Posted on 08/22/2017 10:48:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A few moments ago I noticed a new PPP poll showing that Mitch McConnell seems to have been damaged significantly in his home state of Kentucky by the effort to repeal Obamacare. The number that caught my eye was that McConnell has an astonishing 74% disapproval rating with just 18% approving of his performance in office. A hypothetical Democrat beats him by 7 percentage points. But that only tells part of the story.
McConnell is down at 18% approval. But Trump has a 60% approval rating in the state. If voters are upset with McConnell’s dogged efforts to repeal Obamacare, why is Trump doing so well? Or is it that McConnell failed to repeal Obamacare? And Good Lord, how can Mitch McConnell have a 74% disapproval rating? Congressional leaders always have low approval. See Boehner, Pelosi, Gingrich, et al. But that’s nationally. They almost always maintain strong support in their own states or districts. After all, that’s how they keep getting reelected. This is just a snapshot long before McConnell will face reelection in 2020. But for now the poll shows McConnell trailing a Democratic opponent 37% to 44%.
To make sense of these numbers, let’s take stock of some key facts about Kentucky. Kentucky is a classic Trump state – Appalachian, a big coal industry, culturally it’s very much Trump country. Democrats have been struggling there for a quarter century. But there’s one big exception. When Obamacare was implemented, the state had a Democratic governor, Steve Beshear, who went all in with Obamacare. In Kentucky it’s called Kynect – an important counter-branding which has given it some distance from ‘Obamacare’. Lots of people were signed up and it’s quite popular. This poll has Kynect at 34% approve, 28% disapprove and 38% unsure. But when you look at the individual aspects of Kynect/Obamacare they’re quite popular, even in this very red state. Cutting Medicaid? 54% disapprove. The Trumpcare bill? 49% disapprove, only 27% approve. The kinds of coverage loss numbers would make repealing Kynect/Obamacare a challenge in Kentucky because unlike a lot red states Kentucky took full advantage of the opportunity to sign people up for health insurance coverage.
So what’s happening here? How is McConnell getting crushed by the impact of the repeal effort and Trump has a solid 60% approval?
This seems like an object lesson in the challenges facing many Republicans under Trump, especially when legislation fails and things get rough. McConnell appears to be getting hit badly on multiple fronts. He’s clearly taking a hit from those who opposed the effort to get rid of Kynect/Obamacare, a group which includes a lot of Republicans. But he’s also taking a big hit as the guy who failed to deliver repeal for Trump and the GOP. He’s getting it from both sides. The latter is intensified greatly by the fact that Trump has been repeatedly attacking McConnell and suggesting he should be replaced.
Remember, this is a very red and a very pro-Trump state. Trump had his 5th highest margin of any state in Kentucky – 62.52%. His ‘brand’ has been able to sail above his support for a bill that Kentuckians strongly opposed. This makes sense in a lot of ways. Trump is more a political brand than a set of policy proposals. And legislative leaders always take more hits for unpopular legislation. But it’s not hard to see an ominous pattern here for Republicans: Trump’s legislative failures end up causing negative responses on both sides of the political spectrum – both for what he was trying to accomplish and for having failed to accomplish it. Meanwhile, Trump’s reaction to these failures is often to attack the legislative leaders who carried the water for him in the first place. That is a rough combination.
Don’t get me wrong. McConnell isn’t up for reelection until 2020 and I do not expect him to lose. It’s a very Republican state and he’s a survivor. But 74% disapproval is an astonishing number for such a powerful congressional leader. The same pattern could undo others up for reelection in other states.
I keep hoping Mitch will wake up tomorrow and suddenly decided he wants to ‘spend more time with his family’.
He may need a little convincing to reach that conclusion.
It would be most ‘unfortunate’ if his wife’s position as Transportation Secretary was to come under a dark cloud of controversy. Controversy that would quickly clear up if her husband were to step down from his present duties.
McConnell would normally run in 2020, but he’ll be 77 years old by that point. My guess is that he’s tied completely to McCain, and the master plan is to accomplish absolutely nothing over the four-year period. For 2020, there are 21 GOP senate seats up, and I think Trump will have to go and stack the deck against five or six GOP senators.
Collins, McConnell, Cochran, Graham, Alexander...will have to be primaried against.
Hey McTurtle! Do you remember Tom Daschle?
Thomas Andrew Daschle is an American policy advisor, lobbyist, former U.S. Senator from South Dakota, and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party who was voted out of office.
How about Rick Santorum?
Rick Santorum, a 12-year veteran of the Senate and the third-ranking Republican, lost his re-election bid last night to Democrat Bob Casey Jr., in a major blow to the Republican Party.
You political career is done, toast, tits up. You are the “Norwegian Blue parrot” of politics. It is possible to be both useless and politically viable if you have charisma or good looks but you have neither.
You are the political equivalent of ordering a filet mingon steak but getting a boiled goat’s head with the horns still on.
I cannot believe that your uselessness hasn’t created such shame that you lose the will to live and then just die. I have literally dropped shits that had more charisma and utility than you yet I still flushed them.
McConnell just needs to resign and Gov. Bevin can appoint Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton. Watch media heads explode that a Black Conservative Lady Republican is in McConnell’s seat.
This farticle says he’s unpopular for trying to do the right thing in repealing huissencare.
“Collins, McConnell, Cochran, Graham, Alexander...will have to be primaried against.”
Don’t leave out the other a$$hole from Tennessee, Bob (the man with the little d*ck) Corker.
How would we be worse of right now had Ashley Judd run and defeated McConnell? I don’t see how. What has this despicable son of a bitch done to advance the conservative or even Republican cause one single step? He is corrupt to the core. He enabled Obama and the globalists again and again. Trump should fire his wife and declare war on the traitorous pig.
Article has it backwards. McConnell isn’t looking like a loser for his “dogged efforts to repeal Obamacare,” he’s looking like a loser for not getting it done.
No wondeer ...Josh Marshall’s a notorious farticle writer...
Also he’s one of the Obama White House west wing presstitutes:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3022211/posts
You’re among friends. You don’t need to censor and limit yourself here. Please feel free to express yourself.
Why yes I am.
I’d still support Trump. Well, as long as it were a fair duel.
“Team Mitch” needs to be sent to the showers.
We need a candidate in SC with name recognition who can overcome the incredible power of incumbency and can present him/herself to a distracted public.
(McConnell isn’t up for reelection until 2020 and I do not expect him to lose. It’s a very Republican state and he’s a survivor.)
Not in this environment. After the last few elections it’s amazing that politicians still have no clue about a fundamental shift in the mood of the country. If you are deemed as part of the swamp, you may already be dead, but won’t realize it until the next time you’re up for re-election!
“Collins, McConnell, Cochran, Graham, Alexander...will have to be primaried against.”
Good luck with Graham. He is bullet proof so long as South Carolina continues with their idiotic open-primary. Dems cross over in droves to keep him as the GOP nominee because they know they cannot win that seat with a Dem.
Close the South Carolina primary and I guarantee Graham announces his retirement.
Ryan is having constituent issues too.
Trump needs to have a “rally” in Louisville and heat up the water for a little turtle soup.
Besides FR, there should be a website(s) dedicated to the daily showing of approval and disapproval numbers of all state level and all federal level Anti-Trump GOP officeholders and all RINO Republicans, as a guide. Also, have a full list of all of the Pro-Trump Republican officeholders and candidates, from now on. Having an accurate and up to date resource for finding out who all of the Pro-Trump Republicans are would be very helpful in showing voters who NOT to vote for, in all future U.S. elections.
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