Poll Shows Strong, Bipartisan Support for 'Buffett Rule'

Ever since President Barack Obama proposed his plan to increase taxes on households making more than $1 million a year, the GOP has been up in arms, claiming that such a proposal would be not be accepted by its base and constituents. However, according to a new poll, more Republicans may be in favor of the move than their Party leaders let on.

In the first public polling sample available on the so-called Buffet Rule -- named after the billionaire investor Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), who is a strong advocate for raising taxes on the wealthy -- 66 percent of Republican respondents said they supported the idea. The survey, commissioned by the Daily Kos and labor union SEIU, found that every demographic sub-group questioned actually favored the idea. In all, 52percent of self-described Tea Party supporters reportedly said they favored the millionaire surcharge, while 73 percent of individuals making more than $100,000 a year also supported it.

Most American Household Back Higher Income Tax on Wealthy

The results echo a Gallup Poll conducted earlier this year, further proof that Obama's proposal doesn't incite the feelings of class warfare that many Republican members of Congress imply. In that survey, two-thirds of respondents across party lines said they were in favor of raising taxes on households making more than $200,000 per year.

Simply leaving Obama's name out of the survey may have allowed respondents to view the proposal more objectively. The question asked by the Daily Kos/SEIU survey was written as follows: Do you support or oppose ensuring that people who make over a million dollars a year pay the same percentage of taxes or more on their total income as those who make less than a million dollars a year?

Directly asking constituents how they feel about political policies, instead of burying the facts under partisan phrases and scare-tactic ideas such as class warfare, may be all it takes to actually see that Americans are more united than they are divided when it comes to improving our nation.