From our good friends at the DSCC:
- GOP Pollster: New Poll Should Worry '06 Republicans.
"With the midterms a year away, these numbers could spell trouble for the GOP. 'These are not good times for Republicans,' says Republican pollster Bill McInturff. 'This is a very unhappy electorate that's going to be unstable, and they are terrifically unstable numbers for a Republican majority." [NBC News, 11/9/05]
- NEW PA POLL SHOWS SANTORUM LOSING 51%-35%.
According to a new Philadelphia Daily News/Keystone poll, Sen. Rick Santorum would lose to Democratic challenger Bob Casey Jr. by a whopping 16 points if the election were held today. In addition, Santorum's own job approval ratings are at a six-year low. Bush is exacerbating Santorum's problems: A September Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll found that 54% of Pennsylvania voters disapprove the job President Bush is doing and, of those, only 9% would vote for Santorum in the upcoming Senate election. Christopher Borick, of the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion said, "It will be a significant challenge for Santorum to show a divide between him and the White House." [Philadelphia Daily News, 10/10/05; Allentown Morning Call, 9/29/05]
Santorum: Bush Can Campaign for Him "Anytime." Explaining that prior commitmentÂ?s will keep Sen. Santorum from appearing with Bush at a Pennsylvania VeteransÂ? Day event tomorrow, a Santorum spokesman said, "The senator looks forward to having the president come to Pennsylvania as we get closer to next year's election." And this week, Santorum added, Â?He can come anytime he wants.Â? [AP, 11/9/05]
- BUSH APPROVAL SUFFERS 14-POINT DROP IN MONTANA.
In Montana, a state Bush won by twenty points last November, his job approval ratings are plummeting. According to a new Montana State University-Billings poll, 51% of Montanans disapprove of the job Bush is doing, while only 42% approve, a 14-point drop in approval since last year. Montana Sen. Conrad Burns is currently in the middle of a highly competitive 2006 re-election bid.[Billings Gazette, 11/10/05]
- NOVAK LAYS BLAME AT BUSH'S FEET
This morning, columnist Bob Novak wrote of congressional Republicans fearing for next year's elections after Tuesday's losses, "The antidote to avoid that fate is to keep as far away from President Bush as possible, a lesson underlined by the president's failed election rescue mission for former Virginia state Attorney General Kilgore. The consequences may be profound. As his approval rating dipped, Bush increasingly has been treated in Congress as a lame duck. Tuesday's Virginia outcome increases the propensity of Republican senators and House members not only to avoid their president on the campaign trail but also to ignore his legislative proposals." [Chicago Sun-Times, Novak Column, 11/10/05]
- SOME '06 REPUBLICANS ARE ALREADY TELLING BUSH TO STAY AWAY
Yesterday, Don Imus asked Rep. J.D. Hayworth if he would like President Bush to visit Arizona and appear in campaign ads for the Republican congressman. Hayworth quickly replied, "In a word, no. Not at this time." ["Imus in the Morning," 11/9/05]
