Via Steve Benen, here’s a fascinating little poll result. It’s from Suffolk University, and it’s limited to registered voters in Florida, but it’s still the first time I’ve ever seen this question polled:
Do you think the Republicans are intentionally stalling efforts to jumpstart the economy to insure that Barack Obama is not re-elected?
Results are below. What’s interesting isn’t just that half of all voters think the answer is yes, it’s the breakdown: A quarter of all Republicans and a third of all conservatives also think the answer is yes. In other words, this isn’t just a liberal conspiracy theory. Even a lot of conservatives recognize what’s going on. I wouldn’t make too much of a single state poll, but those numbers are high enough that they might represent a glimmering recognition of something that’s only been Beltway chatter up to now. If even their own supporters start to believe that they’re deliberately tanking the economy for partisan gain, it could spell trouble for Republicans.1 It would be interesting to see further polling on this question at a national level.
1Assuming, of course, that conservatives who understand what’s going on actually disapprove of this. If they hate Obama enough, they might think it’s actually a fine and dandy strategy.
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