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New dangers for Dems in 2010
Are storm clouds brewing on the horizon for Democrats?That's the bad news for Dems from a source that usually prefers news that makes Republicans look bad. When voters were asked if they will "definitely vote" or not in next year's congressional elections, the latest weekly tracking poll commissioned by the decidedly liberal Daily Kos shows a growing enthusiasm gap in favor of Republicans. It breaks down like this. The first number is certain or likely to vote; the second is unlikely or certain not to vote. Republican Voters: 81 / 14That means 81 percent of self-described Republicans say they are certain or likely to vote, compared to 65 percent of independent voters and only 56 percent of Democrats. And note that Democrats are three times more likely to say they won't vote in 2010 than Republicans are and almost twice as likely as independents. Where has all the enthusiasm gone? We know conservatives and Republicans were getting fired up even before Sarah Palin's book tour began. Independents also have been drifting measurably to the right in recent polls — not to mention the recent off-year gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey—partly because of misgivings about a spendthrift Washington run by Democrats. At the same time, progressives are demoralized or burned out by Washington's political compromising on issues like health care, Afghanistan and Guantanamo. Young voters, their Obama fever flamed out, have retreated to study for finals or look for work amid growing unemployment. Kos thinks these numbers, which are enough to make any liberal nervous, "make passing legitimate health care reform an absolute political necessity for Democrats." Unless the conservative Democrats panic, forget to dance with the ones that brung 'em and run even farther to the right, further extinguishing whatever fire is left beneath their base. That's just my theory. I'd like to hear yours. Posted by: Fred 2009-11-29 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=284418 |