Support for governor plunging, poll finds: Special election, budget unpopular among Californians

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/21/5 | John Wildermuth

[SmithL]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suddenly ranks among the most unpopular governors in modern California history, as residents grow increasingly unhappy about the action hero-turned-politician's budget plans and his call for a special election, according to a new Field Poll.

Less than a third -- 31 percent -- of the state's adults approve of the job the governor is doing in Sacramento, down from 54 percent in February. The numbers are only slightly better among registered voters, 37 percent of whom are happy with Schwarzenegger's performance and 53 percent dissatisfied.

"There's very little for the governor to cheer about in this poll,'' said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll. "There's a very broad-based view that the governor is off on the wrong track.''

Schwarzenegger's approval rating among registered voters is lower than any number recorded by the Field Poll for governors Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown and George Deukmejian. He now ranks fourth in unpopularity, behind Democrats Gray Davis and Pat Brown and Republican Pete Wilson.

[SmithL]

Wishful thinking from the "special sauce" people who use cooked polls to push an agenda. Republican polls show the Governor's popularity in the mid-50's and even the Democrat polls show in in the high 40's.

If Arnold's initiatives lose in November, he may as well hand the keys to the State treasury over to the unions.

[nj26]

Don't ask for people's opinion unless you want to hear it. I hope that Arnold remembers that before he calls for special elections.

The Field poll has been around for years. I'm not saying it isn't biased by a few percent (weekend polling, "reweighting", etc), but I doubt it's totally fixed.

Going around and talking about "kicking the butts" of teachers and nurses turns off a lot of female voters, by the way. It's just stupid and pointless.

[SmithL]

OBTW: Polls show that the special election is not popular. What they don't report is that the initiatives are leading by a wide margin.

[rwfromkansas]

You are saying the poll is off by 20 points. Somehow I don't believe that.

I like Arnold, but this is rather stunning.

When exactly were the unnamed internal party polls you mentioned conducted?

[SmithL]

When exactly were the unnamed internal party polls you mentioned conducted?

Sorry, I was posting while listening to the radio. I was quoting Phil Matier, who is as plugged in, politically, as anyone in the State.

[goldstategop]

California is a quixotic state. It backs Democrats in state and federal elections and votes for right-leaning initiatives at the ballot box.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[goldstategop]

The Field Poll is officially non-partisan but in practice it leans Democrats in vote sampling. It doesn't tell us anything about how the special election is shaping up and there are five months left til November.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[CyberAnt]

Well .. their polls are "adults" - which means they don't ask them if they vote and how they're registered.

Therefore .. their POLLS are garbage. It's the usual leftist trick - use adults - frame the questions to get the answers you want - and then use those inflated numbers to try to prove your case - Arnold is bad.

Good grief .. when are these newsie idiots going to GET IT ..?? Don't worry .. I'm not holding my breath waiting.

[hauerf]

"If Arnold's initiatives lose in November, he may as well hand the keys to the State treasury over to the unions."

I'd rephrase that as follows: If Arnold's initiatives lose in November, the people of California may as well hand the keys to the State treasury over to the unions.

[zarf]

If Arnold's initiatives lose in November, he may as well hand the keys to the State treasury over to the unions.

LOL! That would actually make sense.

The head of the teachers union should be the default governor of CA.

[rwfromkansas]

Interesting. Well, hopefully the Field poll is wrong.

[ecomcon]

Music to our friend Vicente's ears.

[ecomcon]

Music to our friend Vicente's ears.

[ecomcon]

Always wondered how a double post happens....

[calcowgirl]

It's all in how you ask the questions. (emphasis from original)

From JoinArnold.com

New internal polling data shows wide scale support among virtually all Californians for the Governor’s reform agenda. Additionally, the data shows Schwarzenegger is shaking off the dust from a multi-million dollar union-backed negative ad campaign, with a 17-point positive swing in the Governor’s job approval rating in the past month alone.

This positive shift is even being reflected in the media’s coverage of the Governor, as you can see by the two attached editorials. 
 
All three Schwarzenegger-backed measures enjoy majority support among California voters.  In addition, voters overwhelmingly back a measure which would require annual written consent from state and local government employees before their union can use their dues for political purposes.

55% of Voters Support Spending Limit
Voters were asked whether they supported or opposed imposing a spending limit based upon a three year rolling average of past state revenues which would give the Governor the authority to either selectively cut spending to certain programs or cut spending across the board anytime state spending becomes out of balance with state revenues.

Support: 55%
Oppose: 37%

68% of Voters Support Teacher Tenure Reform
Voters were asked whether they supported or opposed reforming California’s education system to reward good teachers and eliminate bad teachers by requiring a longer waiting period before a public school teacher can receive a guaranteed job for life, and basing that teacher’s continued tenure more on performance than on seniority alone.

Support: 68%
Oppose: 26%

71% of Voters Support Redistricting Reform
Voters were asked whether they supported or opposed having an independent panel of retired judges, not politicians, draw fair, honest and competitive state legislative and Congressional districts, making politicians of both parties more accountable to the people so that the people will pick their representatives instead of the politicians picking their districts.

Support: 71%
Oppose: 17%

68% of Voters Support Paycheck Protection
Voters were asked whether they supported or opposed requiring annual written consent of state and local government employees before their union can take money out of their paychecks and use it for political purposes.

Support: 68%
Oppose: 25%

The survey of 800 general election voters was conducted by McLaughlin & Associations and was taken between May 23-24.  It has a margin of error of +/- 3.4%.

 

[SmithL]

Great info.
Thanks.

[calcowgirl]

Here's the democrats' response, dissecting the questions and demonstrating that some of the poll language is less than accurate (despite their whining, some of the points are valid, e.g. "guaranteed job for life")

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/insider/archives/MEMORANDUM.doc

(snip)

The language used in the poll released by the Schwarzenegger team today deviates substantially from the actual language in the official titles and summaries. Instead of using the current official language - easily obtainable from the California Secretary of State website - the Schwarzenegger team created questions that were arguments for their case, not summaries of the initiatives which voters will be considering.

Consequently, their poll results, purporting to show a high level of "support" for each of these initiatives, should be dismissed out of hand. In two cases we have non partisan, public polling released the same day which confirms that the Schwarzenegger results are inaccurate.

[atlanta67]

youre right on the money...i was just thinking the same thing a few days ago.

waht that means is, the name "Republican" is unpopular in CA, but GOP ideas arent