The polling community is finally starting to catch up with what has become the biggest story in politics over the last week. Tens of thousands of protesters have come out in Madison, Wisconsin to express opposition to Governor Walker's anti-union bill. Gov. Walker has claimed the bill is necessary to balance the budget, and refused to take out the provisions which strip the public employees' unions of their collective bargaining rights. Many believed the public would side with Walker, since the favorability ratings on unions has gone down over the last three decades. However, a sampling of the major polls shows that most are actually siding with the protesters in Wisconsin. The best poll on the issue may come from USA Today/Gallup. There poll with a sampling of over 1,000 Americans found that 61% of people oppose a law in their state similar to the one Walker is proposing in Wisconsin. Just 33s% were in favor of a similar law. Another poll commissioned by the AFL/CIO, but conducted by an independent firm, found that 62% of Wisconsin voters view the public employees favorably, compared to just 11% who have an unfavorable view. In comparison, just 39% of Wisconsin voters now have a favorable view of Walker, compared to 49% who have an unfavorable view. Finally, the poll found 52% of Wisconsin voters oppose Governor Walker's plan while 42% oppose it. Conservatives like to cite a Rasmussen Reports poll which purports to show 48% of likely votes supporting Walker with just 38% supporting the protesters. However, many have looked upon the Rasmussen poll with a great deal of skepticism. Polling expert Nate Silver wrote a column strongly criticizing the Rasmussen poll. Silver points out that Rasmussen tended to be bias toward Republicans by an average of four points in the 2010 elections. Silver also takes issue with the ordering of the questions in the Rasmussen poll. The poll first asks respondents about a possible strike by firefighters and policemen (which is not even part of the Wisconsin bill or controversy) before going on to ask them about the bill itself. Silver argues, with statistical evidence, that the question wording could lead respondents to support the bill. Silver ends his column with a harsh rebuke saying, "Because of the problems with question design, my advice would be simply to disregard the Rasmussen Reports poll, and to view their work with extreme skepticism going forward." Continue reading on Examiner.com: Survey of polls show public siding with Wisconsin protesters - National Political Buzz | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/political-b...iding-with-wisconsin-protesters#ixzz1Ekn9ShtJ
"Most people ... mistakenly think worker rights come from collective bargaining," Walker told USA TODAY Tuesday. He said his plan would not remove union workers' protections from wrongful termination or inappropriate discipline or hiring. "When you alter collective bargaining, it doesn't alter workers' rights," he said. exactly. people think (because the media incorrectly portrays it) that this removes the rights of workers in a union. personally i hope the law fails and the governor fires 12,000 people. its poetic justice.
I love how Optional777 points out that one poll showing favoritism towards the unions was paid for by the AFL/CIO!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!! Apparently, he missed the Zogby poll which also shows the majority siding with the Republican Governor of Wisconsin. http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/zogby-poll-wisconsin/2011/02/22/id/387052 Oh but wait, let's see his next post indicating that Zogby shows favoritism towards the Republicans. LOL!!!!!!!!
Also, what Optional777 fails to realize or mention is that when Republican Scott Walker was campaigning for Governor in Wisconsin, he promised that he would do this to the public sector unions, and he won election by 5 points!!!!!!