It’s Officially A Trend
Back in March, Rasmussen Reports noted that Republicans had polled better than Democrats on the Generic Ballot Question for the first time since 2005. According to Rasmussen’s latest polling, Republicans routinely beat Democrats on the generic ballot question:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 43% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.
That 7-point margin is well outside the poll’s margin of error. Here’s what’s got the Democrats’ strategists drinking Maalox by the bottle:
Listening to two briefings, one by a Democratic pollster who had just conducted a survey for a group favoring health care reform, the other by a Republican pollster more skeptical of the reform plans, I felt as if I were hearing a pair of reports by the National Transportation Safety Board on the same plane crash. But in sorting through the problems facing President Obama and congressional Democrats, focusing too narrowly on their disastrous handling of health care would be a mistake.
Obama and Capitol Hill leaders don’t need to worry too much about their modest drop in support from Democratic voters or the predictable drop on the Republican side. But top Democrats should be very frightened about the sharp drop in support among independents, because it could ultimately threaten their party’s hold on the House and shrink their majority in the Senate.
Independent voters, fired up by the war in Iraq and Republican scandals, gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress in 2006. Two years later, independents upset with President Bush and eager to give his party another kick expanded the Democratic majorities on the Hill. Late in the campaign, the economic downturn, together with an influx of young people and minorities enthusiastic about Obama, created a wave that left the GOP in ruins.
That was then; this is now. For the seven weeks from mid-April through the first week of June, Obama’s weekly Gallup Poll approval rating among independents ran in the 60-to-70 percent range. But in four of the past five weeks, it has been only in the mid-to-high 40s. Meanwhile, Democrats and liberals seem lethargic even though Republicans and conservatives are spitting nails and can’t wait to vote.
Saying that Republicans are fired up is understatement but it’s deeper than that. What’s fueling this GOP resurgence is the Democrats’ radical agenda, which is turning off independents and scaring seniors. It also doesn’t help to have VP Biden talking about how great the stimulus is working:
Vice President Biden yesterday proclaimed success beyond expectations for the government’s $787 billion economic-stimulus program, but his glowing assessment overlooks many of the program’s problems, including delays in releasing money, questionable spending priorities, and project choices that are under investigation.
In a speech aimed squarely at Republican criticism and public skepticism over the program’s effectiveness, Biden said accomplishments in the last 100 days provided proof of promises kept when he and President Obama began rolling out the plan earlier this year. It was approved by Congress in February.
“The Recovery Act is doing more, faster and more efficiently, and more effectively than most people expected,” he said.
Never has a presidential administration fallen more out of touch with the American people than this administration has. Frankly, it’s both embarrassing and worrisome that this administration would even attempt to sugarcoat the truth like this. If the Democratic majorities in Congress were acting in the best interests of their constituents, they’d be rebelling against this administration’s agenda. Instead of a fullscale rebellion, they’re leading the charge.
Until congressional Democrats abandon President Obama’s and Speaker Pelosi’s agenda, expect them to lose ground on the Generic Ballot Question.
Technorati Tags: Polling, Generic Ballot, Congress, Speaker Pelosi, President Obama, Joe Biden, Stimulus, Unemployment, Election 2010
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
September 5th, 2009 at 12:34 am
Wonder if the MSM will ever admit Duh-1 told the entire world that his “stimulus bill” was designed to work both immediately and in the long run?
First, who could tell if it was working now, since his minions won’t release any statistics related to the various “stimuli” that would show it is or isn’t working? All we can go by is traditional data, and that shows we’re going down an ever-deeper rathole.
Second, since the data aren’t available (for whatever reason), how could we tell if the “stimuli” in the various bills passed to overhaul the economy are setting up a “long-term solution” to the “mess we (the admin) inherited”?
And finally, if all indicators keep going in the same direction they have (and noticeably increased after the mad spending spree), every donk and half the Republicans are going to have some serious ’splainin’ to do come next summer.