http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/newpollrev_5971.mp3
A new statewide poll shows that a majority of Republicans neither criticize nor endorse Democratic Governor Jay Nixon’s handling of the state’s budget. KSMU’s Missy Shelton reports.
The latest poll from Missouri State University asked a random sample of 880 Missourians to evaluate how Governor Jay Nixon is spending state revenue. Nearly 70 percent of Republicans surveyed said they neither approve nor disapprove of Nixon’s actions. Dr. Brian Calfano is a political science professor at MSU and directs the poll. He offers a possible explanation for this result.
Calfano says, “I would attribute this to Republicans not really wanting to support the governor openly but not having a lot of reason to criticize him at this point because, let’s face it, he’s governed pretty responsibly in terms of fiscal policy: cuts almost every week to the existing budget and not proposing any kind of tax increase. So Republicans are having a hard time painting him as what they might want to say is a ‘tax and spend’ liberal.”
The poll also found that Republicans approved of the legislature’s handling of state spending. That’s perhaps not surprising, considering Republicans hold a majority in both the House and Senate. But Calfano says nearly half of Democrats in the survey approved of the legislature’s spending policies.
Calfano says, “I think there’s common sense on the part of a lot of Missourians, whether they’re Republicans, Democrats or something else in the sense that they realize the state has to have a balanced budget. No one wants to raise taxes in a recession. The state needs to have job growth. So, I think they’re willing, both Republicans and Democrats are willing to give the governor and the legislature a lot of credit. In their own way, even Republicans giving credit to Governor Nixon by not trashing him or saying they disapprove of his performance.”
Besides asking about spending, the poll also examined attitudes toward the tax policies that are a part of the so-called “Fair Tax Plan.” The poll found that most Republicans lack an opinion on this proposal, which would do away with personal and corporate income taxes and replace them with a broader sales tax.