What is on the minds of active grassroots conservatives as the debates over spending and health care heat up in Congress? A new ConservativeHome.com poll has a few answers to that question which will likely interest Republican leaders in Washington.
The poll was conducted among 900 self-identified conservative Republicans, the majority of whom actively give time or money to candidates. Here are the main takeaways:
First, Republican leaders need to understand that their message about “replacing” Obamacare, not just “repealing” it, has gotten through to voters — so now they need to deliver.
When asked about whether they wanted Republicans to propose an alternative to Obamacare or just repeal the law, 69% said they wanted an alternative, while 30% said repeal was good enough for them. Conservative voters are, as we all know, in an anti-spending mood right now, but that doesn’t mean that simply eliminating the bill and all of its additional spending is satisfactory. They also know that going back to the flawed health care system we had in America isn’t good enough.
These are, it should be noted, well-informed voters. Forty-six percent of respondents in the poll say they have been following the debate on the health care bill “very closely,” and another 36% say they’ve been tracking it “fairly closely.” This suggests that as public leaders start talking more about topics that were formerly arcane subjects debated by policy wonks — such as purchasing insurance across state lines, ending the tax code bias against private insurance purchases, and so on — ordinary voters are ready to listen. Republicans used to complain that a big obstacle to implementing more market-based heath care reforms was the difficulty of explaining them. Well, voters are paying attention now.
Second, conservative voters have made a strong connection between cutting spending and creating a healthier economic environment.
In our poll 46% say that, right now, they want Republicans to focus on cutting federal spending. Another 34% say repealing Obamacare. Only 13% say creating jobs, and a miniscule 2% say cutting taxes. In these economic times one might expect jobs and taxes to top the list, but conservative voters understand that without shrinking Washington’s appetite to spend (of which Obamacare is a part), the economy will not be healthy enough to create the jobs we need.
President Obama is said to be tacking to the middle with his jobs-and-economy focus these days, but without any real focus on cuts and fiscal discipline, he certainly won’t be fooling conservatives. Republican leaders should take comfort in knowing that conservative voters see cuts as an economic issue.
Third, conservative voters favor the Republican politicians who are showing determination on spending cuts.
In ConservativeHome’s separate tracking poll, released Monday, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell experienced the biggest jumps in approval since December, while Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Sarah Palin all experienced drops in their numbers. Boehner had higher ratings than all other individuals listed in the survey, and McConnell’s approval rose to a level on par with Mitt Romney’s. The only explanation for these types of surges is the high-profile role that both men have played on spending and the health care bill.
Other fiscal reformers such as Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all experienced increases in their ratings, too. Right now, voters are rewarding elected officials who they regard as taking a tough line on spending. Others who aren’t as closely associated with fiscal discipline didn’t fare as well.
Republicans have done a fine job in recent months keeping the themes of spending and health care in the public eye, in part because the public won’t let them go wobbly on these issues. Now that the level and sophistication of the public debates about federal spending and health care have risen to remarkable levels, the challenge becomes delivering policy that meets the public’s expectations. Given the energy of ordinary voters, that is no small challenge.
Ryan Streeter is the Editor of www.conservativehome.com. He served as a special assistant to George W. Bush for domestic policy and is affiliated with multiple think tanks.