Voter Madness???
American Anger appears to be the theme of this election year. In fact, November 7, 2006 may not be so much an election day but the Day the Second American Revolution started and ended. Sentiment among the population is overwhelmingly negative toward Republican issues, policies, and candidates. And a great deal of the sentiment has been measured for us by everyone’s polling favorite: Fox News.
Only 29 percent of voters approve of the job Congress is doing today, while a 55 percent majority disapproves. 03/16/06 FOX News Poll
One is tempted to ask, if Democratic candidates merely breathe, smile, and shake hands at campaign rallies without saying anything, will it be enough to get them elected?
Traditional Republican issues are no longer winning support for Republican candidates among registered voters. President Bush has gone from being a lame duck president at the end of 2005, to a sitting duck president over the Dubai ports miscue, to a dead duck president in terms of helping Republicans get re-elected in 2006. The War in Iraq has every liklihood of causing a war against Republicans on election day this year.
A Fox News poll this month showed the war in a statistical tie with spending and taxes as voters’ top concerns heading into election season.
<and>
Democrats are now seen as the party that would do a better job on taxes (+ 5 points), and voters are about equally likely to pick Democrats on handling Iraq — issues that are traditionally thought of as being in the Republican column.
Yesterday’s hero, our President, is today’s albatross for Republican candidates. When once it was an incumbent Republican’s dream to be up for re-election in the heartland of America, it’s now a potential nightmare.
Among Republicans most at risk are those closely allied with Bush and the war effort.
Two years ago in Kentucky, Republican Rep. Anne M. Northup wrapped herself in the American flag, held hands with the president, and defeated a popular Democrat in part by suggesting that his antiwar views would leave America unprotected. LA Times
There isn’t a single state in the union whose voters support the law banning almost all abortions like was recently enacted in South Dakota.
A majority of Americans say they would oppose having a law in their state like the new South Dakota legislation that bans abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother, according to those “fair and balanced” Fox pollsters.
And in at least one southern state, a Democratic candidate has entered the congressional race after just having switched his lifelong affiliation from Independent to Democrat in order to do so.
This time, [Northup’s] Democratic challenger Andrew Horne — one of more than 50 war veterans running for Congress as Democrats — is betting that public opinion has so soured against the war in Iraq in this horse-country swing district that it’s now safe for him to run against Northup’s support for the war.
Like many he grew up with, Horne was an independent for most of his voting life.
He registered as a Democrat for the first time in December, when he announced his candidacy.
Cast a glad eye over the numbers:
“If the elections for Congress were being held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for in your congressional district: the Democratic Party’s candidate or the Republican Party’s candidate?”
CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll
Democrat …………….. 55%
Republican …………… 39%
FOX/Opinion Dynamics
Democrat ……………… 48%
Republican ……………. 34%
Diageo/Hotline
Democrat ……………… 46%
Republican ……………. 31%
ABC/Washington Post
Democrat ……………… 54%
Republican ……………. 38%
NPR
Democrat ……………… 52%
Republican ……………. 38%
“In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?”
Gallup Poll. March 13-16
Satisfied …………………… 29%
Dissatisfied ………………… 68%
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll March 10-13
Satisfied …………………… 26%
Dissatisfied ………………… 62%
Associated Press/Ipsos poll March 6-8
Satisfied ………………….. 30%
Dissatisfied ……………….. 67%
Time Poll March 22-23
Satisfied ………………… 32%.
Dissatisfied ……………… 60%
If those numbers don’t make you salivate for the ballot box, I don’t know what will. And they’re not likely to reverse even if they fade a little between now and election day. Grassroots volunteers will no doubt work with pleasure to get out the vote in November.
