Message #173378

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from The Washington Post....

Bernie Sanders remains one of America's most popular politicians

But not among Republicans, who strongly prefer President Trump.

By PHILIP BUMP | 7:11PM EDT - Wednesday, March 15, 2017

A FASCINATING new survey from Fox News asked Americans their opinions of a number of political leaders and politically relevant organizations. No elected official included in the survey had a larger net favorability — overall favorable views minus unfavorable ones — than Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont), continuing Sanders's strong showing in such polls.

Somewhat surprisingly, the second-highest net favorability was held by Planned Parenthood. Part of this is probably because the organization enjoys strong partisan support, and has in polls in the past. Had the NRA been included, it, too, probably would have been highly popular, thanks to a push from Republicans.

Besides Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat-Massachusetts) and Vice President Pence were the most popular politicians on net. Notice that the embattled Affordable Care Act is better viewed on net than President Trump and most of the other Republicans included in the poll.



At the bottom were House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky). House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Republican-Wisconsin) was less popular on net than the unpopular president — but both fared better than WikiLeaks.

If we break out the polling by party, the results shift dramatically.

Among Democrats, Sanders takes the top position. (Hillary Clinton wasn't included.) Trump's net favorability among Democrats was minus-83, thanks to 85 percent of Democrats holding a strongly unfavorable view of him.



Notice, too, that Planned Parenthood enjoys the most “strongly favorable” opinion of any person or group among Democrats. Nearly two-thirds of members of the party view the organization that way. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (Democrat-New York) continues to be unknown by 30 percent of Democrats.

Among Republicans, Trump edges out Pence for the highest net favorability.



Obamacare is near the very bottom — a position held by Pelosi. The Freedom Caucus — a group of conservative members of Congress — wasn't well known among any group. Among the “liberal” groups and people, Planned Parenthood fares the best on net, though it's not very popular among Republicans.

It is among independents. The organization comes in second in net favorability to the most popular independent in America, Sanders.



Pelosi is at the bottom of the list here, too, while Trump is viewed slightly more favorably than unfavorably. It's the strength of that Democratic opposition to Trump that continues to drag him down overall.

Only three people or groups are viewed favorably by at least half of the country, according to the Fox News poll: Bernie Sanders, Planned Parenthood and Obamacare. Only two are viewed unfavorably by at least half the country: Pelosi and Trump.

• Philip Bump is a correspondent for The Washington Post based in New York City.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/03/15/bernie-sanders-remains-one-of-americas-most-popular-politicians