Good news for Marco Rubio in GOP poll

[Formerly Once-Ler]

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/good-news-for-marco-rubio-in-gop-poll-116081.html

It’s not clear if momentum is building behind Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for a run at the White House in 2016, but he has not turned off Republican voters. The junior senator from the Sunshine State led all other 2016 contenders among GOP primary voters, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released March 11.

Fifty-six percent of GOP voters said they could see themselves supporting Rubio while just 26 percent said they could not. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee trailed close behind Rubio, with 53 and 52 percent of Republican voters, respectively, saying they could see themselves supporting each candidate.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tied for fourth place in the poll with 49 percent each.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s 2016 aspirations took the biggest hit in the poll.

Just 32 percent of Republican voters said they could see themselves supporting him while 57 percent said they could not. Only Donald Trump, who 74 percent of GOP voters said they could not see themselves supporting, did worse; 51 percent said they would not consider supporting South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The poll was conducted March 1-5, surveying 229 registered Republican primary voters by telephone with a margin of error of plus or minus 6.48 percentage points. A total of 14 potential candidates were included in the poll.

[truth_seeker]

That there is a pretty skimpy poll effort, if I may say so. Just 229 registered Republicans?

Think of how many true conservatives that have opted to leave the GOP, therefore losing the chance to be polled, and to vote in closed primaries as well?

[Luis Gonzalez]

Rubio is running below 5% in the RealClearPolitics aggregate poll, behind Christie and ahead of Cruz.

Not sure what this article is all about.

[Formerly Once-Ler]

Rubio is running below 5% in the RealClearPolitics aggregate poll, behind Christie and ahead of Cruz.

Not sure what this article is all about.

I thought Rubio's low negatives and high support was noteworthy.

I has been my experience that conservatives drop their leaders for the littlest infraction.  Why are Rubio's negatives so low after the Senate Immigration Reform Bill of 2013?

In 2008 conservatives, myself included, jumped from candidate to candidate not named John McCain, until finally settling on Sarah Palin's running mate.   In 2012 conservatives rejected a dance with a ton of conservative candidates and went home with Governor Romney.  If history repeats Governor Walker will make some fatal misstep and be rejected and I wonder where do conservatives move to if that happens?

[Luis Gonzalez]

I thought Rubio's low negatives and high support was noteworthy.

I has been my experience that conservatives drop their leaders for the littlest infraction.  Why are Rubio's negatives so low after the Senate Immigration Reform Bill of 2013?

In 2008 conservatives, myself included, jumped from candidate to candidate not named John McCain, until finally settling on Sarah Palin's running mate.   In 2012 conservatives rejected a dance with a ton of conservative candidates and went home with Governor Romney.  If history repeats Governor Walker will make some fatal misstep and be rejected and I wonder where do conservatives move to if that happens?

It's a poll of registered voters, so the ideological spectrum of the respondents is wider.

[Luis Gonzalez]

I thought Rubio's low negatives and high support was noteworthy.

I has been my experience that conservatives drop their leaders for the littlest infraction.  Why are Rubio's negatives so low after the Senate Immigration Reform Bill of 2013?

In 2008 conservatives, myself included, jumped from candidate to candidate not named John McCain, until finally settling on Sarah Palin's running mate.   In 2012 conservatives rejected a dance with a ton of conservative candidates and went home with Governor Romney.  If history repeats Governor Walker will make some fatal misstep and be rejected and I wonder where do conservatives move to if that happens?

What really baffles me about polls like this, is the support that Huckabee gets in most of them.

He's the biggest, big government, tax and spend Republican candidate of them all.

Huckabee: The Biggest Big-Government Conservative

By Michael D. Tanner
This article appeared on Foxnews.com on December 11, 2007.

If you liked George W. Bush’s brand of big-spending, big-government conservatism, you’ll love Mike Huckabee.

Most of the leading Republicans running for president show some support for Bush’s ideology, but no other candidate so completely embodies it.

As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee dramatically increased state spending. During his two-term tenure, spending increased by more than 65 percent — at three times the rate of inflation.

The number of government workers increased by 20 percent, and the state’s debt services increased by nearly $1 billion. Huckabee financed his spending binge with higher taxes. Under his leadership, the average Arkansan’s tax burden increased 47 percent, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, including increases in the state’s gas, sales, income, and cigarette taxes. He raised taxes on everything from groceries to nursing home beds.

Huckabee answers these complaints by pointing out that he “cut taxes 94 times” while governor. True. But most of those tax cuts were tiny, like exempting residential lawn care from the sales tax. Some cuts reduced overall state revenues by as little as $15,000. On net, Huckabee increased state taxes by more than $500 million. In fact, Huckabee increased taxes in the state by more than Bill Clinton did.

“
He truly appears to believe that if something is a good idea it should be a federal government program.”
On its annual governor’s report card, Cato gave Huckabee an “F” for fiscal policy during his final term, and an overall two-term grade of “D.” Only four governors had worse scores, and 15 Democratic governors got higher grades, including well-known liberals like Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.

But Huckabee doesn’t just embrace big government in the form of big taxes. He truly appears to believe that if something is a good idea it should be a federal government program.

For example, having become health conscious while losing more than 120 pounds (a remarkable feat), he now calls for a national smoking ban. Because he believes that “art and music are as important as math and science” in public schools, he wants these programs funded — and thus, directed and administered — federally.

Huckabee is, incidentally, the only Republican candidate for president who opposes school choice.

Huckabee has called for increased federal spending on a variety of programs from infrastructure to health care. He wants more energy subsidies, including, naturally, more subsidies for ethanol. In fact, he supports increased agricultural subsidies generally. He is the only Republican candidate who opposes President Bush’s veto of the Democrats’ proposed expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and he is skeptical of most conservative proposals for entitlement reform.

Calling himself “a different kind of Republican,” Huckabee often appears to be channeling John Edwards or Lou Dobbs. He rails against high corporate profits and attacks free trade agreements. As governor, he raised the minimum wage and increased business regulation. He says it is “a biblical duty” to pass more regulation to fight global warming.

Perhaps Huckabee’s only claim on conservative credentials is that as a former Baptist minister, he is more anti-abortion and anti-gay than the other candidates. In many ways, he has been running an overtly religion-based campaign. But even here, his preference is to increase and centralize federal government power. Unlike Fred Thompson, John McCain, or Ron Paul, Huckabee rejects federalist solutions to these issues and would have the federal government overrule state abortion and marriage laws.

Under the Bush administration, the Republican Party has increasingly drifted away from its limited government roots. It has come to be dominated by a new breed of conservatives who believe in increasing the size, cost and power of government to achieve “conservative ends,” even if that means limiting personal freedom in the process. Bush has brought us No Child Left Behind, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and a 23-percent increase in domestic discretionary spending, and Huckabee’s been right there with him.

On election night in 2006, 55 percent of voters leaving the polls said they believed the Republican Party had become the party of big government. Mike Huckabee is doing his best to convert the other 45.

[olde north church]

Whaty really baffled me about polls like this, is the support that Huckabee gets in most of them.

He's the biggest, big government, tax and spend Republican candidate of them all.

Because he stands with Gawd

[libertybele]

Because he stands with Gawd

Exactly.  There is an attack on Christianity going on right now; beheading, burning, murdering, raping Christians tends to send a clear message and fear takes over especially when you have an anti-Israel president.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Exactly.  There is an attack on Christianity going on right now; beheading, burning, murdering, raping Christians tends to send a clear message and fear takes over especially when you have an anti-Israel president.

There are no Christians being beheaded, burnt, murdered, or raped in the US in any large scale.

We need to elect a President based on what America needs.

WE don't need a big government, tax and spend collectivist at the helm.

[libertybele]

There are no Christians being beheaded, burnt, murdered, or raped in the US in any large scale.

We need to elect a President based on what America needs.

WE don't need a big government, tax and spend collectivist at the helm.

I never stated that Christians were being persecuted in the U.S. in any large scale.  Perhaps I needed to be more clear, what I specifically meant is that the "fear" of that happening here is present, especially with an anti-Israel president.

I am not a Huckabee fan, however, I would vote for him over some of the other contenders like Christie or Bush.

[DCPatriot]

I never stated that Christians were being persecuted in the U.S. in any large scale.  Perhaps I needed to be more clear, what I specifically meant is that the "fear" of that happening here is present, especially with an anti-Israel president.

I am not a Huckabee fan, however, I would vote for him over some of the other contenders like Christie or Bush.

I'll settle for Christie or Bush, over Mike Huckabee at this juncture.

Just want a POTUS who loves the USA and its Constitution. 

Like a person getting over a long debilitating sickness, I just want a return to normalcy.

Walker/Rubio is my choice.

[libertybele]

I'll settle for Christie or Bush, over Mike Huckabee at this juncture.

Just want a POTUS who loves the USA and its Constitution. 

Like a person getting over a long debilitating sickness, I just want a return to normalcy.

Walker/Rubio is my choice.

"Like a person getting over a long debilitating sickness, I just want a return to normalcy".   I couldn't agree more.

[DCPatriot]

"Like a person getting over a long debilitating sickness, I just want a return to normalcy".   I couldn't agree more.

 

[aligncare]

I like Marco Rubio. Young, smart, articulate, charismatic.

Let's just hope he never jumps the shark and switch parties. There's something odd about Florida politicians. Perhaps because of the votes of all those snowbirds coming in from New York and other points Northeast.

[olde north church]

"Like a person getting over a long debilitating sickness, I just want a return to normalcy".   I couldn't agree more.

Not me, Ma'am!  I want a Joe Mannix.  Jump into the car and swing a hard right turn.  Rights, fiscal policy, culture, all of it!  Make people proud to be Americans again.

[Bigun]

Not me, Ma'am!  I want a Joe Mannix.  Jump into the car and swing a hard right turn.  Rights, fiscal policy, culture, all of it!  Make people proud to be Americans again.

 

I'm looking for the man who will begin the process of putting the federal government back in the cage that was designed for it in the Constitution!

[Luis Gonzalez]

I'll settle for Christie or Bush, over Mike Huckabee at this juncture.

Just want a POTUS who loves the USA and its Constitution. 

Like a person getting over a long debilitating sickness, I just want a return to normalcy.

Walker/Rubio is my choice.

When you get right down to the nitty gritty, Bush is more of a small-government Federalist conservative than Huckabee.

Huck's been all over the place on immigration.

In 2007 he was OK with a path to citizenship for illegals if they agreed to pay a fine, but in 2008 he was all abut building a fence and throwing illegals out. A year later he was arguing that we'd be a better country if we allowed illegals to get scholarships. Bush has been consistent on his stance.

Huckabee supported Common Core, as did Scott Walker and Bobbi Jindal, but they've shifted positions on it since. Bush's position is that the State should be allowed to set standards for the State and Common Core allows the State to do just that.

Huckabee as Governor was a financial disaster taxing like a Democrat on steroids and spending like a drunken sailor.

Bush was a fiscal conservative on major proportions.

Huckabee opposed school choice, Bush championed (and won) the battle over school choice in Florida.

Huckabee has stated that passing more legislation to fight global warming is a "biblical duty".

I don't get it.

[Luis Gonzalez]

I like Marco Rubio. Young, smart, articulate, charismatic.

Let's just hope he never jumps the shark and switch parties. There's something odd about Florida politicians. Perhaps because of the votes of all those snowbirds coming in from New York and other points Northeast.

A direct quote about Rubio from a GOP politically connected source in South Florida.

"He's a hack."

Take it for what it's worth.

[Bigun]

Walker/Cruz would be the ideal ticket for me!