Voters Shifting to GOP, Poll Finds... The stupidity of Americans never ceases to amaze me

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704247904575240812672173820.html

"Republicans have solidified support among voters who had drifted from the party in recent elections, putting the GOP in position for a strong comeback in November's mid-term campaign, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll."

"The findings suggest that public opinion has hardened in advance of the 2010 elections, making it tougher for Democrats to translate their legislative successes, or a tentatively improving U.S. economy, into gains among voters.
Republicans have reassembled their coalition by reconnecting with independents, seniors, blue-collar voters, suburban women and small town and rural voters—all of whom had moved away from the party in the 2006 elections, in which Republicans lost control of the House. Those voter groups now favor GOP control of Congress."

Full Poll Results:

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/wsjnbcpoll-05122010.pdf

"A big shift is evident among independents, who at this point in the 2006 campaign favored Democratic control of Congress rather than Republican control, 40% to 24%. In this poll, independents favored the GOP, 38% to 30%.

Suburban women favored Democratic control four years ago by a 24-point margin. In the latest survey, they narrowly favored Republicans winning the House. A similar turnaround was seen among voters 65 and older.

"This is the inverse of where we were four years ago, and in a way that projects to substantial Democratic losses in November," Mr. McInturff said.

The new survey gives incumbents of either party little reason for comfort. Only about one in five respondents approved of the job Congress is doing.

People in the survey felt overwhelmingly negative toward both political parties."

"Nearly one-third of respondents said they "almost never" trust the government in Washington to do what is right—about triple the number who felt that way when the question was asked in October.

Those feelings were evident in the past week, with the ouster of longtime incumbents from each party. After 18 years in office, Sen. Robert Bennett (R, Utah) was rejected for re-nomination at Saturday's Utah GOP convention.

On Tuesday, Rep. Alan Mollohan (D, W.Va.) lost his primary election by a surprisingly large 56% to 44% margin. He had served 14 terms in the House.

"It is a tough year for incumbents, no doubt about that," said Sen. Arlen Specter (D, Pa.).

Mr. Specter didn't express great confidence that he would prevail Tuesday in his own primary contest, in which polls show him neck-and-neck with Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak.

"I don't make predictions; I run for re-election," Mr. Specter said. "I've been in a lot of tough races, and I'm slugging it out."

While the survey results foreshadow a strong showing for Republicans, they also show that voters were far more motivated by their frustration with Democrats and government in general than by an affinity for the GOP."

"Just 30% in the survey said they felt positively about the Republican Party—a smaller share than for the Democratic Party and the tea party movement.

Of those who want to see Republicans control the House, less than one-third said that was because they support the GOP and its candidates.

Rather, nearly two-thirds said they were motivated by opposition to Mr. Obama and Democratic policies.

"Republicans ran us under financially, and the Democrats are worse," said poll respondent William Lina, 80, of Alden, N.Y., who is a registered Democrat but plans to vote a straight Republican ticket in November.

He cited frustration with the Democrats' health-care overhaul and the economic stimulus program.

Joe Carter, a 53-year-old Republican from Kingsport, Tenn., who has voted for Democrats in the past, said he, too, would likely vote a straight Republican ticket.

"Both parties do things I disagree with," Mr. Carter said. "But just to stop what's going on now, I will vote Republican."

Overall, the survey found that voters were split over which party they preferred to control Congress after November, with 44% favoring each party.

But that finding masked the overwhelming Republican advantage among the voters most likely to cast ballots on Election Day.

The voters who said they were most interested in the November elections favor Republican control of Congress by a 20-point margin, with 56% backing the GOP and 36% backing Democrats—the highest gap all year on that question.

Mr. Obama's approval rating in the survey has remained stable, with 50% approving of his job performance, compared with 48% in March.

In the wake of the attempted Times Square terrorist attack, a plurality of respondents approve of his handling of terrorism.

But, despite White House predictions that passage of Mr. Obama's health-care bill would boost Democrats in November, the issue still appeared to be more of a drag on the president's party.

Some 44% called the health plan a bad idea, compared to 38% who saw it as a good idea.

The poll also showed sharp divisions among voters on the subject of illegal immigration.

Among all adults, support is high for the new Arizona law that makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally and requires law enforcement officers to question people if they have reasonable suspicions about their immigration status.

Some 64% said they strongly or somewhat supported the law, compared with 34% who strongly or somewhat opposed it."

"Divisions were even sharper between whites and Hispanics. Among Hispanic respondents, 70% opposed the law, while 69% of whites in the survey supported it.

The survey oversampled Hispanics to increase accuracy.

Hispanics also held a different view of immigration generally than did white respondents.

In the survey, 58% of Hispanics said that immigration helped the U.S. more than it hurt, while 56% of white respondents said that immigration hurt more than it helped.

The survey found that, at the moment, Hispanics greatly favored Democrats over Republicans, particularly among Hispanics under age 40.

That stands as a danger sign for the GOP given the rapid growth of that voter bloc.

But Hispanics were far less interested in this year's elections than key Republican-leaning groups, meaning that the benefits of this trend might not accrue to the Democrats until at least the 2012 elections."

Murdock doesn't like dems.

Grain of salt with that poll, thank you.

those erstwhile "progressives" who would rather hand any promise of forward movement over to the regressive factions of this nation than work together. I'm sorry, but I've just hit my boiling point with the the hollering and unwillingness to sit down and hammer things out. Are y'all missing * and Cheney?

I wouldn't trust the WSJ for "poll numbers," unless America is now suffering from "battered voter syndrome."

It isn't just Arizona, and I wouldn't brush this poll aside so quickly

If Democrats lose the independents, they are in trouble

Even change for the better. That and people are understandably impatient.

The M$M has been pushing this bag of shit all morning.

to public demonstrations, and other states trying to do the same thing Arizona is doing

There is a bad shift going on in this country that should not be ignored.

going on right now, and that does not bode well for the Democrats in Congress right now, because we have the majority

:eyes:

Sure, I see big GOP gains in the fall. But what then?

Does the Republican Party really have "the answer" to the economy? Not on your life, though they may just make things worse.

repukes have done to them the last 40 years compared to the Democrats, and realize just how regressive the repugs have been

That's what both parties are about: Promoting the welfare of large mega-corporations and the super-rich.

Why bother to vote when your country has fully morphed into a right wing duopoly?

I still vote but realize it doesn't do much more than pick the color of jersey (blue or red) that the servants of the corporate owners wear. :shrug:

Even though you may be skeptical, the Supreme Court nominee from a Democrat verses a republican would be vastly different

These two, economic fascism and social justice can not co-exist within our budding Neo-Liberalistic Society.

Tell people that something is true enough times and they will believe it.

I am a teacher and I am LIVID with the scapegoating of teachers by Obama and Duncan. I never gave money to a candidate until 2008. I never tried to persuade people to vote one way or the other until 2008. I get to vote for Grayson because he is my representative. Otherwise I have no use for the Dems. If Obama is going to dismiss a major constituency such as teachers I have no reason to vote for him or other Dems again. Maybe someone needs to put a bug in his ear and tell him to start working with teachers and not against them and we might stand for him.

never ceases to both amaze and disgust me. :(

Fascism is still fascism even when it wears a velvet glove and labels itself "democratic."

They claim to be 'centrists,' but these D.C. Dems -- whose corporate agendas aren't too different from Bush administration policies -- are living proof that the system needs fixing.

http://www.alternet.org/story/40482/

who claim to be on the left(to different degrees) attack obama for close to everything he does, is anybody surprised that people might lean toward the GOP again? I mean seriously, if i saw somebodies own party attack him repeatedly over close to anything i would start doubting him too

and extends the Patriot Act.

It's not the people, it's the CORPORATISM that the "centrist democrats" insist on clinging to.
These "new democrats" need only look in the mirror when they are attempting to cast blame come November.

That may be justification why liberals are upset, but it was the "so-called" independents that turn elections

the GOP lite.

Is it any wonder that if you don't stand up for our traditional "social justice" and "liberty" values as DEMOCRATS, that our party will lose until we do .... STAND FOR SOMETHING!?!

with the economic catastrophe

Get rid of Brewer. Put her before the Hispanics and let them have their way with her.

All this is saying is that if the Republicans mobilize a base throught their Tea Party astroturf campaign, and if turnout otherwise is low, the Republicans win. It worked in 1994.

What the turnout will be very much depends on what the Obama administration does.

If they continue along their uninspiring, corporatist, pro-war, pro-banking course, which may as well have been calculated to alienate the very movement that swept Obama to power, then yes, the scenario of low turnout leading to Republican victories becomes very likely.

which make the whole situation quite interesting

People don't think past their nose and can't remember past yesterday.

They will vote against whomever they believe is to blame.

Anger and fear is the beginning some very scary shit.

Such a person is not be esteemed. They are to be trampled on underfoot like the putrid vomit they are.

The source seems somewhat questionable IMHO. Anybody know how reliable this "poll" might actually be?
:shrug:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8328279&mesg_id=8328279

that Rupert Murdoch owns said newspaper

dems would take the talk radio monopoly seriously.

one thing the dem party should have done by now is provide a daily searchable database of what the main national and local right wing radio radio blowhards are saying. that is where the talking points and framing is started and that is why dems can not message ANYTHING and have to rely on truth and common sense to sneak through the work the left lets 1000 coordinated uncontested radio stations do.

dems can't frame anything as long as the left ignore talk radio and they need to start picketing those limbaugh megastations and start boycotting the local sponsors to support their reps and causes BEFORE the lies are established and the rest of the media jump on the GOP bandwagons that roll out of limbaughs and hannitys stations every morning.

climate bill is coming up and the compromises the left will hate obama for are largely going to be the result of the left giving the talk radio monopoly a free speech free ride to enforce a 60 vote supermajority in congress from red state senators whose state politics are dominated by the giant limbaugh megastations that get to blast away UNCONTESTED global warming denial 24/7. and many of those stations that do that global warming all day to enable those senators do sports programming for universities that shouldn't be supporting global warming denial.

one must be sceptically of this.
On the other hand, many 'swing' voters found Bush acceptable for a second term.