Posted on 11/05/2006 3:16:09 PM PST by Oakleaf
Boy, today's Mason Dixon polls do nothing to dissuade the notion of a late-breaking shift back to the Republicans.
As you know, I like to whack around pollsters like a pinata, but Mason-Dixon has a good reputation among political professionals - if they're not always right, they almost never give you a really wacky result. In 2004, they got 13 out of 14 swing states right at the presidential level (they put Bush up in Minnesota) and were pretty spot-on in their margin of victory.
Today, M-D puts Brown beating DeWine by 6 in Ohio. (Who was writing last night Ohio had turned into a single-digit race?) (Interestingly, they saw no tightening in Pennsylvania; Santorum went from -12 to -13.) Brown is still the favorite, but DeWine can take some solace in the fact that the numbers are turning his direction in these final days.
The real shocker is M-D has Chafee ahead by one point. I heard a Globe reporter saying the Democrats were worried about Rhode Island, and thought it was interesting but didn't quite buy it. Chafee had been down pretty big for a while. But as a buddy of mine noted, Chafee's a well-established, well-respected family name; those names don't often get blown out by 10 to 14 points. (I could see the argument that between a liberal Republican and a liberal Democrat, voters will pick the Democrat, but as we saw in the primary, Chafee's got a better connection to this community than we expected.) Everybody's had this one as an automatic Democratic pickup; if this seat slips through their fingers, it's like the number 15 team beating the number 2 team in the NCAA basketball tournament; it wrecks a lot of office pools.
M-D has Missouri close (surprise) but the trend is interesting, from McCaskill up 3 late last month to up 1. I'm hearing that Talent's internal numbers are fantastic - for whatever that's worth - and that the cloning referendum has the GOP base revved.
In Arizona, M-D has Jon Kyl up 8, suggesting that spending $1 million at the last minute may be a decision that Chuck Schumer comes to regret, particularly if a race like Rhode Island gets fumbled.
M-D concurs with the emerging consensus in Maryland, virtual tie; they have Cardin up 3 after having Cardin up 6 two weeks ago.
Montana's tied. Guess we know what had the Montana Democrats sweating earlier this week.
In Tennessee, M-D has Corker up 12, 50 percent to 38 percent. If Corker wins big, I'm going to want to rub Newsweek's noses in it for that glowing, heroic cover piece they ran on Harold Ford Jr. Anoint him the Golden Child after he's won, not before.
Worst sign for Republicans? Another poll showing Virginia nearly tied, M-D showing Webb by 1. It's gonna be a close race, and from my mailbag, the NoVa Democrats are fired up. Allen had better hope his get-out-the-vote effort works a heck of a lot better than the rest of his campaign has worked so far.
"We hold the Senate by 52-48 but lose the House."
The sad thing is that it was the House Republicans who stood up to the President on amnesty for the illegal invaders... oops, aliens.
If that chamber then flips to the Democrats, it will be considered a victory for the amnesty crowd. Expect any crackdown on illegal immigration to be dead in the water and yet another amnesty program for those who have invaded our country.
Ohio's a weird state. We're SLIGHTLY GOP overall...this year perhaps an exception. We have NE Ohio, where I live, that is very much like Michigan or New England politically, but more socially conservative than New England. Southeast Ohio is socially conservative but has that West Virginia economic outlook...so sometimes goes GOP for Presidential elections but goes 50/50 otherwise. Central and West-central Ohio is mostly VERY conservative outside of the city of Columbus, very Midwestern much like Indiana. Southwest Ohio is similar but almost more "southern" in attitude. Northwest Ohio is also more like Michigan in Toledo city but the rest fits in with rural West Central Ohio, even most Toledo suburbs are rather conservative.
Weird is right. What's up with the 13,000 dead people still on the voter registration rolls?
They're probably all from Cleveland.
I also fear the idiots in my state will elect Strickland, who is damn determined to turn Ohio into the Massachusetts of the Midwest.
Oh wait...that's Michigan.
You are absolutely right, and while I feel much better now about the Pubs holding on to both the House and Senate, I hope they get enough of a wake up call to start acting more like Republicans should act. Otherwise, 2008 may truly be the beginning of the end.
In months previous, Chafee's name has been mentioned around FR only to be condemned as the foremost example of the type of irredeemable RINO who we need to remove from office. But now all those former fire-breathing RINO smiter's would exult like like a Palestinian on 9/11 if Chafee were to defeat the Dem.
It is as Plutarch has stated before, we should be thankful for any Senator with an ACU rating above 25 that we get out of Rhode Island.
Cook County's a tough place to be a Pubbie, I know. Nonetheless, you have my thanks for getting out there and scoring one for our side.
He screwed his base one too many times. There's a fair conservative movement in PA. Rick was never really a part of that.
Conservatives in PA, at least western PA have had to put up with ratz and Rino's for so long we don't see a "grey area" in politics. Yer either for us or agin us...no middle ground. While Rick has a decent voting record he's taken the >conservative< vote for granted one too many times.
While I'm gonna >for the LAST time< gonna hold my nose and vote for Rick, LOTS of conservatives have had it and are gonna sit this one out. I don't blame them.
prisoner6
Tonight Santorum had Toomey and Elaine Chao traveling with him.
Thank you.
PEOPLE........ IF THIS GUY CAN VOTE EVEN WHEN HE THINKS HE'S PLUMB OUT OF LUCK, ALL OF YOU WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE NEED TO HAVE THIS GUYS SPIRIT.
NO MATTER HOW FAR BEHIND OR AHEAD, NO MATTER WHAT ...... VOTE DAMNIT!
PA is a cesspool of socialism. The "T" - Harrisburg north to the border and then east and west across that border, basically the rural parts of the state - goes pubbie/conservative. But that can't beat the corrupt, urban, aging union/mill worker/miner votes in Pittsburgh and Philly.
It's gonna take a couple of generations at least before that changes.
prisoner6
I'll be joining you on Tuesday.
If Allen wins (and hope he does) - I would like to see him clean house with his staff. Some have not served him well.
And if nothing else - go vote to honor those who have fought and died for us to exercise this right. To stay home is to dishonor their sacrifice and memory. That's the way I look at it anyway.
Bump.
Help spread the word. Feel free to E-mail these "Jon Carry" pictures around to all you know who would appreciate it and get inspired to GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!
"We support those not as smart as John Kerry"- At the Army-Air Force Game
Matthews has been doing Lewinsky's on him for years.
"And large parts of Pa look at the Caseys the same way that Mass. looks at the Kennedys. Don't ask me to explain it, because I don't get it. "
I agree with ya...have a friend in Reading, PA. She says that they have long suspected lots of rat voter fraud in pockets of PA, too. Remember the rats will do anything to regain power. Didn't PA take in a large number of Katrina refugees? Doesn't Philly, a major blue city, have a large number of illegals? The state is ripe for voter fraud by the rats.
You said it! And many of our troops lives depend on it immediately! DO IT FOR THEM!
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