Americans believe that the rich are, in fact, different from you and me (here and here). The next question is, which political party do they believe is the party of the rich?
According to the latest Pew Research Center survey, more than six-in-ten Americans (62 percent) say the GOP favors the rich over the middle and lower classes. About one-in-four (23 percent) say the Republican Party favors the middle class, and a mere 3 percent say the GOP favors the poor.
When it comes to the candidates themselves, the public sees a potential Romney presidency being much more beneficial for the rich than for the middle class or the poor. Fully 71 percent of all adults say that if Romney is elected president, his policies would help wealthy people. Less than half (40 percent) believe Romney’s policies would help the middle class, and only 31 percent think Romney’s policies would help the poor.
Right now, Nate Silver predicts Romney will get 48.2 percent of the popular vote and that he has a 31.3 percent change of winning the presidential election in November.
Why is the election so close if, in fact, Americans believe that Romney heads the party of, by, and for the rich?
