More Polls Show Support For Ending Bush Tax Cuts For The Rich

Although Republicans have not yet revealed their long-awaited agenda for the midterm elections, they have made their top priority clear: preventing the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the rich.  In poll after poll, however, the public has signaled its rejection of the Republican position in favor of President Obama's plan to extend tax cuts for the middle class.  The Washington Post's Greg Sargent rounds up the evidence:

A new National Journal poll finds that 56 percent support ending either all the Bush tax cuts or just the ones for the wealthy, while barely more than a third want to keep them all.

* The new Gallup poll shows that 59 percent of Americans -- and a majority of independents -- supports either ending all the Bush tax cuts or just the ones for the wealthy.

Indeed, Gallup finds that Obama's proposal -- ending the tax cuts for the wealthy but not for everyone else -- has the support of 44 percent, more than any other solution.

* A CNN poll in late August found that a majority, 51 percent, favors ending the tax cuts for the rich, and another 18 percent favor ending them all.

It also found that among independents, 44 percent favor ending the tax cuts for the rich, while another 21 percent favor ending them all. Letting the tax cuts for the rich expire has majority support in all regions of the country except the south.

* A recent CBS poll also found a sizable majority, 56 percent, think the tax cuts for the wealthy should expire. [...]

A recent Newsweek poll found 52 percent support letting the tax cuts for the rich expire, while only 38 percent support keeping them in place.

The chart below represents the average of the five poll results (unweighted), which find that a significant majority of Americans disagree with the Republican position of continuing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.