Blaming Management, Not Economy, Most Still Oppose Automaker Loans

GROUPS – The biggest differences are partisan. Fifty-two percent of Democrats support the loans, declining to 41 percent of independents and 29 percent of Republicans. The ideological divisions are similar – 56 percent of liberals in favor, dropping to 45 percent of moderates and 31 percent of conservatives. Support bottoms out at 26 percent of conservative Republicans, a decidedly laissez-faire group.

Indeed 50 percent of Republicans not only oppose the loans, but do so "strongly." Across the aisle, strong support from Democrats is far less prevalent, just 27 percent.

Partisanship, moreover, has increased in the past week, with support for the loans gaining 10 points among Democrats but slipping by 5 points among Republicans. In Congress last week, most Democrats supported the loan deal, while most Republicans voted no.

Among other groups, perhaps surprisingly, the loans are opposed by 53 percent in union households as well as by 56 percent in families without a union member.

The proposal does less well in the South and West (59 percent opposed) than in the East and Midwest, where the public divides evenly on the question.

Belief that the automakers' reorganizing under bankruptcy laws would be bad for the economy peaks, albeit at just 44 percent, in their home region, the Midwest; it's lowest, 30 percent, in the South. Even in the Midwest, more, 52 percent, say that outcome either would not make much difference to the broader economy, or would even be good for it.

METHODOLOGY – This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Dec. 11-14, 2008, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults, including landline and cell-only respondents. Results for the full sample have a 3-point error margin; click here for a detailed description of sampling error. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, PA.

Click here for PDF with charts and questions.