Skip to main content

Public support of the JOBS bill

At times it is really hard not to despair at the utter ignorance of a very large section of the American public.  For example, in regard to President Obama's proposed JOBS bill.

A CNN poll recently found that there was lukewarm support for the bill among the public; 43 percent saying they were in favor while 35 percent were opposed, with 22 percent not knowing enough to offer an opinion.  But then, when the pollsters asked the respondents about the individual sections of the bill, the picture changed completely.

As these graphs from DailyKos clearly reveal, the poll showed that support is overwhelming for the various components that make up the bill!  The least popular component, the payroll tax holiday, still had 59 percent support!

Why doesn't this support show up when people are asked the generic question about whether they support the president's JOBS bill?  Could it have anything to do with the unrelenting attacks against the bill by the right-wing and negative reporting on the president by the mainstream media?  If the mainstream media actually did its job and reported in a straightforward manner about what is in the bill, would people be informed enough to give a positive response when asked if they support it?  We'll never know because the mainstream media will continue to employ its false equivalency strategy of reporting the news, where positive statements about any Democratic proposals or actions must be instantly offset by negative statements from the right-wing about them, whether those negative statements are true or bear any relationship to reality at all.  The result is to so confuse ordinary everyday citizens that they hardly know what to believe any more.

But the Republicans know what they believe!  They believe that any means justify the end of defeating Barack Obama in 2012, and if that includes destroying a bill that might actually help many Americans who are in dire straits because of the economy, well, so be it!  The lives of ordinary citizens are simply collateral damage as far as these Republicans are concerned.  And so, when it came time to vote on a JOBS bill that an overwhelming majority of Americans actually support when they know what is in it:

 As I say, it is enough to make one despair for our country and for our broken political system.
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 23, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    When I listened to President Obama present his jobs bill speech, I remember thinking he has done it!! This is what Americans have been waiting for!!! Finally a bill that addressed the needs of the American worker, both those employed and unemployed!, rather than banks and corperations!! This bill could possibly put our economy back on track!! Who would not support this bill??? What a fool was I ........

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dorothy/The Nature of ThingsOctober 24, 2011 at 10:45 PM

    It is very sad that one of our major political parties has as its only agenda item making the president look bad and defeating him, Anonymous. One can only hope that the American voters are smart enough to figure this out.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
19 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
6 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
24 comments
Read more