ConservativeHome's Survey blog

What GOP activists believe about the Bush tax cuts, Social Security, military spending and more

Ryan Streeter

We have heard a lot this week about how America is divided on how Congress should extend the Bush tax cuts.  But what do America's conservative Republicans think about this and other big issues?

They are not nearly as divided.

Here's a sampling from the Republican Panel, ConservativeHome's weekly poll of more than 2,000 conservatives (you can join the ConservativeHome readers' version of the Republican Panel by taking our introductory survey here):

Extending the Bush tax cuts:

• 86% think the tax cuts should be extended for all income brackets
• 10% think the tax cuts should be extended for all but those earning more than $1million per year
• 4% think the tax cuts should be extended for all but those earning more than $250,000 per year

Reforming Social Security:

• 79% think that people under the age of 40 should be allowed to invest part of their Social Security taxes into private accounts instead of the traditional program 
• 55% favor raising the retirement age to 70 for those under 40, while 29% say the retirement age should not be raised

Funding the military during tough economic times:

• 36% say don’t touch the defense budget
• 51% say only touch the defense budget as a last resort
• 10% say to cut defense by the same percentage as the rest of the government
• 3% say that defense should be cut more than everything else

Defining themselves fiscally and socially:

• 58% say they are both fiscally and socially conservative
• 37% say they are fiscal more than social conservatives
• 3% say they are social more than fiscal conservatives
• 2% say they are neither

Thinking about the future of the RNC:

• 39% say Michael Steele should be replaced as RNC leader
• 25% say they have no opinion on whether he should be replaced
• 20% say he needs more time
• 16% say he has done a good job and should stay

America's most influential conservatives support higher retirement ages, private accounts much more than spending constraints in Social Security reform

The ConservativeHome100 is our poll of some of America's most influential conservatives. 

The poll includes notables such as Arthur Brooks, David Frum, John Podhoretz, John O'Sullivan, Reihan Salam, and Karl Rove. Some members have asked to remain anonymous.

Last week's poll focused on the Bush tax cuts, which continues to be relevant this week given the debate in Washington about whether and how to extend them. If you missed it, the results are here.

This week, in light of the ongoing debate about the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction proposals, we asked the ConservativeHome100 panel about reforming Social Security.

When asked about making Social Security solvent in the long-term, respondents were asked which policy solutions they support:

• 90% support raising the retirement age to 70 for people 40 years old and younger
• 88% support allowing people under 40 years of age to invest in voluntary private accounts
• 53% support cutting benefits
• 12% support reasonable tax increases

When asked whether bipartisan progress on Social Security is possible in the 112th Congress:

• 43% said yes
• 41% said no
• 16% said they were unsure

The ConservativeHome100 panel and the Republican Panel, our poll of grassroots conservatives, support private accounts at similar rates. But the former is more supportive or raising the retirement age than the latter. 

Well-informed, influential conservatives clearly see significant reforms such as private accounts and raised retirement ages as more consequential than spending constraint.

Perhaps the radical nature of these reforms explains why less than half of respondents believe bi-partisan reform is possible.The most needed changes to Social Security are undoubtedly unpopular - and therefore politically difficult.

Conservative activists: give us private Social Security accounts, extend the Bush tax cuts for ALL income brackets, and replace Michael Steele

Ryan Streeter

The Republican Panel is ConservativeHome’s weekly poll of active conservatives across America.  More than two-thirds of respondents have given money or time to political candidates.

This week’s Republican Panel surveyed 1,066 individuals on 3 big issues facing the GOP and America: the Bush tax cuts, Social Security reform, and the leadership of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Here's an overview of the results:

• Support for extending the Bush tax cuts for ALL income brackets – and not just the wealthy – is overwhelming: 86% of respondents hold this view. Clearly, grassroots conservatives favor equal treatment in the tax code when it comes to tax cuts.
• Support for private accounts in Social Security is also overwhelming, with 78% saying they believe people under 40 should be allowed to invest in private accounts rather than staying in the traditional program.
• A majority of conservatives believe that the Social Security retirement age should be raised for Americans under 40.
• And, finally, the largest share - 39% - of conservatives believe that Michael Steele should be replaced at the RNC. However, 25% of respondents have no opinion on the matter, suggesting real issues - such as taxes and Social Security - are more important to ordinary voters than the Washington political class.

The Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress extends them. When asked their view of extending the cuts, here's how those polled responded: 

• 86% said the Bush tax cuts should be extended for all income brackets
• 10% said the Bush tax cuts should be extended for everyone except those earning more than $1 million
• 4% said the Bush tax cuts should be extended for everyone except those earning more than $250,000
• 1% said the Bush tax cuts should expire at the end of the year

78% of respondents favor allowing people under the age of 40 to begin investing in private savings accounts instead of paying into the traditional Social Security program.

55% of respondents support raising the Social Security retirement age to 70 for everyone under 40 years of age, compared to the 29% who do not. 

39% of respondents think that Michael Steele "has been a bad RNC chairman and should be replaced." 

And finally, when asked whether they are fiscally conservative, socially conservative, both or neither, the majority said both:

• 58% said they are both fiscally and socially conservative
• 37% said they are more fiscally than socially conservative
• 3% said they are more socially than fiscally conservative
• 2% said they are neither