…is at an all-time low since Gallup has been recording such things.
Good. And it better stay there till election day 2010, and beyond.
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Previously a lifelong Democrat, born in New York and living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely 
April 12th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Neo, haven’t they been holding back a lot of the stimulus money for later distribution? Call me cynical but when released I am expecting a spike in the employment figures. Just in time for the elections.
April 12th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Don’t worry John.
I work in government. There is no way the government can spike employment with new hires. Government has already been expanding and hiring at maximum rate for a decade or two or three.
It hasn’t helped the overall employment picture and won’t.
See California fall as our state government is too large and our credit rating is worse than Greece’s…
April 12th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Question for everybody old enough to remember the general election of 1994: Was there any organized effort to deprive the Democrats of their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives? For that matter, did anybody see it coming?
IIRC, the entire country was stunned when the electorate flipped the House and gave the Republicans the majority for the first time in four decades. Media figures, politicians, the average person: everybody was stunned.
If there was any organized effort to flip the House in ’94, I was unaware of it. So, how much more likely is it to happen this year when there are organized efforts underway all over the country to do it?
Or am I looking at this the wrong way?
April 12th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
“There is no way the government can spike employment with new hires. Government has already been expanding and hiring at maximum rate for a decade or two or three.”
Baklava, all those temporary workers hired for the census, spiked the monthly or quarterly figures didn’t they? If they release a ton of stimulus money for hiring summer work won’t that have an impact on the numbers as well?
April 12th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Like Obama’s science czar is telling students, “We can’t be number 1 forever”. There goes Yes We Can.
Like Limbaugh said a few weeks ago, the Obama administration is “managing” the demise of the USA.
Student loans in the bailout, house remodeling license required for your home, included in “cap and trade”. There’s crazy stuff going on.
April 12th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
ELC, the item in 94 was the “contract with America” it was widely credited with turning the house.
April 12th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
“managing the decline”? Willfully causing it.
This is what they hunger for. The Democrats hate this nation, and in particular hate its accomplishments.
It all mangles thier “self-esteem”. Traitors all..
April 12th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
41% huh. I can’t think of a poll to give us a more valid tally of how many communist and idiots reside in the country right now.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
“contract with America”
Barry’s got a contract on America.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
“Yes We’re Canned”
April 12th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
@ Darrell 5:01 pm. I don’t think the “Contract with America” was an organized effort to flip the House. Not like what we’re seeing today: grassroots efforts by people never before active in politics.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Baklava, this is what I was trying to say:
“with the midterm elections just seven months away, people are starting to wonder how a rebound might shape results in November.”
“But there is typically a strong correlation between how the economy is doing and how voters feel, with weak economies hurting incumbents and helping challengers. (That’s why Presidents have a tendency to try to juice the economy in election years.”
“A tough November for Democrats therefore looks like a foregone conclusion. And yet if the economy really starts to recover this summer a lot could change. For one thing, voters have short memories: when they cast their ballots, their decisions are shaped primarily by recent events.”
“And Democrats do have an ace in the hole when it comes to keeping the economy moving: last year’s stimulus bill was backloaded, which means that close to five hundred billion dollars in stimulus money is still to be spent.”
“That backloading of the bill was good economics: with the Federal Reserve doing less to pump up the economy, an extra half-trillion dollars in fiscal stimulus will help pick up the slack. It was also good politics, since much of that money will be flooding into the economy during the key second and third quarters. Republicans in Congress would presumably block any Democratic attempt to pass another major stimulus, both for ideological reasons and because they have no political incentive to see the economy improve. (While you might expect all incumbents to pay the price for a poor economy, in Sides’s words, “It’s really only the President’s party that suffers when the economy’s bad.”) Pushing much of the stimulus spending off until this year made that less of a problem.”
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2010/04/19/100419ta_talk_surowiecki
April 12th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
I hear ya John.
I just don’t see the new hires spiking anything regarding unemployment numbers…
There isn’t anything (except the census) that would allow the government to just add the NECESSARY numbers to change employment figures… and the exception is too small even.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
ELC, roger, not saying it was a grass roots thing, but it did bring attention to the excesses of the then majority and it was credited with turning many independents with a throw out the bums attitude, I followed talk radio pretty close back then when I wasn’t overseas.
I don’t think we have ever seen anything like what is going on now at the grass roots level.
April 12th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
I don’t see private sector employment relief until Obama is out of office. Nobody smart enough to run a small business is dumb enough to be confident in such an unpredictable political atmosphere.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
SteveH, me neither, I also am not fearing the rest of the stimulus money, I doubt it will have any noticeable effect.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:53 am
Most of the voters are watching TV, not NEO-NEOCON; the polls are definitely encouraging today – but with a timely uptick in employment, the fawning MSM, combined w/ a few more crumbs for the sheep, to the tune of a half-trillion worth, I have to conjecture that it’s going to take Cap & Trade with $6/gal gas to break the camel’s back, and finally bring the shallow left of center Dems to their senses…
April 13th, 2010 at 12:56 am
“The Democratic brand…”
Snake Oil…..
April 13th, 2010 at 7:14 am
Finally! A reason to support ObamaCare!
The New York Times this morning says that Congress knew so little about what it was enacting that it may have accidentally stripped ITSELF of insurance coverage, as of now. Won’t it be fun to watch them explain to us why, exactly, they are so sure that passage of this thing would be good for us, when they didn’t even know what it would do to them?
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y49nllx
(This is a new and improved tinyurl that will show those who are leery of blind links where they are going before they get there.)
Yesterday’s NYT also reported that “wellness” incentives in the bill will effectively permit insurers to charge sick people more than well ones for the same coverage — one of the “abuses” supporters were especially hot to abolish.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yedcx7x
April 13th, 2010 at 9:56 am
I would just like to note that Occam’s Beard has been on a roll lately.
April 13th, 2010 at 9:58 am
It appears that the Democrats are falling into the trap of confirming their old branding — tax and spend. It’s an easy concept to comprehend.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:18 am
As of this minute the O is pontificating in front of the world’s leaders, telling them what they have known for decades about nuclear arms. I wonder if he is capable of realizing the utter contempt in which the grown-ups in the crowd hold him and their ability to exploit his credulity to their own ends. See the new Islamic republic of Turkey and Egypt ganging up on Israel.
Unfortunately to the younger sheeple this will appear like he is leading rather than grandstanding.
Expect a very small bounce in the polls.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:56 am
I need to make a couple of signs for a tea party i’m going to Thursday. Any clever suggestions?
April 13th, 2010 at 11:21 am
In God We Trust
Congress keep your hands where we can see them!
April 13th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
John, And State legislatures….
April 13th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I love the new NJ governor.
http://www.redstate.com/aarongardner/2010/04/12/gov-christie-v-teachers-union-round-2/
April 13th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Darrell said April 12th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
“… I don’t think we have ever seen anything like what is going on now at the grass roots level.”
========================
My fear is that, even if an angry electorate ousts the Dems, the Big Party Machine element of the GOP will go back to business as usual –play the same “rub their noses in it ’cause we’ve got the power now” legislative games as the Dems have been doing; and using the same earmarks/pork/special payback legislation to reward their contributors & supporters.
I want to see a political party that’s driven by concern for the safety of our country and the well-being of its citizens, but sadly I don’t think such a party currently exists.
I certainly DON’T want more politics-as-power-games-between-Dems-and-Repubs, where the victors get four years to play share-the-spoils with their groupies. But– I’m afraid the GOP (Newt Gingrich, I’m talking to YOU here) will offer lip service to Tea Party beliefs just long enough to get elected, then will continue the “strangle production with more legislation and regulation, throw federal money at the resulting economic problems” policies we’re already enduring now.
What do we citizens do if it turns out that BOTH traditional parties are headed up by Big-Government progressives?
April 13th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Mouse, we must recall them, we have a short amount of time to turn this around i.e before interest on the debt exceeds revenue. We wont be able to tolerate any business as usual performance.
April 13th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
“”What do we citizens do if it turns out that BOTH traditional parties are headed up by Big-Government progressives?”"
I’d say both parties are always a work in progress. Our job is to shape the GOP until it is created in the conservative image through our votes and loud voices. That may take maybe several election cycles. If we don’t succeed its a safe bet that the country will go bankrupt.
April 13th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
@ Darrell April 12th 8:12 pm. Gotcha.
April 13th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
> If there was any organized effort to flip the House in ‘94, I was unaware of it.
ELC, that WAS the year of the “Contract With America”, I’d point out. That certainly qualified as a concerted effort.
It was not, however, bolstered by the behavior of an unapologetically arrogant and dismissive administration and legislature.
The results should be… interesting. Either the USA as a concept is seriously on its way out, or this time we really DO throw the bastards out.
April 13th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
> “Yes We’re Canned”
LOL. Nice.