Poll: Majority of Americans Don’t Believe Human Activity is Causing Earth to Warm

The Pew Research Center has released the results of a poll that examines the ideological divide over global warming in the United States.

Only 45 percent of all Americans—regardless of their political leanings—believe that the Earth is warming and that the warming is caused mainly by human activity. This is a decline from 50 percent in 2006.

The remaining 55 percent either don’t know whether or not the Earth is warming or what is causing the warming, don’t believe the Earth is warming, or believe natural changes are the dominant determinants of any changes in the global climate.

Just 22 percent of Republicans—and only 15 percent of conservative leaning GOP members—believe human activity is causing the Earth to warm, compared to 46 percent of Independents and 64 percent of Democrats.

Among Catholics, 47 percent believe that any warming is caused by human activity, down from 53 percent in 2006. A sharp difference exists between Catholic Republicans (24 percent) and Catholic Democrats (62 percent) on this issue.

By age group, 36 percent of the 65+ cohort believe global warming is caused by humans, increasing slightly to 43 percent for the 50 to 64 age group, 47 percent for the 30 to 49 year olds, and a slim majority (54 percent) for those in the 18 to 29 year old bracket.

Whites (41 percent) and Blacks (44 percent) both have a minority of their total populations believing in anthropogenic forces driving the Earth’s climate, whereas Hispanics have a solid majority (62 percent).

None of the major Protestant divisions surveyed had a majority believing that global warming is caused by humans: all Protestants, 37 percent; white evangelicals, 25 percent; white mainline members, 42 percent, and Black Protestants, 43 percent.

Via: Canada Free Press

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Poll: President Obama approval at 41 percent

President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have continued their slide in his fifth year in the White House, with the latest number down 14 points from last December, according to a new poll.

Just 41 percent of Americans approve of the job Obama is doing, while 53 percent disapprove, according to a Pew Research Center poll out Friday. That 12 point deficit in approval is the largest of Obama’s presidency, according to Pew’s polling.

Pew compared Obama’s approval to the last few presidents in their fifth year. Obama’s decline mimics that of George W. Bush, who registered a 36 percent approval rating at the same point in his term, down 12 points from the December before. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, was at a 58 percent approval the year after he was reelected.

(PHOTOS: Obama’s second term)

Asked about their feelings on Obama’s handling of five specific issues, Americans only approved of his job on terrorism, 51 percent to 44 percent. The president registered his lowest rating ever on handling the economy, with 31 percent approving to 65 percent disapproving. His approval rating in each category besides terrorism was in the 30s.

Pew surveyed 2,003 American adults from Oct. 30 to Nov. 6 for the poll, which has an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Via: Politico

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Romney’s Strong Debate Performance Erases Obama’s Lead

Mitt Romney no longer trails Barack Obama in the Pew Research Center’s presidential election polling. By about three-to-one, voters say Romney did a better job than Obama in the Oct. 3 debate, and the Republican is now better regarded on most personal dimensions and on most issues than he was in September. Romney is seen as the candidate who has new ideas and is viewed as better able than Obama to improve the jobs situation and reduce the budget deficit.

Fully 66% of registered voters say Romney did the better job in last Wednesday’s debate, compared with just 20% who say Obama did better. A majority (64%) of voters who watched the debate describe it as mostly informative; just 26% say it was mostly confusing.

In turn, Romney has drawn even with Obama in the presidential race among registered voters (46% to 46%) after trailing by nine points (42% to 51%) in September. Among likely voters, Romney holds a slight 49% to 45% edge over Obama. He trailed by eight points among likely voters last month.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Oct. 4-7 among 1,511 adults, including 1,201 registered voters (1,112 likely voters), finds that 67% of Romney’s backers support him strongly, up from 56% last month. For the first time in the campaign, Romney draws as much strong support as does Obama.

Via: Pew Research Center

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Study: Only 15 Percent Of Democrats Believe Economic News Is Bad

With just 47 days before the general election and Mitt Romney attempting to pivot the focus of the election back on the state of the economy, citizens with Democratic leanings are actually doing an about-face on the economy compared to their Republican counterparts, according to a recent study from the Pew Research Center.

Via: CBS DC Local

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How To Read Political Racial Code

Part of my job when I speak about politics is to speak up for black people and say things black people need said. This mission has rarely felt so necessary as it has when racial code words recently entered the Presidential election. These code words are ancient racial stereotypes in slick, modern gear. They are linguistic mustard gas, sliding in covertly, aiming to kill black political viability by allowing white politicians to say ‘Don’t vote for the black guy’ in socially-acceptable language. Sometimes the code comes directly out of a candidate’s mouth. Sometimes it comes from supporters, or can be found in advertisements.

(MORE: Inside the Racist Mind)

Do not be fooled by the canard that both parties do it. That was former RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s response when I asked him about it on my MSNBC show “The Cycle.” Using certain words to invoke racialized fear and scare white working class voters is a long-established part of the Republican playbook. The GOP is a 90% white party and has been for decades. According to Ron Brownstein of the National Journal, Mitt Romney will need over 60% of white people to vote for him or he will lose. “That,” Brownstein says, “would be the best performance ever for a Republican Presidential challenger with that group of voters.” Given that math, in a base turnout election where Romney has a big lead among white, non-college educated men, it’s understandable why he’d try to motivate those voters with code words that remind them of their racial difference with Obama and stigmatize that difference. In this effort a word like “welfare” is extremely valuable. Sure there are more white than black Americans on welfare, but when a candidate says ‘welfare’ many whites think of their tax dollars being given to blacks.

So when Romney began running ads about Obama “dropping the work requirement from welfare” — ads which are still running even though the claim has been thoroughly debunked — he was merely updating Ronald Reagan’s old “welfare queen” meme. Both are designed to create racial resentment around entitlements. This tactic is bolstered by the classic stereotype of blacks as lazy. A recent Pew Research Center poll, for example, found that 57% of Republicans believe people are poor because they don’t work hard. When a recent Washington Post poll asked “Why do most black voters so consistently support Democrats?” the second reason given by Republicans was “black voters are dependent on government or seeking a government handout” while for Democrats it was that “their party addresses issues of poverty.” (The top answer for members of both parties was “Don’t know”.)

Via: Time Magazine

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The Lost Decade of the Middle Class

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW

As the 2012 presidential candidates prepare their closing arguments to America’s middle class, they are courting a group that has endured a lost decade for economic well-being. Since 2000, the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith in the future.

These stark assessments are based on findings from a new nationally representative Pew Research Center survey that includes 1,287 adults who describe themselves as middle class, supplemented by the Center’s analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Fully 85% of self-described middle-class adults say it is more difficult now than it was a decade ago for middle-class people to maintain their standard of living. Of those who feel this way, 62% say “a lot” of the blame lies with Congress, while 54% say the same about banks and financial institutions, 47% about large corporations, 44% about the Bush administration, 39% about foreign competition and 34% about the Obama administration. Just 8% blame the middle class itself a lot.

Their downbeat take on their economic situation comes at the end of a decade in which, for the first time since the end of World War II, mean family incomes declined for Americans in all income tiers. But the middle-income tier—defined in this Pew Research analysis as all adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the national

Via: Pew Research Center

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