Ok, this is telling.
NYT:
Senator Jon Kyl, a staunch supporter of President Bush who faces a potentially difficult re-election fight this year, is hearing a lot from constituents in Arizona about the plan to allow a Dubai company to operate shipping terminals at Eastern ports. Most think the deal should be stopped.As a friend of mine pointed out to me earlier today in an email:
"It is almost all critical to dubious," Mr. Kyl said, referring to public opinion at home. "If I have to disagree with the Bush administration, I will."
Did you know that since George Bush took office, Kyl has voted with the president 96.6% of the time, more than just about any senator running in a contested campaign this year. Kyl votes with Bush so often that when he had a chance to disagree with Bush and vote to provide armor to U.S. troops, he sided with the White House and voted no. When he had a chance to stand up to the president and provide tax relief for Arizonas middle class families, he sided with the White House and voted no. And when Kyl had a chance to fight the presidents student loan cuts, he opted not to do so and sided with the White House.If Senators like Jon Kyl are distancing themselves from Bush, then the administration really is in trouble. Finally.
The new Quinnipiac poll out today says that if a candidate for Congress supports President Bush, 37 percent of Americans are less likely to vote for that candidate.
[Sources: Body Armor Vote 108, 4/21/05; Middle Class Tax Relief Vote #9, 02/02/06; MSN Money; Student Loan Vote #363, 12/21/05; NEA Federal Legislative Update, 1/25/06; Pioneer Press, 12/19/05; Quinnipiac University Poll 3/2/06]
