As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state legislators wrangled over how to close a huge state budget deficit earlier this month, both he and lawmakers saw their approval ratings among Californians drop sharply, a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found.
Schwarzenegger's rating dropped from 40 percent in January to 34 percent among registered voters in the poll that was concluded Feb. 17, two days before he and legislators made a final deal on the budget. The Legislature's approval, meanwhile, dropped to 18 percent among registered voters and 14 percent among likely voters.
Those low numbers stood in sharp contrast with President Barack Obama's 67 percent approval among registered voters, including a plurality of Republicans and 53 percent of those who labeled themselves as conservatives.
Most of PPIC's poll, however, was devoted to abortion, birth control and population growth. It found that while two-thirds of Californians don't want the U.S. Supreme Court to completely overturn its Roe v. Wade decision that established abortion rights, there is an increasing sentiment, now 35 percent, for putting some restrictions on abortions.
"There is no question that California is still a pro-choice state," Mark Baldassare, PPIC president and survey director, said as the poll was released. "But there are strong elements of disagreement over abortion policy, whether because of political polarization or demographic changes."
The poll also found a widespread misconception among Californians that immigration, especially illegal immigration, is the primary source of California's population growth rather than births, which are the true driver of growth.
The full poll report is available at PPIC's Web site, here.
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