Tuesday, August 10, 2010

"Battleground States": A Massacre For The Democrats?

A recent poll taken in 13 states with competitive Senate races tells a story of doom, dismay, and despair for the Democratic party. If they were listening, that is, which they haven't been since 2008. Some highlights:

(1) The Republican candidate leads on the ballot 47%-39% across the 13 Battleground Senate states. The lead is 45%-37% in the Republican-held states (Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Ohio), and 47%-40% in Democratic-held states (Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Washington).

(2) Independents are voting Republican by 47%-25% across the Battleground states.

(3) In the four states John McCain won in 2008, the GOPer leads 46%-36%. In the nine states Barack Obama won, the GOPer still leads 47%-40%, including 50%-38% in the five states Obama won with less than 55%, and 43%-42% in the four Obama 55%+ states.

(4) There is a 21-point gender gap. Men are voting GOP 52%-33% while women split 42% GOP/44% Democratic.

(5) Democratic candidates face a wide disparity in terms of enthusiasm. Republicans lead 52%-36% among high-interest voters.

(6) Among Independents, only 21% say the nation is in the right direction, while 68% say it’s on the wrong track.

Does this about sum it up?

Voters in the 13 Battleground Senate seats — five held by Republicans, eight by Democrats — want to vote for Republicans...

So how are the Democrats responding? With a fierce but reasoned debate based on defense of their positions and the legislation they've passed in the last 18 months?

No, they are responding by...bashing Bush. Which finally makes sense. Because if people want to vote Republican, the Dems have to give them a reason why not to. And since the public hates most of their legislation (Democrats have, to a man, refused to talk about the health care reform bill they passed), and has lost confidence in both their social and economic policies, the only way for the party to convince these wanna-be Republican voters to stick with the Democrats is by reminding them how awful, how terrible, how hopeless things were in the Republican/Bush years.

Nothing left in the bucket but mud, so they gotta throw it. The problem is, it doesn't look like 2010 is a year that much of it is going to stick to the wall. What happens once the bucket is empty, and the polls are unchanged?

Do we see a political version of Custer's Last Stand? Or do we see something more scurrilous, an enormous "f*ck you!" to the American people and the entire democratic system, in the form of a "lame duck" session of Congress where the Democrats vote every liberal wet dream into law?

Well, Nancy Pelosi is smirking again, just like she did during the health-care "debate"...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) tells NRO that the GOP will not be able to block Democrats from legislating during the lame-duck session. “As long as we can come back and create jobs, we will take every opportunity to do it,” she says with a smile

Sound like someone who is going to respect the system?

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