Posted on 10/17/2006 9:59:16 AM PDT by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Even before U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record)'s cybersex scandal, Republicans fighting to keep control of Congress were struggling to hold on to "values voters" who usually are energized by issues like gay marriage and abortion.
While such issues motivated the Republicans' social-conservative base in the past, they are overshadowed in this year's congressional election campaign by concerns about the Iraq war, the economy and national security, according to opinion polls and political strategists.
"Poverty, the wealth gap, health care -- people can't afford Medicare. Something's got to be done about that," Sue Harrell, a school teacher in Monroe City, Indiana, said recently.
She said "Christian values" were important in previous votes but her top issues now are education and the prevalence of methamphetamine abuse and poverty in Knox County, Indiana.
Such talk has Republicans nervous and Democrats scenting opportunities to recapture the House of Representatives after 12 years in the minority, as well as reduce the Republican advantage in the Senate.
An ABC-Washington Post poll released last week found that 23 percent of Americans surveyed cited Iraq or the war on terrorism as their top concerns in the November 7 elections. Another 23 percent cited the economy. Democrats held the advantage in dealing with all three issues.
Just 2 percent of those surveyed cited either abortion or same-sex marriage as a top concern.
The scandal that began last month over former Florida Republican Rep. Foley's tawdry computer messages to teenage congressional assistants has only served to further dampen Republican enthusiasm.
TICKED OFF
"The social conservatives are ticked off by Foley," said Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. "The economic conservatives are ticked off by spending. And those who are concerned about foreign policy are ticked off by an America that is less safe and secure because of the war in Iraq. There's no real room for people to vote on social 'values' issues."
Democrats, in contrast, are highly motivated to vote, said American University political scientist Candice Nelson.
Support for Democrats by white evangelical Protestants, a core group of the so-called values voters, also has risen this year from 2004, the ABC/Washington Post poll showed.
Since his re-election in 2004, President Bush has catered to social-conservative priorities by appointing two conservatives to the U.S. Supreme Court and by issuing his first veto against a bill that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
But few individual races this year are turning on such issues.
In Pennsylvania's Senate race, for instance, Democrats sidestepped an abortion fight by running anti-abortion Catholic Bob Casey against Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record), the anti-abortion Catholic Republican incumbent. Santorum is trailing in polls.
Similarly, several House races in conservative regions such as Harrell's Indiana district feature anti-abortion Democrats challenging Republican incumbents.
In Virginia, however, Republican Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record)'s unexpectedly tight re-election bid could get a boost from a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage. A Washington Post poll released on Tuesday found that a fragile majority of state voters backed the ban.
More broadly, voters in states with such measures are paying less attention than in 2004, a Pew Research poll last week found.
Republicans have sought to highlight the prospect of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), a liberal Californian, becoming speaker of the House -- the most powerful job in the House -- should Democrats win.
Socially conservative voters "are no longer in love with the Republican majority but it is their distaste and fear of a Democratic majority that may drive them to vote," said Republican strategist Neil Newhouse.
Conservative leader Gary Bauer says a last-minute surge among values voters remains a strong possibility. Otherwise, "they really may wake up the next morning and find (liberal Democrat) Ted Kennedy in a leadership position in the Senate and Nancy Pelosi running the House," he said.
(Additional reporting by Andrea Hopkins)
"In Virginia, however, Republican Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record)'s unexpectedly tight re-election bid could get a boost from a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage. A Washington Post poll released on Tuesday found that a fragile majority of state voters backed the ban."
fragile majority in VA? are you kidding? what was the number or is reuters spinning this?
Yep I'm disgusted by Foley but it has nothing to do with Michigan. Yep I'm unhappy about the spend spend spend attitudes of republicans. In fact there are lots of things I'm unhappy at the republicans over. However the democrats are at least 10 times worse.
"Poverty, the wealth gap, health care -- people can't afford Medicare. Something's got to be done about that," Sue Harrell, a school teacher in Monroe City, Indiana, said recently.
______
How much does Medicare cost?
I don't buy this pap. Recycled MSM propaganda.
Still trying to discourage the values voter.
For all people with Medicare, Part B costs $88.50 per month in 2006. Most people with Medicare do not pay a premium for Medicare Part A because they have worked in the U.S. for at least 40 quarters (or the individual’s spouse has worked for at least 40 quarters). Part A is always free for people with Medicare due to a disability that entitles them to a Social Security cash benefit called Social Secuity Disability Insurance (SSDI).
For individuals who do not qualify for premium-free Part A, the cost for Part A is $393 per month in 2006, for those who have worked less than 30 quarters in the U.S. For those who have worked at least 30 quarters in the U.S., but less than 40, Part A costs $216 per month in 2006. One can purchase Parts A and B, or Part A only, but not Part B only. Please note that quarters are only counted towards your Medicare if you contributed federal payroll taxes (FICA taxes) while working. Call the National Social Security Hotline at 1-800-772-1213 for details on your work history and to find out exactly how much your Part A premium will be.
The Medicare Part B premium will automatically be deducted from your Social Security check. If you have not worked enough quarters to receive Part A benefits for free, then that premium will also be deducted from your Social Security check. If your Medicare benefits begin before your Social Security benefits (as in some end-stage renal disease (ESRD) cases) or you are not currently receiving Social Security benefits, then you will be billed by Social Security for the premiums until your Social Security benefits start.
I am a values voter and the Republican Party addresses my concerns much more than any Democrat ever could.
"Still trying to discourage the values voter."
Exactly. That's who polled as coming out strong for Bush in 2004 and who the MSM (and other liberals) are trying to disuade now.
No media bias, though. /puke
Ah, an excellent example for the meme that religious Republicans are not engaged.
Nice try but they got greedy in their spin. I find it hard to believe that any evangelical who voted Republican in 04 would vote Democrat in 06 (pro-homosexual agenda and pro-abortion). If there is an evangelical who votes D in 06, that is how they always voted.
If you say it enough, repeat as often as possible, it becomes "truth."
Can't afford Medicare. You are dang right this country can not afford Medicar or SS plus alot of other liberal clap trap... Oh that is not what they meant.... They mena we must raise taxes so people can afford Medicare more. Clap Trap I say.
Don't leave out the Medicare tax the employeer and you pay your whole working life.
In other words, "Our (DBM's) constant harping on the Foley "scandal" isn't having the desired effect like we and the RATs hoped it would, so we'll just change our lie to fit our preconceived perceptions"
Nothing like excessive DBM used cow food to clutter the landscape.
Oh well, we all know how accurate polls are. They predicted that John Kerry was going to win big in the Presidential election, and. . .oh, wait, um. . .
The article just seems to imply that "issue" is a code word for leftist propaganda while "value" is a code word for anything else.
What utter drivel.
Plenty...look at your pay stub and look at what you have spend on this disaster of a program. Think about what you have spent over your working lifetime.
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