There are two important takeaways from public polling on government spending. The first is that Americans hate the concept of “government spending” as an abstract generalization. The second is that Americans also strongly oppose cuts to virtually every type of government spending when those types are listed specifically. Recent polls by Pew and Democracy Corps (PDF) both hammer this point home.

If you want to cut spending, talk about it in the abstract. If you want to stop those cuts, talk about the particular programs being cut.

This also appears to be the case with unions. Recent surveys from Pew and Clarus (PDF) do not give unions, in the abstract, very high marks from the public. The Clarus poll is particularly brutal. However, when the abstraction is removed and the people fighting for unions are your neighbors, your friends and your children’s teachers, then people tend to side with the union.

This point is demonstrated by the first non-partisan poll to ask Wisconsin residents what they thought of Governor Scott Walker’s controversial plan for public sector unions. According to the poll, a majority of Wisconsin residents don't like it:

We Ask America, 2/17, 2,397 adults, MoE 2.0

”As you may know, Gov. Scott Walker has proposed a plan to limit the pay of government workers and teachers, increase their share of the cost of benefits, and strip some public-employ unions of much of their power. We’d like to know if APPROVE or DISAPPROVE of Gov. Walker’s plan.”

Approve: 43%

Disapprove: 52%

While non-partisan, We Ask America is actually a conservative polling firm, according to Nate Silver.

Granted, including the word “teachers” in the question likely increased opposition to the proposal. However, that does not make this a bad poll question. Rather, it’s an important reminder that in order to keep the public on our side, we must make this fight as specific and personal as possible. If this is about the rights of your neighbors and your kid’s teachers, we win. If this is about faceless government employees demanding more money, we lose.

The We Ask America poll also posed a question about the Democratic state Senators taking extreme measures to prevent the bill from passing:

It was reported today that Democratic state senators have left the capitol in order to prevent a vote of Gov. Walker’s measures. Do you think that the Democratic state senators should return to the state capitol to vote on the issue?

Yes: 56%

No: 36%

This isn’t surprising, since being viewed as skipping town isn’t going to be popular. However, if they return, the bill passes and all this effort will be for nothing. Further, their actions have allowed the protesters to become the top story in America, the kind of platform needed to carry this fight to the next level.

Still, the Wisconsin Senate Democrats are going to take a hit for this. That’s another reason why what they are doing is so heroic, as they are potentially damaging themselves politically to stop this bill. They showing both real guts and real selflessness, and we need to be there to reward good behavior.

Please, contribute $14 to the Wisconsin Senate Democrats, $1 for each of these 14 heroes.

Update: We've passed 1,000 donors! You guys are amazing. Please, keep chipping in $14, and let's reach 1,400 donors!

Update 2: Zoom! Now we're over 1,400 donors. Please, keep chipping in--your solidarity is strengthening our side in this fight.

Update 3: And we are over 2,000 donors! Keep piling on.

Update 4: Really? We're over 2,500? Keep. Piling. On.