Raleigh, N.C. – The Occupy Wall Street movement is mere weeks old, but while Americans are less clear on its goals than those of the two-year-old Tea Party movement, they know they prefer the Wall Street protesters to those attacking President Obama. 35% support and 36% oppose the O.W.S. movement, with 29% not sure. But while more (39%) support the aims of the Tea Party, considerably more (45%) oppose them. Only 16% have no opinion. Asked which movement they prefer, voters choose O.W.S. by a 40-37 margin, thanks to the under-30s that are most of the movement. They prefer O.W.S., 53-18, while those between 30 and 45 prefer it only 39-36, and those older actually prefer the Tea Party. More Republicans (11%) favor O.W.S. than Democrats the Tea Party (9%), and independents side with the former by nine points.
The more time passes since Republicans took control of the U.S. House, the more voters grow unhappy with them. In July, six months into Speaker Boehner’s term, 42% said the GOP was doing a worse job than the Democrats did, with 39% saying they were doing a better job. Less than three months later, that margin has grown ten points to 45-32. The difference? Independents have soured on the GOP’s leadership by 23 points, from -1 to -24, with 51% now thinking they are doing worse than Pelosi and company. Democrats have grown even more convinced, needless to say, with three-quarters believing their opponents to be doing worse, and now only two-thirds of Republicans thinking they are doing better, versus 80% in July.
Boehner himself is seen in a much more negative light than previously. He would long to have President Obama’s approval rating. Only 27% approve of Boehner’s leadership, with 48% disapproving. That is down 17 points on the margin from a respectable 33-37 in July, before the debt deal passed. Boehner has just lost any measure of good will from Democrats and independents, down 23 points with each and even ten points with his own party. Now far more Democrats (69%) disapprove than Republicans approve (51%), with independents at 2:1 in disapproval.
PPP surveyed 700 American voters from October 7th to 10th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.7%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of the job John
Boehner is doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 27%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of the job
Congressional Democrats are doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 26%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 62%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of the job
Congressional Republicans are doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 25%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 62%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q4 Do you think the Republicans are doing a
better job than the Democrats did while in
charge of the House of Representatives, a
worse job, or about the same?
A better job …………………………………………….. 32%
A worse job …………………………………………….. 45%
About the same……………………………………….. 22%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%
Q5 If there was an election for Congress today,
would you vote for the Democratic or
Republican candidate from your district?
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 45%
Republican……………………………………………… 42%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q6 Do you support or oppose the goals of the
Occupy Wall Street movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 35%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 36%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 29%
Q7 Do you support or oppose the goals of the Tea
Party movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 39%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q8 Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy
Wall Street movement or the Tea Party
movement?
Occupy Wall Street ………………………………….. 40%
Tea Party ……………………………………………….. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%
Q9 Which of the following Perrys would you rather
see as President: Rick Perry or Tyler Perry?
Rick Perry ………………………………………………. 38%
Tyler Perry ……………………………………………… 18%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 45%
Q10 Which of the following Perrys would you rather
see as President: Rick Perry or Katy Perry?
Rick Perry ………………………………………………. 41%
Katy Perry………………………………………………. 18%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 41%
Q11 Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement? “I kissed a girl and I liked it.”
Agree …………………………………………………….. 42%
Disagree ………………………………………………… 31%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 27%
Q12 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 19%
Moderate………………………………………………… 30%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 26%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 15%
Q13 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%
Q14 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a
Republican, press 2. If you are an independent
or identify with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 41%
Republican……………………………………………… 35%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 24%
Q15 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 8%
White …………………………………………………….. 74%
African-American …………………………………….. 12%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%
Q16 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 41%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 21%