Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and Democracy Corps, in conjunction with Campaign for America’s Future, conducted a straw poll among registered participants at the annual Netroots Nation conference of progressive activists, bloggers and online journalists from around the country. The poll has been a feature of the conference for the past two years.
Poll results show that progressives are extremely focused on passing comprehensive health care reform; 60 percent of attendees rate health care reform as one of their top two priorities and 23 percent say they are already personally working to pass reform, which proves a larger proportion than achieved by any other priority.
Other key findings:
- Participants prefer Representative Joe Sestak over Senator Arlen Specter for the Democratic nomination for Senate in 2010 though neither candidate reaches 50 percent (46 percent choose Sestak, 10 percent choose Specter and 33 percent remain undecided). Representative Sestak is also viewed more favorably than Specter personally with a favorability rating of 46 compared to 15 for Senator Specter.
- While comprehensive health care reform is one of their top two priorities for six-in-ten attendees, many feel that reform must include a public option and indeed a majority of attendees (53 percent) say that they cannot support a health care reform bill that does not include a public option.
- But a plurality of attendees (46 percent) support the compromise energy bill passed by the House rather than oppose it (27 percent) because of concessions to special interests.
- President Obama is immensely popular with conference attendees. The president’s job approval rating is 95 percent, and 85 percent of attendees hold a favorable view of Obama, compared to just 2 percent who rate him unfavorably.
- Not surprisingly, Sarah Palin is extremely unpopular with conference attendees. Just 1 percent of conference attendees rate Palin favorably while 88 percent rate her unfavorably. In addition to not having a positive view of her personally, a plurality of conference attendees (36 percent) also rate Palin as the Republican they feel would be easiest to beat in the 2012 election for president.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is second with a fifth of attendees choosing him.
