UPDATED: Sen. Jeff Flake: Yep, My Vote Against Gun Control Tanked My Poll Numbers

[DonViejo]

Last edited Tue Apr 30, 2013, 01:51 PM - Edit history (1)

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has an interesting take on a recent poll by Democratic Public Policy Polling that showed his approval rating imploding after his recent vote against expanded backround checks for gun purchases: It's probably right.

"Nothing like waking up to a poll saying you're the nation's least popular senator," Flake wrote on his Facebook page late Monday night. "Given the public's dim view of Congress in general, that probably puts me somewhere just below pond scum."

The poll by PPP concluded Flake is one of the least popular senators in America less than six months after his election, with only 32 percent approval and 51 percent disapproval among Arizona respondents. 52 percent said they were less likely to vote for him as a result of his vote against the Manchin-Toomey amendment, which enjoyed 70 percent backing in the same poll.

Flake, who is taking heat in the press for telling a constituent he supported background checks before voting against the measure, acknowledged that gun legislation was the likely cause of his apparently dismal polls numbers.

-snip-

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/sen-jeff-flake-yep-my-vote-against-gun

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UPDATE

Pollster ‘Glad’ Flake Has Accepted Sliding Approval Rating

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has seemingly resigned himself to the reality that his "no" vote on a bill that would have expanded background checks on gun buyers, and Democratic pollster Tom Jensen said he's glad.

Jensen's firm Public Policy Polling released findings on Monday that showed Flake's approval rating had plummeted to 32 percent among Arizona voters following his opposition to the gun bill, numbers that made him one of the most unpopular senators in the country. The poll also showed that 52 percent of voters are less likely to support Flake as a result of his vote on the legislation.

After initially taking a shot at PPP on Monday, Flake later conceded on Facebook that his opposition to the background checks measure probably caused his approval rating to take a "southerly turn."

Pointing to results from the same poll that showed enormous in-state support for the background checks measure, Jensen told TPM in an email Monday that Flake shouldn't have been surprised by the survey's results and that his Democratic-leaning firm is "not out to get" the junior Arizona senator.

-snip-

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/ppp-director-glad-flake-has-accepted-sliding-poll

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. and rightly so

not just because he's on the wrong side of public opinion but his decision to vote against it (coming to a vote) after penning what appears to be a heartfelt letter to a family affected by the Newtown shooting was just really beyond the pale.

[leftyohiolib]

2. something tells me he dont give a shit

[Sheepshank]

3. His constituents are unlikley to come back in hoards if he changes his vote.

Many will see him as an unprincipaled twit....he's lost their vote for good.

So where is his incentive to change his vote?