Although Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster demanding answers about the U.S. drone program drew criticism, including from some in his own GOP, a new poll shows why his stand last week helped to make the Kentucky senator a hit at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. According to a new HuffPost/YouGov survey, Americans -- and Republicans in particular -- are more likely to praise Paul's filibuster than to disparage.
The poll found that 38 percent of respondents think the filibuster was a good way to make an important point about the drone program, while only 30 percent said it was a political stunt. Another 11 percent said it was neither, and 21 percent said they weren't sure.
Republicans were far more likely than Democrats -- 62 percent vs. 14 percent -- to say the filibuster was a good means to Paul's ends. Independents leaned more toward the Republicans' take, with 44 percent in the good-way-to-make-a-point camp.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they had heard a lot about the filibuster, while another 32 percent said they'd heard a little and 18 percent said they'd heard nothing at all. Eleven percent said they weren't sure.
The survey found mixed opinions about Paul among those respondents who had an opinion. Thirty-four percent said they had a favorable view of the senator, 32 percent said they had an unfavorable view, and another 34 percent said they weren't sure. Among Republicans, 63 percent said they had a favorable opinion, and only 10 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion.
The HuffPost/YouGov poll was conducted March 11-12 among 1,000 U.S. adults. The poll used a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion and church attendance.
The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov's nationally representative opinion polling.
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