[Zagadka]

Yea, not a fan of that proposition.

[Doug64]

If the original question did not mention Trump then you have proven my point. Rasmussen added Trump to show support for him. As I said. Embarrassingly partisan organization.

I don't think anyone is contesting that the people at Rasmussen see the results of their polls through a conservative lens.

Here's last weekend's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

With the release Friday of a House Intelligence Committee investigative memo that Republicans say shows the FBI engaged in politically motivated, anti-Trump activities, and with fans siding up for the Super Bowl kickoff, this promises to be an especially contentious weekend.

As things stand already, voters by a 49% to 31% margin think a special prosecutor should be named to investigate whether FBI officials handled the investigations of Trump and Hillary Clinton in a legal and unbiased fashion.

A sizable number of voters had said they would tune in President Trump’s State the Union speech Tuesday, and more voters than usual said they were likely to watch the official Democratic response, as well.

However, in the days following the president’s speech, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Trump making substantial gains, achieving his highest voter approval since March 7.

Most voters don’t generally have faith that the promises made in a president’s State of the Union address will be accomplished, but they think Trump has a better chance than most of keeping his promises.

Voters concede that opposition to Trump’s agenda is politically motivated, but even after Trump’s conciliatory State of the Union speech, they’re slightly less convinced Congress should work with the president.

Also, with mid-term elections on the horizon, Democrats hold an eight-point lead over Republicans on Rasmussen Reports’ Generic Congressional Ballot, but 17% of voters prefer a third-party candidate or are undecided.

The unemployment rate is down, and the stock market has hit record highs despite losses this week. So perhaps it’s no surprise that nearly half of voters give Trump positive marks for his handling of the economy.

As the stock markets have been climbing steadily during Trump’s presidency, Americans still aren’t convinced the boom will last. The Dow Jones Industrials were down more than one percent Friday, but still up nearly 30% for the last year.

While a majority of voters continue to be skeptical of big business and its ties to government, that number is down significantly from previous surveys.

In other surveys last week:

-- As this weekend’s Super Bowl brings football season to an end, more than one-in-three Americans say on-field protests by NFL players who took a knee during the national anthem deterred them from tuning in to this season’s games.

-- In the past 10 years, the New England Patriots have won two Super Bowls and made it to the big game four times. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that nearly half of Americans think the Patriots will win the championship this year.

-- Most Americans still consider themselves healthy, but many continue to pass on medical checkups and prescription drugs to save money.

-- President Trump’s monthly job approval in January edged up to 44%, one point higher than for the previous four months.

-- Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters now think the country is heading in the right direction.

[Pants-of-dog]

I don't think anyone is contesting that the people at Rasmussen see the results of their polls through a conservative lens.

...and frame their questions with a conservative bias, and word their results and questions with a conservatove bias, etc.

[Doug64]

...and frame their questions with a conservative bias, and word their results and questions with a conservatove bias, etc.

You mean like all the liberal-leaning polls that didn’t perform as well as Rasmussen in predicting the spread in the presidential election?

[Pants-of-dog]

Maybe. I neither know nor care.

Agreeing with me and then trying to excuse it by pointing out how your ideological opponents do it too is not an argument.

[Doug64]

Maybe. I neither know nor care.

Agreeing with me and then trying to excuse it by pointing out how your ideological opponents do it too is not an argument.

I wan’t agreeing with you, I was checking if you bring the same assumption of bias to other, less accurate polls.

[Drlee]

You mean like all the liberal-leaning polls that didn’t perform as well as Rasmussen in predicting the spread in the presidential election?

I called the election two days before, posted the results here and missed the electoral college count by one. Why don't you automatically agree with me.

Really guy. I am a conservative. I don't want to see deliberately slanted polls regardless of what the other side is doing. How about posting some objective polls for a change. We conservatives have got to start using our brains for a change. We have to get over this attitude that this is a war against an evil which justifies our ignoring our principles in the service of our goals. If we do this we are not conservatives and we will lose though our side may temporarily prevail.

Do you not see what this attitude has gotten us? We are going to take a major dive in the mid terms. If we do squeak by with our majority intact we will be annihilated in the 2020 elections. Our president is the laughing stock of the world, we (conservatives who abandoned one of our key principles) have driven up the deficit rather than fixing it as we said we would do, passed tax cuts to stimulate an economy that is already overheated and alienated what will become an overwhelming majority of Americans in a decade.

How about this. Why don't you post some objective polls? They are out there. If you really want to help conservatives you will do it much better by forcing them to face the truth.

Just look at this page. Just look at it and see if you see what POD and I are relying on when we criticize Rasmussen.

https://realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/

[Pants-of-dog]

I wan’t agreeing with you, I was checking if you bring the same assumption of bias to other, less accurate polls.

That is not how logic works. My claim is still just as correct regardless if other polls have the same failings.

[Doug64]

I called the election two days before, posted the results here and missed the electoral college count by one. Why don't you automatically agree with me.

Because I seriously disagree with most of your positions, however accurately you were able to call the election?

How about this. Why don't you post some objective polls? They are out there. If you really want to help conservatives you will do it much better by forcing them to face the truth.

Just look at this page. Just look at it and see if you see what POD and I are relying on when we criticize Rasmussen.

https://realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/

As for that list of polls, if you look at, say, the polls of Trump's job approval you'll see both the spread of time they cover and that Rasmussen is the only poll looking for Likely Voters. Beyond that, which of the liberal-leaning polls do you consider "objective," and how has their performance compared to Rasmussen's when we've actually been able to compare those results to reality? You can't be talking about Gallup, where Rasmussen bull's-eyed the presidential spread Gallup didn't even try. Apparently, they decided that fixing the problems revealed by previous presidential elections would be too much of a hassle so they just stopped trying.

That is not how logic works. My claim is still just as correct regardless if other polls have the same failings.

As I said, I wasn't agreeing your claim is correct, I was simply checking how evenhandedly you applied your assumption of bias.

[Drlee]

"Liberal leaning polls".

Read the list again.

The utter ignorance of today's anti intellectual fake republicans is astonishing.

[Doug64]

"Liberal leaning polls".

Read the list again.

The utter ignorance of today's anti intellectual fake republicans is astonishing.

Hey, if when there's a poll whose results we can actually measure Rasmussen hits it dead center, that would make Rasmussen the center by which other polls are judged and those polls that projected a higher margin for Clinton Liberal-leaning polls. Though I believe there were a few polls that came up short the other way, and at least one that predicted Trump would win the popular vote.

And now for an actual poll of Likely Voters about a current issue:

How important is it for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation this year?

• Very important 51%
• Somewhat important 27%
• Not very important 13%
• Not at all important 6%
• Not sure 3%

Republicans

• Very important 66%
• Somewhat important 25%
• Not very important 5%
• Not at all important 2%
• Not sure 2%

Independents

• Very important 45%
• Somewhat important 28%
• Not very important 17%
• Not at all important 6%
• Not sure 4%

Democrats

• Very important 42%
• Somewhat important 29%
• Not very important 15%
• Not at all important 10%
• Not sure 4%

A proposal has been made that would create a pathway to citizenship for those brought to this country illegally when they were children, build a wall on the Mexican border and change legal immigration to a more merit-based system. Do you favor or oppose such a proposal?

• Favor 52%
• Oppose 32%
• Not sure 16%

Republicans

• Favor 76%
• Oppose 13%
• Not sure 11%

Independents

• Favor 51%
• Oppose 29%
• Not sure 20%

Democrats

• Favor 28%
• Oppose 55%
• Not sure 17%

If this proposal is passed by Congress, how likely is it that the federal government will actually secure the border and prevent illegal immigration?

• Very likely 18%
• Somewhat likely 33%
• Not very likely 28%
• Not at all likely 16%
• Not sure 5%

Republicans

• Very likely 28%
• Somewhat likely 43%
• Not very likely 20%
• Not at all likely 5%
• Not sure 4%

Independents

• Very likely 15%
• Somewhat likely 35%
• Not very likely 29%
• Not at all likely 17%
• Not sure 4%

Democrats

• Very likely 10%
• Somewhat likely 23%
• Not very likely 35%
• Not at all likely 25%
• Not sure 7%

[Drlee]

Hey, if when there's a poll whose results we can actually measure Rasmussen hits it dead center, that would make Rasmussen the center by which other polls are judged and those polls that projected a higher margin for Clinton Liberal-leaning polls.

Oh I get it. You are making a fool of yourself because you think that Clinton is a liberal.

[Doug64]

:lol:

Oh I get it. You are making a fool of yourself because you think that Clinton is a liberal.

I said Liberal-leaning, not Liberal. Clinton may have been no more a Liberal than Trump is a Conservative, but that wouldn’t have mattered too much considering her base. Unless you think Liberals considered her as bad as Trump?

Beyond that, if polls aren’t to be judged by how their results accord with reality, by what standard would you judge them?

[Pants-of-dog]

As I said, I wasn't agreeing your claim is correct, I was simply checking how evenhandedly you applied your assumption of bias.

Then you failed to address my argument.

Trying to accuse me of bias or double standards or whatever it is you are implying is not a rebuttal. Yes, other polling places may also be biased in some manner. That does not magically Rasmussen not biased.

[Hindsite]

:lol:

Oh I get it. You are making a fool of yourself because you think that Clinton is a liberal.

No, that is not it.
Hillary Clinton is crooked.

[Doug64]

A little late, I know, I've been a bit under the weather. Anyway, here's last weekend's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

President Trump at week’s end was enjoying his best favorable ratings since early in his tenure in the White House, while Congress was off on a spending spree.

Since his January 30 State of the Union address, Trump’s approval ratings have been running slightly ahead of where Barack Obama was at this stage of his presidency.

Most voters favor the immigration reform plan detailed by the president in the speech and think it’s likely to finally produce a secure southern border.

Congress Thursday night passed a two-year budget plan with billions of dollars in new domestic and defense spending. Senator Rand Paul was a lonely voice of dissent. When Trump first took office, over half of voters thought significant cuts in spending were likely, but that hope has been fading.

The stock market has been bouncing up and down in recent days, and 55% of Americans are concerned that the market bubble will burst, pushing the economy back into recession.

But economic and consumer confidence have jumped to four-year highs.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters now say the country is headed in the right direction, the highest level of optimism since last April. This finding ran in the mid- to upper 20s for most of Obama’s last full year in office.

While the nation is better off economically than it has been in years, most voters see America as an increasingly divided land with worse still to come.

Thirty-four percent (34%) believe the FBI is more likely to have meddled in the 2016 election than the Russians. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Republicans feel that way.

Half of voters now think it’s likely that senior law enforcement officials broke the law in an effort to prevent Trump from winning the presidency.

Twenty-five years after the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted, most Americans support expanding it to include government-mandated paid family or medical leave for full-time workers.

Voters still give the health care they receive high marks but are more critical of the U.S. health care system than ever.

Russia has been banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics following exposure of a government-run program using performance enhancing drugs, but Americans don’t think they’re the only rule-breakers.

Still, 72% plan to tune in for at least some of the Winter Games coverage which officially kicked off yesterday in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

In other surveys last week:

-- The United States is expected to begin pulling troops out of Iraq after the government there declared victory over the radical Islamic State Group (ISIS), and more voters now agree that America and its allies have won that war.

-- Several states are considering a law that would make an attack on law enforcement officers a hate crime, and most voters want to see a “Blue Lives Matter” law in their own state.

-- Are Americans ready for topless beaches? Judges in at least two states are trying to decide.

[Doug64]

Here's last weekend's round-up of polls. Anyone that wants to check out any possible links over the next week can go to the link to the left. (Anyone wanting more details on a particular poll, just ask):

The week began with the stock markets recovering from the previous week’s losses and Congress agreeing on a two-year budget deal to end a series of government shutdowns. But the Senate’s failure to advance immigration reform and the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida closed the week somberly.

Senator Rand Paul stood as the lone dissenting voice late last week as Senate leaders rammed through a bipartisan budget deal that dramatically increases military and domestic spending. The Kentucky Republican bemoaned the lack of conservatives in power right now, and a lot of voters agree with him.

The government did shut down for five-and-a-half hours Friday night as Congress completed its budget work, but voters say they would rather see a shutdown until Congress can cut spending.

After Congress passed that bipartisan budget with billions of dollars in new defense and domestic spending, the president on Monday proposed a $4.4 trillion Fiscal Year 2019 budget that would spend even more, projecting deficits long into the future.

Though Congress and the president continue to introduce bills with increasingly more spending, most voters — including those who want a more hands-on government — don’t trust that taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely.

Most voters think a balanced budget is a better way to go economically, but they don’t foresee that happening anytime soon.

For Democrats, the possible Trump-Russia connection remains the burning issue of the day. For the rest of voters, pocketbook issues and illegal immigration are priorities.

President Trump has proposed supplementing at least half of a food stamp recipient's monthly benefit from a monetary payment to a box of healthy, homegrown food. Nearly half of Americans believe it’s too easy to get food stamps and are open to this new plan.

Meanwhile, the economy continues to surge, and over a year after he left office, many voters - including most Democrats - remain convinced that President Obama is responsible for it.

A rise in U.S. shale production over the last several years has created a surplus of oil that is now in high demand from countries overseas. Though support for fracking has dropped slightly, nearly half still favor the idea, but most say if we’re going to do it, we should keep the surplus oil here at home.

In other surveys last week:

-- President Trump has proposed holding a massive parade in Washington, D.C. to showcase America’s military strength, but most voters don’t want it.

-- More than one-in-ten Americans say they know someone who has won a major lottery, but with at least one winner fighting to keep her winnings anonymous, perhaps Americans know more lottery winners than they realize. But nearly half say they wouldn’t quit their jobs if they won.

-- The #MeToo movement is sweeping the nation, but a sizable number of Americans think it has gone too far.

-- Americans don’t place a lot of importance on Valentine’s Day, and while some look forward to it, for most, it’s just another day.

-- Forty-three percent (43%) of Likely U.S. Voters now think the country is heading in the right direction.

[Drlee]

-- Forty-three percent (43%) of Likely U.S. Voters now think the country is heading in the right direction.

I see this question every week. It does not change all that much though I guess a couple of percent represents a lot of people. I wonder what it really means. Is it a mark of approbation for government, a reflection on the economy, the medal count at the Olympics or just the weather? It seems that it might be the most important number of all but, is it?

I am not discounting it but I am genuinely curious what we ought to think about it.

[Doug64]

I see this question every week. It does not change all that much though I guess a couple of percent represents a lot of people. I wonder what it really means. Is it a mark of approbation for government, a reflection on the economy, the medal count at the Olympics or just the weather? It seems that it might be the most important number of all but, is it?

I am not discounting it but I am genuinely curious what we ought to think about it.

I think the correct answer to your question is “ any or all of the above.” Mind, being a general overview of everybody it doesn’t cover who thinks so, IIRC after the election the total didn’t shift all that much but the numbers for Republicans and Democrats flipped.

[Drlee]

IF I was going to ask this question I would do it as a stand alone question. The only question on the call. If, for example, the question before is, "do you believe Donald Trump is honest" or "are the democrats in the house doing a good job" then the "right direction" question is tainted.

It seems to me that the value of this question could be quite variable indeed. Real Clear Politics has results from several outlets and two of them have the number in the low 30's. Rasmussen is the second highest. That does not matter to me as much as the methodology.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html