Posted on 11/10/2005 5:30:57 AM PST by Brilliant
Republicans, wincing from losses in two governors' races this week and President Bush's current political weakness, face a broader problem as well: Some of the party's most potent traditional advantages appear to be eroding.
Amid their failure Tuesday to take back governor's seats in either Virginia or New Jersey, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll shows that Republicans have lost the upper hand on a series of issues they've counted on to preserve their congressional majorities in 2006.
Among other findings, the poll indicates that voters no longer prefer Republicans to Democrats on handling taxes, cutting government spending, dealing with immigration and directing foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Democrats have restored their earlier edges on subjects such as education and Social Security, on which Mr. Bush has sought to make inroads among targeted constituencies.
Broadly, the telephone survey of 1,003 adults, which was conducted from Nov. 4 to Nov. 7, finds that Americans want Democrats to take control of Congress in next year's election, by a margin of 48% to 37%. The 11-point gap is the widest enjoyed by either party on that question since the poll began asking it in 1994.
For the first time since the Republican congressional landslide that year, a majority of respondents say it's time to replace their member of Congress. The poll has a margin for error of 3.1 percentage points...
The findings hardly guarantee that Democrats will be able to ride popular disaffection back to power on Capitol Hill, however. While they are benefiting from discontent against Republicans, they still lack either a singular national voice or a clearly defined agenda for voters to seize on. Only half of respondents credit Democrats with having a vision for the future, while 60% say Republicans have one...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I'm sorry but from the top down (outside the WOT) the party is lost. The democrats are better off with Rove in the inner circle rather than being replaced. They need some new blood in there that respects conservatives and is willing to engage in some bold thinking. They can't sell anything to the American people, the RNC has sat back and taken it in the shorts for so long it's amazing and the party has drifted to the left.
We need the President to wake up and start showing some spunk. I'm sick and tired of seeing this man berated day in and day out by the Dems and the media. It's time he took to the "bully pulpit" and make some fireside chats to the American people. He is surrounded by a bunch of empty suits who are not helping his Presidency.
Bush is not going to lead the GOP to victory. We need someone else to do that, but none of our "hopefuls" has taken the lead. If you know someone who'd make a good President, now might be the time for him to make his move.
Sheesh ... those are about the main reasons for voting for Republicans. Republicans have built their reputation for 75 years of being the preferable party on those issues and the goof-balls in the current Congress (along with the President) have completely squandered it.
Rather than sticking to our values and principles they have turned into the party of pandering. First we bought off the farmers. Then we bought off the soccer Moms. Then we bought off the elderly. Then we bought off the Energy Industry (and the farmers again). And then we bought off the Road Construction Industry. And they have tried everything possible to buy off the Hispanics. And now we are broke and the people are rightly pissed! Disgusting!
If the Repubs in Congress weren't such dang WEENIES, they wouldn't be in trouble.
The president could use a strong senate leader. He has not had one yet. Bill Frist and Trent Lott seem to be from the same mold.
WHAT DON"T THEY UNDERSTAND???? NJ will NEVER go Republican again. Forrester was okay, but certainly not a barn burner. The fact he wasn't totally blown out of the water is amazing! He was going against a sitting Senator. Remember, Jersey didn't care about Clinton's flings, and they don't care about Corzines. Sorry to say, but true.
The Democratic machine is as big here as in Illinois..and a Republican has to have a HUGE lead if he were ever to win. The Dems know how to get rid of political liabilities (Toricelli and McGreevey) and still retain control cause the machine is ALWAYS in control.
Wishful thinking from the brain-dead left. They of the vacuous, agenda-free, hate-ridden masses. An Ignorant Army that clashes by night.
But hark! Where is the triumphant right? Very much in power yet oddly amorphous... hard to find...slipping punches...letting their opposition embarrass themselves...disarmingly impassive.
What's that strange subterrainian rumble? Are we having an eathquake!? The sky is darkening! Could it be?There's an electric charge in the air. It's too quiet.!
And Grassley has become a redistributionist. Lugar's brain-dead. Bond's asleep. McCain's looking for his strawberries.
What is the matter with some of you on this thread unless you really are 3rd party types or Democrats pretending to be conservatives? You are certainly are not Replicans who know anything about politics.
FYI, politics is local. For example, Oklahoma is reliably conservative and Republican at the national level but yet we have a RAT Governor and have NEVER controlled the Oklahoma Senate. We have two great Conservative Senators and even our lone Dem Congressman in addition to our four Republicans votes with conservatives for the most part.
How can we lose two Governor's seats when we didn't have them to begin with? Can someone explain that to me. If they had been Republican and we lost to RATs, I can understand but these were RAT Governor's seats.
Did anyone seriously think we could beat the RATs in NJ when we are totally outnumbered and the state went for Gore and Kerry? As for VA, the Republican candidate could have been much better, but it was already RAT and stayed RAT.
Bloomberg clobbered the Clinton candidate in NYC.
The most important vote was in Ohio where the voters soundly defeated the RATs attempts to take over control of voting in the State which was a huge win for Republicans.
As for CA, who cares except the people living there. The State again went for Gore, Kerry, and has had two RAT Senators for a long time.
It is just great (sarcasm) to see all of you anti-Republicans with your doom and gloom talking about no difference, etc. What do you guys do look for threads that portray Republicans in a negative light and add your comments?
How many of you voted for Hillary in the FR poll? But then you would have to be honest since you love to pretend you are part of the Republican Party grassroots. I am only posting this for people who read these threads and why I didn't post to anyone individually because it would be a waste of my time. I don't want readers of this site to think your comments represent the Republican grassroots people like me who worked to send Dr. Tom Coburn to the United States Senate. We also are going to work as hard as we can to elect the Conservative Republican Ernest J. Istook to the Governor's seat in Oklahoma which is now in the hands of the do nothing, sleeps a lot RAT Henry -- Clinton wannabe BTW.
They can get it together before the election, but they need to get a NEW start on January 1. Or before.
This House surrender to the environmentalists isn't a good start.
Republicans were among the worst demagogues at that disgraceful oil profit hearing. Disgusting.
Another weather report describing the direction the wind was blowing in November 2005...
I agree that the elected republicans need to get their act together ... and fast
But this past election had nothing to do with it ...
It starts at the top(WH).
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