Memo To GOP Candidates: Even Majority Of Republicans Support Obama’s Economic Plan

The GOP presidential field will trot out for yet another debate in Orlando, FL tonight. Between taking pot shots at each other, the candidates have predictably come out against President Obama’s economic plans to create jobs and reduce the deficit with infrastructure investments, more progressive tax rates, and the elimination of corporate tax loopholes. On cue, the candidates are bringing back talking points from the dead — falsely insisting that Obama’s plans will destroy small businesses and job growth.

But with all their talk, presidential candidates risk drowning out their own base. A new Gallup survey found that Americans “favor almost all proposals” in Obama’s economic plans — including a majority of Republicans. Indeed, a high majority of Republicans favor Obama’s plan to provide tax cuts for small businesses, provide additional funds to hire teachers and firefighters, and giving tax breaks to companies that hire the long-term unemployed.

And while all of the candidates have embraced corporate tax cuts as the key to job creation, it turns out that a majority of the Republican public wants to increase corporate taxes by eliminating tax deductions:

Altogether, 70 percent of the public supports eliminating these tax loopholes and 66 percent support increasing tax rates on individuals earning at least $200,000. As Gallup notes, this is the second survey that shows “the American public broadly support Obama’s jobs plan.” These candidates may win political points by bashing Obama’s economic plans, but they’ll evidently have to adopt much of his vision to win over the public.