06/10/2010
The polls keep rolling in and mounting up with the same message: Americans want an enforcement approach to solve border anarchy, and reject the craven surrender to Mexico that Obama prefers.
Today’s example notes that just over a third of voters (34%) agree with President Obama, while 56% prefer Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who met with the President in the White House last Friday. They discussed her state’s new legislation that has caused so much alarm among open-borders types that immigration laws were actually going to be effectively enforced.
The curious headline below refers to an imaginary 2012 Presidential match-up between the two politicians:
Obama 44%, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer 39%, Rasmussen Reports, June 9, 2010Fifty-six percent (56%) of U.S. voters say their views on illegal immigration are closer to those of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer than to the views of President Obama. The two finally met last Friday at the White House to discuss Arizona’s tough new immigration law which the president opposes.
A new Rasmussen Reports nationwide telephone survey finds that only 34% say their views on illegal immigration are closer to the president’s. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure.
Eighty-one percent (81%) of the Political Class say their views are closer to Obama’s, while 72% of Mainstream voters say they think more like Brewer.
Given a 2012 election contest for president between Obama as the Democratic candidate and Brewer as the Republican, 44% of all voters support the incumbent, while 39% prefer the governor. Nine percent (9%) like some other candidate, while eight percent (8%) more are undecided.
But since 54% of voters don’t know enough about Brewer to venture any kind of opinion of her, this finding is more of a reflection on the president than any possible match-up with Brewer.
Twenty-six percent (26%) of voters have a favorable opinion of Brewer, while 20% view her unfavorably. These figures includes 12% with a Very Favorable opinion and nine percent (9%) with a Very Unfavorable opinion. The question about Brewer did not indicate that she was Governor of Arizona and was asked before the question about a possible match-up with President Obama.
Sixty-four percent (64%) believe the federal government by failing to enforce immigration law is more to blame for the current controversy over Arizona’s new statute than state officials are for passing it. Only 27% blame Arizona officials more for passing the law. [ … ]
Since signing it in late April, Brewer has strongly championed the law which requires local police to check the immigration status of anyone stopped for a traffic violation or some other kind of violation if the officer suspects the person is an illegal immigrant. Supporters of the law say it’s necessary because the federal government is not enforcing immigration policy and illegal immigrants are an increasing budget and public safety burden on the state.
Since signing the immigration law, Brewer has seen her approval ratings soar in Arizona and her prospects for re-election have improved.
The president and others, including Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard who is the likely Democratic nominee for governor this year, oppose the law, saying it encourages racial profiling. The U.S. Justice Department is considering challenging the Arizona law in court, and a high-level official with the Department of Homeland Security has said the department may not process any illegal immigrants arrested by Arizona police.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters nationwide now favor passage of an immigration law like Arizona’s in their own state. Fifty-six percent (56%) oppose a Justice Department challenge of the state law. Eighty-six percent (86%) of Republicans and 61% of voters not affiliated with either major party say their views on illegal immigration are closer to the Arizona governor’s. Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats say their views are more in line with the president’s. Two-thirds (67%) of Republicans like Brewer in a match-up with Obama, while 81% of Democrats support the incumbent. Brewer leads Obama by a 43% to 34% margin among unaffiliateds.
Interestingly, among voters who have an opinion of Brewer, there is little difference in the views of Republicans, unaffiliated voters — and Democrats.
But while 86% of GOP voters and 69% of unaffiliateds say the federal government’s failure to enforce immigration law is more to blame for the current controversy, a plurality (48%) of Democrats disagree and say Arizona officials are more to blame.
Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the Political Class point the finger at Arizona officials, while 77% of Mainstream voters see the federal government as more at fault.
Arizona voters support the state’s new immigration law more than ever and are still more inclined to think the law will be good for the state’s economy rather than bad. A lot of voters in the state are thinking it’s payback time, too, to those cities or states that boycott Arizona. Three-out-of-four voters believe that the federal government is not doing enough to secure the nation’s borders.
Seventy percent (70%) favor strong economic sanctions against those who hire illegal immigrants.
Among voters who are angry about immigration, 83% are angry at the federal government. Only 12% direct their anger at the immigrants themselves.
Most voters continue to say as they have for years that gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers. In fact, 67% now say military troops should be sent to the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigration.
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.