Washington, DC Elites See Bleak Prospects for GOP, Business Community

Beltway Elites Foresee Democratic Congressional Majority, Tighter Business
Regulation in 2009-2010.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Here comes the pain. That
is the message to the GOP and the business community from StrategyOne's recent
survey of Washington, DC beltway elites.
In StrategyOne's mid-June Beltway Barometer survey of 400 Washington
opinion elites, a majority of Democrats (86%) and Republicans (61%) believe
that Democrats will increase their majorities in the 2008 congressional
elections.
While Republicans are clearly pessimistic about the upcoming Congressional
elections, they are more optimistic about their chances in the Presidential
election. 53% of Republican elites in Washington think McCain will win the
election, while 32% think Obama will win. But, Democratic opinion elites are
much more upbeat, as 84% of Democratic opinion elites think Obama will win and
only 9% think McCain will win.
DC opinion elites may not agree on the Presidential race, but large
majorities of both parties believe that the next Congress will usher in a more
"restrictive regulatory environment for American business." In fact, 70% of
Republican elites and 62% of Democratic elites believe 2009 and 2010 will
bring a more difficult regulatory environment for corporate America.
When it comes to market regulation, party elites in Washington have
dramatically divergent views. To measure elite DC opinion on this issue,
StrategyOne resurrected a question first used in public opinion polling in
1946 -- "In all industries where there is competition, do you think companies
should be allowed to make all the profit they can, or that government should
put a limit on the profits companies can make?" True to type, 75% of
Republican elites in Washington say that corporate America should be allowed
to make all the profit they can. Elite Democratic opinion is very different.
Here, only 46% of Democratic elites in Washington say companies should be
allowed to make all the profit they can, with 35% feeling that government
should limit corporate profits. The rest are unsure.
With Washington elites in both parties agreeing that Democrats will
increase their margins in Congress and that tighter regulation of the economy
is expected in 2009 and 2010, the atmosphere is clearly gloomy for Republican
elites in Washington.
For more information about the StrategyOne Beltway Barometer survey,
please contact Robert Moran, Executive Vice President at
robert.moran@strategyone.net or 202-326-1772.
SOURCE StrategyOne

Robert Moran of StrategyOne, +1-202-326-1772