Why Sen. Mitch McConnell’s central re-election theme might not be getting the results he anticipated
Matt Gunterman November 23rd, 2007
So, why could it be that Sen. Mitch McConnell’s approval/disapproval ratings have soured in November despite the fact that McConnell is now on the airwaves with lovey-dovey ads that tout his power and influence in Washington, DC (ads that, by the way, incorrectly state that McConnell is the only the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the U.S. Senate)?
As you’ll recall from earlier this week, for the first time ever in the Survey USA tracking poll of McConnell’s approval/disapproval the senator’s disapproval exceeded his approval; the numbers shifted from 49/45 in October to 44/47 in November.
Why aren’t Kentuckians buying into McConnell’s message that his short-term power and all it can bring to Kentucky are too great for Kentuckians to reject over their concerns for the future of the state and nation?
Why aren’t they rallying around McConnell with pride as he’s attacked from the left and the right for his campaign money-grubbing, political influence-mongering, and fiscal irresponsibility?
Perhaps it’s because poll upon poll are revealing that Americans are more dissatisfied with the direction of the nation than they’ve been in a long time.
As this Washington Post/ABC News poll from earlier this month notes:
Poll Finds Americans Pessimistic, Want Change
War, Economy, Politics Sour Views of Nation’s Direction
By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen[...]
Concern about the economy, the war in Iraq and growing dissatisfaction with the political environment in Washington all contribute to the lowest public assessment of the direction of the country in more than a decade. Just 24 percent think the nation is on the right track, and three-quarters said they want the next president to chart a course that is different than that pursued by Bush.
Overwhelmingly, Democrats want a new direction, but so do three-quarters of independents and even half of Republicans. Sixty percent of all Americans said they feel strongly that such a change is needed after two terms of the Bush presidency.
[...]
###
Thus, essentially the position we find ourselves in is this:
Americans and Kentuckians alike are miserably unhappy with the state and direction of the nation and the unwillingness of the powers-that-be in Washington to do anything about it.
Sen. Mitch McConnell is advertising to Kentuckians that he is at the center of the status quo in Washington and is one of the key figures of the current establishment, with which they are so dissatisfied.
In the end, in his effort to reverse his falling standing in the eyes of his constituents, McConnell is only adding fuel to the fire as to why they should dislike him all the more.
- 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Mitch McConnell , Opinion Polls
- Comments(5)
Elaine Chao’s (Mitchie’s wife) labor dept. says “Unemployment rate down in October ”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly estimate of the number of employed Kentuckians for October 2007 was 1,944,093 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This figure is up 11,030 from the 1,933,063 employed in October 2006.
The monthly estimate of the number of unemployed Kentuckians for October 2007 was 116,407, up 446 from the 115,961 unemployed in October 2006.
The manufacturing sector recorded 800 fewer jobs in October 2007 compared to September 2007. Compared to October 2006, jobs in the sector were down by 4,200 in October 2007.
Real estate and rental businesses lost 100 jobs in October 2007. This employment decrease is reflective of weakness in the housing market and the credit crunch.
Oh yes: Part time and temp help was way up, so maybe that explains her unbelievable figures.
Must be some of these out of work folks that are “unhappy with the state and direction of the nation and the unwillingness of the powers-that-be in Washington to do anything about it.”
Could crap like this be causing “growing dissatisfaction with the political environment in Washington.” ????
Look what Mitch done got into now! Earmarks! Just like the crooks from California, and Alaska! Bush is shocked! … OMG!
Bush Blasts Congressional ‘Majority’ For Earmarks Belonging To Leading Republicans
Last Week, after President Bush used his sixth-ever veto to squash “a measure to fund education, job training and health programs,” he criticized the fiscal responsibility and spending priorities of “the majority” in Congress:
The majority was elected on a pledge of fiscal responsibility, but so far it’s acting like a teenager with a new credit card.
White House press secretary Dana Perino added that it was “not only the extra spending” that raised White House objections, but “also 2,000 earmarks that the president would like to see stripped out.”
While Bush is trying to cast the majority in Congress as “acting like drunken sailors with federal tax dollars” because of earmarks, he should take notice of who placed the largest earmarks in the bill he just vetoed: Republicans.
According to the November 6 edition of CQ Today, the two largest individual earmarks in the bill were placed by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY):
However, much of the “pork” Boehner complained about was requested by Republicans. Aside from the “National Programs and Activities,” the single biggest earmark in the Labor-HHS-Education section of the bill belongs to Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., who won $9.3 million for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The second-largest was requested by Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL, R-Ky. — $8.4 million for the University of Louisville Research Foundation.
If Bush were serious about spending, he’d take on McConnell and Shelby, but he hasn’t. Instead, he’s playing “pure politics” in an effort to obscure his long record of fiscal irresponsibility.
Great post C. Wash. We all know how much of a hypocrite MM is, but seeing it in writing hammers it home!!
Let’s be carefull what we say here. One of these days, one of these guise is gonna reed whut’s ritten hear and realize to be reelected all he needs to do is listen to us.
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