* December 15, 2010, 1:00 PM ET
WSJ/NBC Poll Shows Solid Support for Tax Package
By Jonathan Weisman and Danny Yadron
The tax compromise that passed the Senate this afternoon maintains solid support across the ideological spectrum, despite strenuous attacks from liberal activists and some conservative leaders, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.
President Barack Obama delivers a statement in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Wednesday. (Photo by Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images)
The poll found that 59% approve of the agreement, against 36% that disapprove, and those numbers are relatively consistent across party lines. The poll of 1,000 adults conducted between Dec. 9 and 13 has a 3.1 percentage point margin of error. Among Democrats, 54% approve of the deal, while 68% of Republicans and 60% of independents do. Fifty-seven percent of self-described liberals like the compromise; 60% of conservatives do.
The finding could be a boon to President Barack Obama, who defied many in his party to cut the deal with Senate Republican leaders. It also suggests the activists in both parties are not speaking to the bulk of their parties. Two potential Republican presidential candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have come out strongly against the deal, while an array of elected Democrats have castigated it as a giveaway to the rich. The measure passed the Senate 81-19 and now moves to the House.
(For the full poll results, check back with WSJ.com at 6:30 p.m.)
“I don’t know if he has any other choice” but to compromise, Rita Antebi, 81 years old, a lifelong Democrat and retired kindergarten teacher from South Brunswick, N.J., said of the president. “He’s doing what he can before we get a Republican government.”
The tax legislation extends all of President George W. Bush’s income tax and investment tax cuts for two years, including tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000. It also extends unemployment insurance for 13 months, cuts the payroll tax for almost all workers, and maintains a bevy of tax cuts for the working poor that were in last year’s stimulus law.
Among those polled, 61% called that mix a fair compromise on both sides. Twenty-three percent said Mr. Obama gave up too much, while 10% said GOP leaders did.
But the discontent within the parties is substantial. Forty percent of liberal Democrats say the president sacrificed too much to get the deal, while 20% of Republicans saw their side giving up too much.
“I don’t like to see one group give up a lot of their ideals just because they want to push something through,” said Steve Wilson, 48, in reference to the Obama-McConnell tax deal. Mr. Wilson, of Lakewood, Colo., has been unemployed for more than eight months, he said. He used to be a service repairman for computerized embroidery equipment. “I want to see concessions on both sides.”
Democratic leaders have been particularly incensed by the deal struck on the estate tax, which lapsed this year but would be set for 2011 and 2012 at 35% on the value of estates over $5 million. Some modest estate planning by couples would shield from taxation estates valued up to $10 million.
Republican opponents have zeroed in on the 13-month extension of unemployment benefits, which they say should be paid for by equal spending cuts. Some, such as Mr. Romney, have said the routine extensions of such benefits are discouraging some Americans from seeking work.
But the bulk of the public is behind the compromisers.
Arthur Bullock, 53, who sells office equipment just outside of Washington in Silver Spring, Md., said November’s historic electoral loss has made Mr. Obama go “outside the box and go outside the Democratic line.”
“I know you can’t please everyone all the time,” Mr. Bullock said. “But you’ve got to find that middle ground. Great presidents do that.”
