Is Financial Reform Going to Help Democrats With Midterms?

As November midterm electrons get closer, Congress grows bolder in its effort to crack down on Wall Street. That could be part of the reason why the Senate's bill is, in some places, more aggressive than the House's legislation -- it was completed five months later. Democrats assume that aggressive financial reform is very important to Americans, and Republicans worry that they're right. Yet, a poll by Rasmussen casts doubt on this theory.

According to the pollster, more oppose additional financial regulation than those who favor it. In fact, 46% "oppose government regulation of the U.S. financial system." Meanwhile, just 37% favor more regulation. The other 17% are undecided.

Sure, 46% isn't a majority, but you should add the big portion of undecided to this tally if you want to see the number of voters who don't much care about or are even against additional financial regulation. After all, if you're undecided about something, chances are you're not passionate about the cause. That leaves a measly 37% of voters who might be pleased enough with Washington's effort to vote for an incumbent who voted for it.

Democrats are hoping that financial reform can save them some seats. They'll have to rely on it, along with health care reform, as their body of accomplishments. Health care reform's popularity wasn't sweeping, and if Rasmussen's poll is right, then cracking down on banks might not have as broad a populist appeal as Congress thinks.

Come November, unemployment will still likely be hovering around 10%, so the economy will likely be at the front of voters' minds. But Rasmussen's poll also indicates that an incredible 72% of Americans are not confident in Congress to address current economic problems. That doesn't bode well for incumbents in the majority party.

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