The governor’s approval rating has always been lousy, and the legislature is likewise persistently unpopular. Even the president has struggled here over the past year; he posted the exact same approval rating last September. Voters have always liked the death penalty and opposed repeal, and this governor isn’t likely to score well with them on taxes no matter what he does. What should give Democrats pause is that none of these things are improving; in fact, this month’s poll suggests the opposite.
We’re in a persistently bad mood, and have been for years. The question for the state’s ruling party is whether this just the usual Cranky Yankee Syndrome, in which people from around here would curse the day for being long and the sun for shining, or is it something more worrisome? The key is likely the economic number. People don’t believe the economy is getting better. Some 79 percent of respondents rate the economy as “not so good” or “poor,” despite the fact that unemployment is falling and is lower here than in many other parts of the country. Economic activity is picking up again, and wide majorities of those polled say that their own personal finances are in good shape. More people say that they’re somewhat or very satisfied with how things are going in Connecticut than did in November. Despite all this, people are still grouchy about the state of the economy, and they blame the people in charge.
It seems that no matter what the governor and legislature do, people don’t like them. The legislature can do popular things like raising the minimum wage and passing medical marijuana, but their ratings aren’t going to get better. The governor can champion education policies like tenure reform that are individually popular, but voters will give him low marks on education. Despite all of the governor’s town hall meetings and the constant press to pass education reform, people still don’t trust his leadership on the issue.
In another state where the opposition party wasn’t a sad little ghost of its former self, anchored to a national party that seems designed to alienate northeastern moderates, this decade-long frustration might mean that Democrats would be in some trouble when legislative elections roll around this November. But this is Connecticut, where Republicans can’t ever seem to take advantage of voter angst, so instead we’ll return a lot of the same people to the same jobs, and it’ll all repeat. Therefore, it’s tempting for Democrats to ignore the voter angst on display in this and previous Quinnipiac polls.
They shouldn’t — not entirely. One poll is one poll, of course, and politicians, who constantly blow in the wind whenever public opinion shifts, deserve the disrespect they get (see: Mitt Romney). It’s often much more important to pass good legislation than it is to court public opinion. Still, there could be repercussions later if Democrats aren’t careful. For instance, they’ve been able to scratch a whole slew of items off their legislative wish list thanks to wide majorities in both chambers and a willing Democratic governor, but voter annoyance now could eventually lead to reduced majorities and a Republican back in charge in 2014. There’s also a very real danger of a Republican winning a U.S. Senate seat this fall. It’s easy to say that something can’t happen here right up until the moment when it does.
A more thorny and complicated long-term problem for Malloy and the Democrats is our collective low self-esteem. When it comes right down to it, we simply have no faith in Connecticut. A friend remarked this week that she’d never heard of anyone who was proud of being from here, and that’s about right. Beyond voter angst at the economy and Gov. Malloy’s leadership skills, that fundamental issue remains: how can we move forward if we don’t believe in ourselves?
The legislative session ends May 9 and there will be plenty for which Democrats can be proud. In all the celebration, however, they shouldn’t forget that outside the Capitol people believe that the state’s still in the dumps, and that it’ll never get better.
Susan Bigelow is the former owner of CT Local Politics. She lives in Enfield with her wife and their cats.
Tags: Democratic Party, Quinnipiac University poll, Dan Malloy, public opinion, Susan Bigelow, dh
(6) Comments
posted by: joancarol | April 28, 2012 10:43am
I don’t disagree with anything you say, but I was called for this poll and it made me uncomfortable. After a few minutes of being bombarded with multiple questions criticizing Malloy and asking me if I agreed or disagreed, I asked how much longer the poll would last. Being told another 5 minutes, I declined to participate any further. It was pushing me a negative direction.
posted by: david 213 | April 28, 2012 11:37am
The US Congress is rated lower than ever, but a lot of people seem to like their personal congressperson, which is why wholesale change never happens. I would assume that the CT legislature benefits from the same delusion. Personal contact and knowing your representative is a very powerful part of retail politics. For me it is much easier to vote against a president I have never met than to vote against my state rep, senator or member of congress that I know personally.
posted by: marypatenaude | April 28, 2012 5:52pm
The Gov needs to accept the fact that his tax increases in July 2011—excise and sales raised the prices of alcchol in CT. Mass reduced their excise tax and removed the sales tax. So the Gov should allow the same to happen in CT and see more business in CT.
posted by: Todd Peterson | April 28, 2012 7:29pm
As per usual, there are a lot of things that you simply don’t get. Let’s try to clarify things a bit.
“Cranky yankees” are something that “progressives” can’t seem to figure out so I’m not sure if I can do anything here. Let me try to talk about economics.
We are worried about the economy. Although things are marginally better - and that’s a generous call - there aren’t a lot of jobs being created. We’ve had a years-long malaise here statewise and nationally. If you lose a job and have skills you struggle a lot to get back into the workforce. A recent 60 Minutes segement about people in affluent Fairfield County struggling to get back on the beam was illuminating. Trying to move laterally from one job to another is very hard as well. Folks who are employed in the private sector aren’t feeling secure. Rank and file people in the public sector are watching their ranks thin while management stays bloated. Yes, they’re the no layoff pledge for union workers. Unfortunately non-union mangement is still getting their big dollar longevity payments while rank and file people’s have given up pay raises.
People aren’t proud to be from here. Collectively speaking, we aren’t known as being very friendly to areas outside of the northeast. As to governance, we aren’t well managed. One governor went to prison, the next one was a nice person who couldn’t govern. We borrowed gazillions just to keep the budget in “balance” while the budget grew and grew. Legaling marijuana is a priority along with the busway to nowhere while roads and bridges deteriorate. Something as big as education reform is being done in a truncated session when it likely needs a special session so it can be done properly. OH yeah, and the deficit is growing and the Governor is playing wait and see. Why should we be proud? I don’t think that the GA should be proud of this session…
We were sold a bill of goods with about three-quarters of a billion of unsubstantiated savings in the vaunted labor agreement after we had a big tax increase. Income tax collection figures are weak and we’re giving tax “rebates” to people who don’t pay income taxes. Regressive gasoline taxes are higher than neigboring states causing people who can go over the border to do so.
You can flack for the Dems all you want and take pot-shots at Mitt Romney till you blush. You love to badmouth Joe Markley every chance you get. We need about 50 more Joe Markleys in the GA to get things halfway close to sane. Susan, you are the one who doesn’t get it.
posted by: DirtyJobsGUy | April 29, 2012 11:47am
I think you fall into the trap of assuming the CT GOP is a non-player based on 2010 elections. But look closely and Gov Malloy only won by vote fraud in Bridgeport and the other big cities. Of our current senators, Lieberman (a grown up) won with massive GOP support, while Blumenthal can’t decide if he is still a Consumer Advocate. Only completely in-the-tank media coverage accounts for ol’Dick being thought of as Senatorial Material. Progressive and Union Democrats are always the cause of their own destruction. They can’t stop themselves (see Death Penalty, tax hikes etc.) The crooked deals behind Jackson Labs, Busway etc. will eventually come out damage them further. But CT will not abandon the Dems until we are in worse fiscal shape than California.
posted by: Reasonable | April 30, 2012 10:06pm
marypatenaude: Gov.Malloy will never reduce excise tax or remove sales tax. Even with near the highest taxes in the country—he has us into deficit spending and budget shortfall—because Gov. Dannel (the Big Spender)can’t use common sense, and won’t stop spending us into oblivion.