Channel 2 poll: Support for transportation sales tax continues to slip
Lori Geary and Channel 2 Action News have posted another poll that shows support for a transportation sales tax in metro Atlanta continuing to slip – and not just among white Republican voters anymore.
The automated poll, conducted by the Republican-oriented political service firm Rosetta Stone Communications, has a 3.1 percent margin of error. Take a look at the crosstabs here. From the Channel 2 website:
The poll, conducted July 11, found only 33 percent of metro Atlantans support the referendum while 56 percent oppose the measure. Twelve percent remain undecided.
Seventy-one percent of Republicans in metro Atlanta now oppose the referendum, but only 50 percent of Democrats support the July 31 vote. Broken down by race, 47 percent of African-American supporters favor the referendum. Sixty-seven percent of white voters oppose it.
This in the face of a resumed TV campaign.
Those supporting the sales tax point out that, in a mid-summer primary, turnout is likely to be low and thus figuring out who will actually cast a ballot becomes an imprecise science. This will be about turnout, they say.
John Garst of Rosetta Stone sent the following state via email late this afternoon:
“The moment of realization has to be setting in with the business community in Atlanta. After spending millions of dollars on this campaign and seeing poll numbers drop steadily, they need to be searching for plan B.”
The survey, which was conducted on Wednesday night, sampled 1,050 pre-screened primary voters of both parties and was weighted to accurately reflect the demographic and geographic turnout.
“Due to the nature of this issue and the confusion surrounding the polling for this referendum, I invite anyone from the public, the T-Splost campaign, nervous donors or the opposition to call me and I will explain and clarify all numbers.”
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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318 comments Add your comment
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
7:00 pm
@td
The Tea Party in GA needs to roundly and soundly divorce itself from conservative social issues before I would consider them as a serious alternative.
I think I will get a lecture from Centrist on me being misguided but the taint is there.
I am also having a bit of trouble completely discarding the liberalism of my youth in that I can’t simply discount nor discard the need to address the issues of the poor and disadvantaged. What we are doing isn’t working, but doing nothing is also not an option.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
7:05 pm
I learned about imminent domain and the absolute power of government at a very young age, when they took half of my front yard away to 4-lane US 29. Now, 60 years later, US 29 along that stretch is as quiet as a bicycle path, and all of the magnet businesses have dried up. The former family dwellings (the ones that are still standing) are nail salons, insurance franchises and mini-churches.
td
July 13th, 2012
7:09 pm
Look before I leap…
July 13th, 2012
6:51 pm
Good plan. Hope it works.
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
7:12 pm
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
6:53 pm
The Republicans should pass a law that makes the French pay for our roads. I reckon’ the good folks of Georgia would vote for that.
If the French want to help pay for GA roads, they only need offer to sell the army’s guns from 1940 on Craig’s List.
“8 million French Army rifles, never fired, only dropped once”
Bernie
July 13th, 2012
7:16 pm
Kyle Wingfield is drinking the KOOL-AID again! and he wants All of us to join him, in a BIG Gulp of it on July 31.
No Thank-you Kyle your ADVICE and support is something we ALL can
do WITHOUT! You were wrong in your support of NEWT and you are wrong on the T-SPLOST vote TOO!
I wonder how much he is being promised for that one…..?
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
7:17 pm
Make your own impact, in the way you see fit. My Honda costs $4.25 to fill up, and I get 150 miles out of that. Harley-Davidson, the American brand, was never in the running. Not only did they have nothing close to fitting my requiremnents, I figured that I would look really foolish riding a ‘Glide wearing my 4-season kevlar armored jacket and full-face helmet.
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
7:25 pm
Totally off-topic:
Condi Rice reaffirms her “no way, no how” position as #2 on Romney ticket.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/condoleezza-rice-stands-vp-prospects-no-way-181823611.html
A shame. She adds quite a bit of gravitas in terms of foreign policy to Romney’s campaign.
Some appeal to women and a potential dent into Obama’s hold on the African-American bloc.
Seeing quite a bit of chatter about Pawlenty the past few days but I just don’t see that as an option that moves the needle much in Romney’s favor.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
7:30 pm
Pawlenty? Yikes. 3rd-banana material. Make Condi an offer she can’t refuse. As far as not really wanting to run for elected office, well…all she has to do is mop up the floor with Joe Biden in a couple of debates.
Dave
July 13th, 2012
7:34 pm
If, as I hope, this goes down in flames at the end of the month, I hope one of the “business community’s” selling points, you aren’t going to get a second chance, is an idle threat. I’ve already early voted against the proposal. I did it reluctantly. We need to spend money on transit and infrastructure; but, we need to do it intelligently, something this proposal hasn’t accomplished. Rather, it has thrown money to various localities to get their leaders’ votes. The “business community,” read the folks that will make money on the billions of dollars in projects, no matter what they are, are fine with whatever gets passed, money is money. There’s a whole lot of people that I’ve talked to that are willing to pay an extra penny for however long it takes to build what we need. But what’s on the table isn’t what we need, it’s a local wish fulfillment list? The Beltline is a transit project? There are other examples. Then there’s the lack of trust in our “leaders.” The Speaker is totally opposed to any restriction in his perceived, unfettered, right to feed at the trough of the “business community.” The braver of his buddies are pushing a $100 per gift limit on bribes. These are the people you trust to spend the extra billions? Not me.
Come back with a true regional plan that lays out what will be done and why, with a process that prevents the pols and the business buddies from screwing us again. Then you will have my vote.
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
7:41 pm
@Delbert
Not sure she “wipes the floor” with Biden.
For all his buffoonery, Biden is neither unintelligent or unknowledgeable. Biden’s biggest problem is his tendency to shoot from the hip.
Rice is intelligent and certainly well-steeped in the intracacies of global politics but I have concerns about her blind loyalty and support of the Bush/Cheney ideals of cowboy diplomacy.
td
July 13th, 2012
7:42 pm
Look before I leap…
July 13th, 2012
7:25 pm
I do not see Ms. Rice either. I think it comes down to Portman or Rubio and I think the final decision will be made on if Romney believes Ohio or Florida will be closer.
Have to remember that Romney is probably the most business savvy candidate to run for President that we may have every had run for President (at least in the past 30 years). When you look at what moves he will take then you have to put on a business cap and see what would get him closer to finishing the deal he wants to make.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
7:43 pm
Even the guy who wants to build his maglev line from Kennesaw to Vinings is against this iteration of SPLOST.
VoteNo
July 13th, 2012
7:50 pm
tsplost–a total ripoff that will just enrich connected developers and a few businesses. Vote no!! No more tax ripoffs!!!!
Voted yes
July 13th, 2012
7:55 pm
Voted yes for the following reasons
A. Transportation dollars are disappearing at the federal level …meaning we need to address transportation at the local/regional level
B. this is one of the rare times we as citizens have a chance to choose our own destiny….if you did not get involved in shaping the list then shame on you…a vote no will ensure our elected officials decide for us
C. The project list is a good one meeting local needs at a regional level while providing some key regional benefits like the interchange improvements at ga 400, i20 and i75 where they intersect with i285
D. We are in a global economy to do nothing means we lose future potential economic gains to our global competitors
E. because we all think differently there will never be a perfect list …the only way to a perfect list would be to live and think like communist china ..which has activists that are jailed and booted out of the country because they disagree with the state
Schummann
July 13th, 2012
8:00 pm
T-totaly
S-stupid
P-people
L-letting
S-supreme gub-ment (aka: government)
T-Tax us more
Schummann
July 13th, 2012
8:01 pm
oops left out O-our
T-totaly
S-stupid
P-people
O-our
L-letting
S-supreme gub-ment (aka: government)
T-Tax us more
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
8:01 pm
Look before I leap- I really did not forsee Biden being in this for a 2nd term. Yes, he is an old pol and he knows the turf, but his intellect is not readily apparent. I think you put too much emphasis on Rice’s loyalty to the previous administration. I don’t see that a serious factor, and the Obama campaign would find it difficult to gain advantage in painting with that brush. Rubio is too young and inexperienced in my opinion. I personally don’t like the idea of selling hard for the Tea Party. Portman, I see as a serious contender, and not just as the Ohio or Florida choice. From what I’ve read, he could play-act Biden in a debate, which would leave the real Biden to resort to standup comedy to get through it.
Cujo Bendi
July 13th, 2012
8:01 pm
Marlboro Woman, Atlanta is one of the cheapest kinda big cities there are. Go somewhere.
proudaclu
July 13th, 2012
8:05 pm
I’ll vote for anything a republican is against
Vote no Tsplost
July 13th, 2012
8:06 pm
For those saying the roads are in a tangle and traffic needs relief, I am with you, just do it with a FUEL TAX. get your hand out of my wallet.
Cujo Bendi
July 13th, 2012
8:07 pm
Well, I doubt I’ll vote for this dismally planned TSplost referendum. It doesn’t have nearly enough transit in it. But, if it did all the fatties and good ol’ boys in Coob, Cherokee, Gwinnett and Henry wouldn’t vote for it anyway because people in the South think you are low class if you take public transit anywhere. Most of them have never been to anywhere on mass-transit other than a Braves game.
G Mare
July 13th, 2012
8:08 pm
I am an “old, white Democrat,” and I am voting NO for two reasons. I am on a fixed income, and I know better than to trust the politicians with any more of my (OUR) money.
Larry
July 13th, 2012
8:08 pm
They should have built an outer perimeter 30 years ago; but, the downtown powers tried to shove everything down there. NO ON TSPLOST! It will just give the politician lots of money to shower on their reelections and it will get nothing substantive from it.
Cujo Bendi
July 13th, 2012
8:09 pm
Vote no Tsplost, I agree!!!!
Baron Dekalb
July 13th, 2012
8:09 pm
@ALIEN: I have also lived in Chicago and visited the other cities you mention, as well as other cities with functional mass transit such as Paris, Madrid, London, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City. All of my friends who live in Chicago ride commuter rail and the “L” to work every day, I don;t hear any complaints about rust but obviously they are not as concerned with superficial aspects of urban life as you are. Those are real big cities… Atlanta is just a sprawling small town, thanks to parsimonious and short sighted people like you.
Blueprint for Plan B
July 13th, 2012
8:12 pm
There is a plan that would work, at least for parts of Metro Atlanta. No plan is perfect, but some are better than others:
http://www.north-x-northwest.com
Winnie
July 13th, 2012
8:15 pm
TSPLOST is a long list of projects that don’t really address our traffic problems. Too many projects were included like the improvements at McCollum Field in Cobb or the Beltline to take the project seriously as a traffic reducer. Why in the world would Cobb County see a train from Cumberland to the Arts center as the best way to reduce traffic in the county?
The fact is that the pols had all kinds of reasons for the project list they came up with and traffic improvment was only one of the reasons.
We need to say “no” and have the politcians who work for us after all, come up with a better project list.
Wilbur
July 13th, 2012
8:16 pm
Cujo,
You are a racist.
Dave
July 13th, 2012
8:24 pm
Winnie is right.
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
8:25 pm
@td
FL is tourism and retirees.
A soft economy means less tourism dollars. While the economy remains soft, tourism numbers in FL are on the rise. 2011 was a record year and this years numbers are looking better.
So there is no real advantage there for a Romney/Rubio ticket on that front.
If Romney even hints at reforming Social Security, there are not enough Rubios in the US to save his ass in FL. An remember, Rubio has not shown any interest is altering his stance that he is not interested in the #2 spot on the ticket. It is not really a win/win for him. If he truly aspires to the top job, his best bet is the accept and have Romney lose in Nov. That clears the way to make a sprint in 2016 when Democratic fatigue is at its highest and the opposition field is wide open. If he accepts and Romney wins in Nov, it will be 8 years before he can consider a serious run for POTUS.
OH should be a better opportunity for Romney but according to FiveThirtyEight, Obama’s is stronger there than in FL. However, OH is also one of the most likely influential tipping states.
I think Romney needs to start thinking a bit outside the box – not in a Palin way, but more like a “Joe(sephine) the Plumber” type.
Hutchison from TX, Snowe from Maine and if Libby Dole were 10 years younger…
If Romney goes totally stupid and names Bachmann, game over and the Obama’s won’t have to worry about packing up in Jan. Romney has an interesting challenge – how to energize the base without alienating the middle.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
8:33 pm
I lived the first 22 and the most recent 32 years of my life in and near Atlanta, and in between, Chicago, Boston (twice), metro Baltimore, metro Philadelphia, Oakland, Honolulu and northern New Jersey. I have also lived in the southern cities of Charleston and Knoxville by way of contrast. All of those places, 1 or more years; 2 years in 3 of them, 5 in 1 of them.The major difference I see between Atlanta and all but the smallest 3 of those cities is lack of connectivity to other large metropolitan areas. Atlanta is a provincial island city that has not developed to fit well even with its own outlying areas.
td
July 13th, 2012
8:41 pm
Look before I leap…
July 13th, 2012
8:25 pm
I have rental property in PCB and last year was a very good year. I do however think this is partially the case because the year before was the worst year ever and people will find a way to go to the beach.
It could just be me and the circle of friends I hang with or it could be something else entirely but I do not think the polls are going to be accurate this year and I think there is a big hidden vote for Romney that is not being accounted for.
Cujo Bendi
July 13th, 2012
8:49 pm
@Wilbur, I AM WHITE. I grew up in Haralson county (Buchanan, Bremen) and have lived in Atlanta and Los Angeles. I know both sides of the political spectrum. I know how short sighted people in the burbs and the country are. I came to the city because I like city life better than sitting in the house and getting fat and watching TV and not living life to the fullest. I also like city girls better than the slouchy ones in the country. Anyway, mass transit is the answer to our traffic probems in atlanta, but people here don’t wanna live close to their job and they have a low opinion of people that ride trains and buses.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
8:51 pm
I read Henson’s “Plan B” with interest. It is logical and well thought out. I have never failed to vote for our local county SPLOST. This rancid mix of rotting shepherd’s pie and sushi that is being served up by special interests, politicians and moon-eyed regional seers will not get my vote.
just sayin'
July 13th, 2012
8:55 pm
July 31 is the time we say no to new taxes. Politicians (both parties) believe that we are so stupid that we will buy into anything on an emotional basis.
The first Tuesday in November is the time we say no to many incumbents.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
8:58 pm
@ Look – “If Romney goes totally stupid and names Bachmann, game over..”
Yes, and that is so far beyond any reasonable stretch of my imagination that I have to say that in that case, I would apply for asylum in the UK. (I lived there for a year, as well.)
Tychus Findlay
July 13th, 2012
8:59 pm
Furthermore, I live in town and commute against traffic. Sure, I live in a 2 bedroom house in Sandy Springs, not in a 5 bedroom mcmansion in a planned community, but it’s the tradeoff for not sitting in 2+ hours of traffic daily. If the outer lying counties want more access to Atlanta, then levy taxes in Gwinnett, Cobb, Forsyth, Hall etc. Not in Fulton and DeKalb.
A Conservative Voice
July 13th, 2012
9:03 pm
I was traveling North on I-75 this afternoon and at MM 211 (McDonough) the traffic came to a standstill. It was B to B for the next 11 miles and at MM222 it cleared up. What was the problem, you ask?…….well, I’ll tell you…..beginning at MM220 there were signs warning of road construction two miles ahead……there was NO road construction. The whole reason it was backed up was the PRESENCE OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION SIGNS and people were slowing down because of it. And now you’re asking me to pay an additional 1% ST to fund THESE IDIOTS AT THE GADOT? I don’t think so…..
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
9:20 pm
“The first Tuesday in November is the time we say no to many incumbents”
I used to be a huge advocate of “vote the thieving b*stards out”.
But sometimes it is “better the devil you know…”
And the real issue is not the candidates or office-holders, it is the system and the processes.
And above all that, it is the money and the government’s ability to tax or as it should be known, “legally steal money from you”.
For every dime taken from us, we should get a dime’s worth of services in return. But we don’t.
We get less
For the size and scale of the federal, state and local presence in our lives, we should be able to get more than a dime’s worth of return on our investments. But we don’t. We see waste, “pork”, graft and outright theft. We get a dollar’s worth of goods for every $10 we spend.
Taxes are up and we yet we see falling scholastic performance, rusting bridges, 4 hour wait times for driver license renewals, increased commute times and yet our government leaders enjoy lobby paid trips to Europe, $200 dinners at Capital Grille and Master’s golf tickets and even with that, SCOTUS said unlimited corporate political money is good for the Union.
If we want true reform, it MUST start with our checkbooks.
My Two Cents
July 13th, 2012
9:22 pm
Voting a big “NO”!
Hoo-ha fan
July 13th, 2012
9:23 pm
TSPLOST should be renamed as LOST CAUSE…sorry corrupt cronies…Deal and Reed…never gonna get it.
P bo
July 13th, 2012
9:26 pm
OK, movers and shakers, lets move to plan-B tsplost is doomed
bush tax break up in the air
health care tax may be on the way
you govt. types love to get into the working mans pocket
Cleo
July 13th, 2012
9:33 pm
Repubs are pushing this because they argue that metro atlanta should be paying for metro Atlanta projects. However, we already do. The vast majority of miles driven and fuel tax paid is right in the metro area. Where were all the low deficit hawks and teaparty people when for decades connected politicians in S. GA spent millions and millions on developmental highways for no good reason, other than “build it and they will come.” The metro area has been a net fuel tax revenue loser for decades, Never getting as much as they were collecting, watching connected rural counties getting windfalls.
What are the real options without the SPLOST though. Deal and others realize they’re going to be forced to do something if it fails. Probably raise gas taxes on the whole state. We’re already decades behind where we should be. If this gets approved it will still be years before we seen things actually built. If we put it off, it’s only going to get dramatically worse.
I just hate to see the anti-tax teapartiers, cause some real damage in this state and will take us decades to recover from. People say they just don’t trust the gov. or this tax. So what, you don’t do anything. That’s like people who say they don’t trust the institution of marraige. Hey, at some point you just got to take the dive and hope for the best.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
9:40 pm
@ A Conserative Voice “The whole reason it was backed up was the PRESENCE OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION SIGNS and people were slowing down because of it.”
Can’t you see it? It’s part of the master plan of these evil people to deceive and manipulate the citizens into voting for the SPLOST! Tomorrow it will be the old “Fines doubled in construction zones” trick. Next week they’ll be dragging out old wrecks from the crushers’ yards and strategically positioning them in the right lanes of all major routes into the city, with fake cops who are today wearing green Statue of Liberty costumes along local thoroughfares.
NtheNo
July 13th, 2012
10:00 pm
I’ve already voted NO to T$$$PLOST and it felt so good.
alenworn
July 13th, 2012
10:02 pm
LIES, LIES, LIES – just another money grab for politicians, we already have an income tax, you want a sales tax approaching TN??? FORGET IT
Cut
July 13th, 2012
10:05 pm
NO NO NO NO also OMG 1012
alenworn
July 13th, 2012
10:14 pm
Vote no people!!! Send these politicians a message!!! Everyone see the Beltline admin expenses recently?? Meals, birthday parties, you name it, government gone wild. TSPLOST will be worst. You may get a new intersection or 2 but you’ll plunk down 8% for the rest of your fricking life. Forget it
no taxes
July 13th, 2012
10:22 pm
the taxes I pay to this corrupt government are already obscene—no more taxes—cut costs to the bone, cut taxes. VOTE NO!
Ed
July 13th, 2012
11:11 pm
The promised job creation with TSPLOST will not add to our national GDP since nothing is exported for sale to others? This will become a never ending tax just like the GA 400 toll tax that was extended beyond the promised expiration. Politicians of both parties love to levy taxes and if TSPLOST tax is approved they will not give it up.