Gallup: R's ahead of D's for 2010 House elections
Could It Be the PelosiCare?
Jennifer Rubin - 11.11.2009 - 8:56 AM
Gallup has some more bad news for the Democratic leadership trying to keep their troops on board the far-Left legislative express:
Republicans have moved ahead of Democrats by 48% to 44% among registered voters in the latest update on Gallup’s generic congressional ballot for the 2010 House elections, after trailing by six points in July and two points last month. … As was the case in last Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections, independents are helping the Republicans’ cause. In the latest poll, independent registered voters favor the Republican candidate by 52% to 30%.
Gallup points out that this is a historical anomaly: “Since Gallup regularly began using the generic ballot to measure registered voters’ preferences for the House of Representatives in 1950, it has been rare for Republicans to have an advantage over Democrats.” The GOP held the lead in 1994 and 2002 when they picked up seats (and in ‘94, control of the House).
This suggests that the public has had it with the Democrats and is readying for a “throw the bums out” sort of election. The pundits say that Republicans haven’t picked up support and haven’t given voters reasons to vote for them. But the voters, at least for now, are saying something different: we’ll try the other guys.
commentarymagazine.com
The Senate Too
Jennifer Rubin - 11.11.2009 - 8:42 AM
It wasn’t very long ago that pollsters and pundits were speculating that the Democrats would be increasing their advantage in the Senate. But not anymore. Politico reports:
The GOP is flexing its muscles in Democratic-leaning states like Delaware, Connecticut and Illinois. Recruiting coups by National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas are one big reason Republicans feel a new sense of confidence. Democrats, meanwhile, are taking on an increasingly defensive crouch as the party in power, which must defend President Barack Obama’s ambitious — and expensive — agenda.
Nevada, Colorado, Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Illinois now look like GOP potential pickups, and New Hampshire (with the recruitment of Kelly Ayotte, a former state attorney general) looks more secure. Blanche Lincoln may be in trouble in Arkansas as well. Notice the geographic range of these seats. Republicans competitive in Illinois and Pennsylvania? New England too? It seems like just yesterday that political mavens and conservative pundits were speculating that the GOP was becoming a “regional” party.
Well, that was before Obama and Harry Reid went on a spending jag and before independents got queasy. That was when unemployment was in single digits. And that was when, frankly, an “R” was the kiss of death on the ballot, conjuring up images of the Lehman Brothers collapse and the final gasp of the Bush administration. Time (since the Bush era) and experience (living with the Democrats’ monopoly on power) have reshaped the political landscape.
And contrary to the advice of many conservative pundits, the Republicans didn’t need to jettison social conservatives or redefine themselves. With an assist from Obama, they simply needed to re-establish the stark differences between the parties on core issues — spending, taxes, regulation, and national security. And so long as Obama and the Democrats run Left, Republican views, it turns out, have a substantial and growing center-right audience that is receptive to their much derided “no” message. And that appeal is nationwide, reflected in the diverse states in which Republican Senate candidates are now viable. A year is forever in politics — and that is true going forward as well. Much can change, but Senate Republicans, if this keeps up, may well have re-enforcements in a year.
commentarymagazine.com
Sign of the year:
grouchyoldcripple.com |
