April 19, 2010 05:38 PM UTC

Pew Study a Wake up Call to Democrats--But is Anybody Listening?

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• by: Middle of the Road

A new survey by the Pew Research Center offers a grim prediction of this year’s election for Democrats as well as how Americans view the role the federal government is playing in their lives.

The broader question for politicos is how does that translate at the polls if you’re a Democrat and an incumbent? Badly, according to Pew Director Andrew Kohut.

The level of mistrust is sobering; only 22% responded that they view government favorably “almost always or most of the time.”

Compare this to every 3 out of 4 surveyed that said they were either “angry or frustrated;” these are numbers considered

…among the lowest measures in the half-century since pollsters have been asking the question.

The bad news just gets worse; according to the Pew Research Center, “the number of Americans who have a favorable view of the legislative branch declined by half over the past year, to 25 percent, the lowest level Pew has ever recorded.”

And that number should give both Democrats and Republicans pause because there doesn’t seem to be much differentiation being made by those polled–at this point, there’s no trust in government or Congress, no matter who you are.

Democrats, however, face a bigger uphill climb this election season because of several factors–a bad economy, the passage of the health care reform bill, the fact that they control Congress and the White House and growing dissatisfaction among Independents.

Bluntly put, you lose the Independents; you lose your job.

Politely put, the Democratic Party is either in denial or “…have been politically asleep when we talk about the intensity of their views,” Kohut says. ”

Independents who are “highly frustrated with government are highly committed to voting this year,” he says. “And they favor the Republican candidates in their districts by an overwhelming 66-to-13 percent margin.”

And before you continue to dismiss the Tea Party, let’s evaluate how they did in this poll–nearly a 1/3 of Independents and a 1/3 of self identified Republicans declared that the Tea Party most closely reflects their views and their level of dissatisfaction with the role government is playing in their lives.

The results of this polling/study were so grim that, according to Kohut who was interviewed on NPR this a.m., the release of the results were delayed in March in order for the Research Center to do three more in depth follow up surveys. Kohut admitted that the numbers were so bad, he initially doubted their validity.

Perhaps it is time to stop spinning how voters are going to come around once they understand what the Democratic Party is trying to do. Perhaps it is time to get seriously motivated or face the fact that the Democratic Party is going to experience a bloodbath in November.