Category: Wall Street Journal

Political Perceptions: Poll Points to Risks for Romney

Political Perceptions: Poll Points to Risks for Romney

By Aaron Zitner, Associated Press

  • The Wall Street JournalSeptember 19, 2012, 9:08 AM

Mitt Romney campaigns in the rain at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio,               Friday, Sept. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Which voters are causing the most trouble for Mitt Romney?

 The new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, released Tuesday evening, shows Mr. Romney trailing President Barack Obama — perhaps dangerously so, given the shrinking pool of undecided voters. But it also points to ways that Mr. Romney could be winning, if only he could hold on to some big voting groups that have supported him more firmly in the past.

Take a look at white voters with college educations. They make up about a third of all voters, and they’ve been open to supporting the Republican nominee at various points this year. But lately, they’ve been backing away, contributing to Mr. Romney’s currently lagging position in the race. Mr. Romney trails Mr. Obama by five percentage points among all likely voters, with 45% support, compared with the president’s 50%.

In May, Mr. Romney had a 13-point lead among college-educated whites. But his position has steadily deteriorated. This month, Mr. Romney actually trails the president by two percentage points among white college graduates—the third straight month in which Mr. Romney has sunk to just about parity.

Mr. Romney’s failure to build a stronger position among these voters is significant. Given the president’s commanding lead among minority voters, Mr. Romney has to build big margins among other large demographic groups. Continue reading “Political Perceptions: Poll Points to Risks for Romney”

Romney Regrets Unions Prevent Deep Cuts in Federal Workforce

By Peter Nicholas and Victoria McGrane, AP

September 18, 2012, 6:08 PM

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/David McNew)


Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney suggested he would reduce the federal government workforce if he wins the election and voiced regret that union protections would prevent him from cutting more deeply, in remarks at a secretly taped fundraising event.

The video of Mr. Romney’s private question-and-answer session with donors in May includes an exchange with a man who urged him to “clean house” if he is elected. The questioner described Attorney General Eric Holder as “probably the most corrupt” AG in U.S. history and advised Mr. Romney to target two regulatory agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Continue reading “Romney Regrets Unions Prevent Deep Cuts in Federal Workforce”

Paul Moreno: How Public Unions Became So Powerful

The Wall Street JournalPaul Moreno: How Public Unions Became So Powerful

By 1970, nearly 20% of American workers were employed by government.

By PAUL MORENO

The Chicago teachers strike has put Democrats in a difficult position. Teacher unions are the most powerful constituency in the Democratic Party, but their interests are ever more clearly at odds with taxpayers and inner-city families. Chicago is reviving scenes from the last crisis of liberalism in the 1970s, when municipal unions drove many American cities to disorder and bankruptcy. Where did their power come from?

 Before the 1950s, government-employee unions were almost inconceivable. When the Boston police unionized and went on strike in 1919, the ensuing chaos—rioting and looting—crippled the public-union idea. Massachusetts Gov. Calvin Coolidge became a national hero by breaking the strike, issuing the dictum: “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” President Woodrow Wilson called the strike “an intolerable crime against civilization.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt also rejected government unionism. He told the head of the Federation of Federal Employees in 1937 that collective bargaining “cannot be transplanted into the public service. The very nature and purposes of government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer” because “the employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws.” Continue reading “Paul Moreno: How Public Unions Became So Powerful”

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