Poll shows spending choices

Nevadans would rather see the federal government spend money on domestic priorities than continue to spend on the war in Iraq, according to a poll commissioned by MoveOn.org and released Thursday.

Given the choice between continuing the war in Iraq or investing "those same dollars into strengthening the American economy," 30 percent of those polled said they would continue the war, while 60 percent would rather put the money into economic revival.

Nearly half of Nevada voters, 47 percent, said pulling out of Iraq would help the economy a great deal, more than any other step that could be taken, such as cutting taxes or improving infrastructure.

The automated telephone poll of 617 registered Nevada voters was conducted in late February and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

It was presented at a MoveOn rally Thursday in front of the federal courthouse on Las Vegas Boulevard, where offices for Nevada's senators are located. Members of the online grass-roots liberal action group who gathered there said they wanted to send a message to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., that his constituents want him to change the way he votes on the war.

"A big majority of voters believe the war is contributing to the problems with the economy," MoveOn member Sue Brooks said at the rally. "We call on Senator Ensign to listen to the millions of people who want to bring the war to an end."

A spokesman for Ensign, Tory Mazzola, said the senator is determined to pursue the current war policy because he sees evidence of conditions improving in Iraq. Ensign does not see a connection between the current economic troubles and the war, Mazzola said.

"Senator Ensign strongly believes we need to bring victory to Iraq," Mazzola said. "We shouldn't surrender. We shouldn't set a deadline for withdrawal. Recently in Iraq we've seen remarkable progress. We should let that continue. We should let General Petraeus and his troops continue to make progress and deliver victory to Iraq."

To improve the economy, Congress "should be taking a serious look at our tax policy," Mazzola said.

The MoveOn poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, was one of 50 conducted nationwide. Respondents were asked if they thought cutting taxes would help the economy.

Thirty-eight percent said taking that step would help the economy a great deal, while 23 percent thought putting more money into the hands of poor people would help a great deal.

Twenty-seven percent said increased spending on public infrastructure would help a great deal, compared to 47 percent who said pulling out of Iraq would do so.

Asked whether the money the United States has spent in Iraq could have been better spent at home, 61 percent said yes, while 30 percent said it could not.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.