Politico has just published the results of a new poll indicating that - in spite of the teabaggers -citizens of Rep. Tom Perriello's district (the 5th) support cap and trade legislation by a 17-point (42%-25%) margin. More good news: in this case, doing the right thing from a moral and economic perspective has also turned out to be the "right" thing to do politically, with significantly more 5th CD voters (33%-20%, with 39% unsure) saying that Perriello's vote for energy reform legislation makes them more favorably inclined towards him. This increased support comes not only from liberals (62% "more favorable" vs. just 4% "less favorable") but also moderates (35%-11%). Even among conservatives, Tom Perriello's support for clean energy and carbon cap legislation makes 21% feel more favorable towards him, with 32% less favorable. That's actually not nearly as bad as I thought it would be among conservatives, given the constant lies, wild distortions, and general idiocy spewing from the right-wing noise machine.
Even more good news: Congressman Perriello's overall job approval rating is strong, with 43% of 5th CD voters approving and just 23% disapproving (34% are not sure). Among Democrats, Perriello is approved of by a huge (72%-5%) margin. Among independents, Perriello has a decent, +8 net approval rating (35%-27%). Not surprisingly, Republicans on balance disapprove of Perriello's performance, but it's actually not that bad at -19 points (19%-38%, with the remaining 43% unsure).Finally, approval ratings for other figures and groups in the 5th CD are:
NET POSITIVES
*Barack Obama: 49% positive-37% negative
*Mark Warner: 54%-17%
*Environmental groups: 53%-19%
*Jim Webb: 35%-19%
*Coal companies: 30%-15%
*Chamber of commerce: 23%-14%
NET NEGATIVES
*Rush Limbaugh: 21%-45%
*Sarah Palin: 36%-40%
*Oil companies: 22%-41%
The bottom line message here is that, if you're in Congress, you can do the right thing morally - at least on clean energy/climate change legislation - and still prosper politically. To put it another way, there is some justice in the world after all.
P.S. Uh, Glenn Nye, are you listening to all of this?
