NEW: Cicilline, Chafee Plummet in Latest Brown Poll
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Congressman David Cicilline’s job approval rating has dropped again, down to just 15 percent, according to the latest Brown University poll.
The poll has Cicilline and Governor Lincoln Chafee as the two least popular elected officials in the state. Chafee has just 22 percent approval among Rhode Island voters.
Researchers at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and the John Hazen White Public Opinion Laboratory at Brown University surveyed a random sample of 514 of Rhode Island’s registered voters on Feb. 16-18, 2012. Overall, the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTState Treasurer Gina Raimondo’s approval rating has risen to 57.7 percent from 52.0 percent in December 2011. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras also has stronger job approval ratings (59.8 percent versus 51.7 percent in December 2011).
Obama’s Contraception Policy
The survey also found that Obama’s decision to address public concerns about the role of religious organizations in providing contraceptive services under the Affordable Health Care Act has been favorably received by Rhode Islanders. Obama’s revised contraceptive policy requires a woman’s insurance company to offer contraceptive care directly to a subscriber if her religious employer objects to providing these services as part of its health plan.
Under the Obama administration’s previous policy, churches were exempt from providing contraceptive services to women, but religiously affiliated organizations including hospitals, charities, and universities were required to provide contraceptive services as part of their health plan. Rhode Islanders were split on this old policy, with 47.5 percent approving and 47.0 percent opposing. Women support the old policy (54.5 percent) but men oppose it in nearly equal numbers (56.3 percent). Support for the original policy is strongest among voters ages 18 to 44 (64.6 percent) while the majority of voters age 65 and over oppose the policy (58.9 percent).
Rhode Islanders show significantly more support for the revised policy, which requires insurers to step in and offer contraceptive services directly to women if religious institutions object to providing those services (56.8 percent approve). Again, women have a much higher approval rate (65.7 percent) than men, who are split on the new policy (46.7 percent oppose/45.4 approve). A large majority of voters ages 18 to 44 supports the new policy (74.5 percent) with those age 65 and over split (47.0 percent approve/46.1 percent oppose).
95.5 Percent Down on RI Economy
An overwhelming majority of Rhode Islanders rated the national economy not so good or poor (88.5 percent), a number that mirrors national polls about the economy. Almost all Rhode Islanders (95.5 percent) rated their own state’s economy not so good or poor. However, 59 percent of respondents rated their personal finances as good or excellent.
Voters Against Taxes & Cuts
The Taubman survey suggests that Rhode Island voters oppose most of Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s proposals to raise additional state revenues to help balance the budget. They are against a $30 increase in driver’s license and biannual registration fees (67.5 percent oppose) as well as tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge (57.0 percent oppose). A strong majority (80.3 percent) opposes an increased tax on restaurant meals and beverages from the current seven percent to ten percent. However, most respondents support the modest four-cent tax hike on a pack of cigarettes (71.0 percent approve).
The poll indicates that Rhode Islanders do not agree with most of Chafee’s proposed spending cuts. A majority (53.7 percent) opposes cutting the annual $522,674 in aid to the state-run public television station Channel 36 and a strong majority (64.2 percent) did not want to increase the co-pays that low-income families pay for subsidized childcare, a cut that would save the state an estimated $275,000 per year.
Almost half of voters agree with ending state-subsidized dental care for low-income Rhode Islanders over the age of 21 (49.6 support/42.8 oppose), which would save the state an estimated $2.7 million per year.
