Mother Jones Shocker: 'New Poll Shows Democratic Incumbents in Big Trouble'

http://newsbusters.org ^ | 11/01/2013 | By Noel Sheppard

[Maelstorm]

Since the government shutdown, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting some media member claiming Republicans are in a lot of trouble heading into next year's midterm elections.

Breaking with the trend rather surprisingly Wednesday was the perilously liberal Mother Jones with a piece titled "New Poll Shows Democratic Incumbents in Big Trouble."

The poll was actually from James Carville and Stan Greenberg's Democracy Corps and was titled "The Revolt Against Washington and the Republican Congress."

Despite Carville and Greenberg's conclusions, author Kevin Drum dug deeper into the specifics to find some contrary nuggets:

In Democratic districts, net incumbent approval has plummeted by 11 points, from +8 approval to +3 disapproval. In Republican districts, incumbent approval has gone down only 4 points. You see the same results when they ask a question about warmth of feeling toward incumbents: It's down 7 points in Republican districts and 9 points in Democratic districts.

This isn't good news for Democrats. It's true that attitudes toward the Republican Party have taken a bigger hit than attitudes toward the Democratic Party, but attitudes toward actual incumbents are exactly the opposite. And in elections, that's what matters.

[tnlibertarian]

The vast majority of party GOP support smaller government.

Are you talking the GOP voters or the elected officials. I see know evidence that a majority of GOP elected officials support smaller government. With a GOP majority congress and GOP president, by how much did the federal budget shrink? With a GOP majority House of Representatives, what have they failed to fund in the bloated federal government?

The GOP voters may want smaller government, but putting the GOP in office has done nothing to advance that goal. Nothing.

[Maelstorm]

I’m talking about rank and file GOP not all elected officials by any means. The problem is the further up the ladder a politician climbs the more he depends on big money donors and those guys expect rewards for their $ and they don’t see limited government as a priority. Every poll of rank and file GOP is clear that more than 70% believe the Government is too big and too intrusive. A clear majority of independents and regular citizens believe this too. Only a minority believe government isn’t big enough.

[napscoordinator]

Can you imagine how great things would be now if 2012 would not have been a disaster for Republicans. Even 2008, we could have won a few of those Senate Seats. We would have a veto proof by now. I hope that Republicans do a better job in 2014. Virginia is the deciding factor on 2014. We already screwed up New Jersey....hopefully the bleeding stops.

[tnlibertarian]

The question then becomes how to keep the GOP of the same mind set as those electing them and not beholden to the big money donors. I don’t have an answer to that. However, it appears the longer they are in office, the worse they become. I think we should be electing more first-time-in-office folks to the US House and Senate, rather than promotions after they have served in local and then State offices. They are too far gone by that point, usually.

[Maelstorm]

You are right that is the question and the answer is one that resides with us. What we need is a more efficient way to connect small donors to candidates. A kind of political kick starter of sorts because as long as the funding is coming from billionaires and millionaires we are going to continue to see the issue we have seen over and over again. We have a committed principled candidate elected and they are then faced with re-election and the temptation of a big haul of cash from one donor or working their ass off to get donations from millions of small ones.

[Repeal The 17th]

If you like your representative, you will be able to keep your representative.
Period.

If you like your senator, you will be able to keep your senator.
Period.

No one will take them away from you.
No matter what.

[I want the USA back]

They will retire from office “to spend more time with family” and then get a high paying easy job courtesy of the democrat party.

[GOPJ]

Thanks

[FrdmLvr]

Come election day, I hope the TEA party Republicans elected in 2010 become the senior Congressmen and Senators.

[txhurl]

We need to be eternally grateful for ‘before we see what’s in it’. Rats are starting to realize there may be no Christmas this year with the ACTUAL dollars about to be extorted out of THEIR pockets for a change, since the turd was passed.

[Intolerant in NJ]

c) The odds of O’bastard getting amnesty passed before 2014 fell to 0-1 with the shutdown and owebamacare crash and burn. Lots of angry Hispanics/illegals/dreamers/illegals...I think this is right on - Obama and his henchmen are going to spend the next six months at least trying to repair the damages done by the Obamacare fiasco, and by then we'll be into the '14 elections with no room left to try to impose any of his radical legislative dreams - his agenda is for all intents and purposes dead, and his legacy will eventually be as the president who destroyed the best medical system in the world.....