The Washington Post/ABC News poll doesn't look good for the 2010 elections. It's the latest in a series of polls showing that the Republicans are looking to make major gains in November. There's a caveat that could provide an opening for Democrats -- the GOPers have no "clear plan" to govern. That's because they don't have any plans to govern. And, if recent history is any judge, any plans they do have will lead to intractable wars and an economic crisis. But, it seems like voters are so angry, they may be willing to ignore that recent history:
For the first time in more than four years, Republicans run about evenly with Democrats on the basic question of which party they trust to handle the nation's biggest problems. Among registered voters, 40 percent say they have more confidence in Democrats and 38 percent say they have more trust in Republicans. Three months ago, Democrats had a 12-point advantage.Polling like this is going to leave Democrats skittish when they get back next week. They should be doing everything possible to improve the job situation -- and to fire up their own base. I don't expect much action on firing up the Democratic base. The professional Democrats in DC (the staffers, consultants) think that pushing the Democratic agenda is what got them into trouble with voters. I think it's the opposite. The White House let Republicans shrink the stimulus. The White House let Max Baucus and the House Blue Dogs drag out the health care debate. Remember when Blue Dog Stephanie Herseth Sandlin crowed last year, “It is because of the Blue Dog Coalition that there is no floor vote before the August break.” That helped a lot, huh?
On the economy, 43 percent of voters side with Republicans when it comes to dealing with financial problems, while 39 percent favor Democrats. (Fifteen percent say they trust neither party more.) Although not a significant lead for Republicans, this marks the first time they have had any numerical edge on the economy dating to 2002. In recent years, Democrats have typically held double-digit advantages on the issue.
The principal obstacles to GOP electoral hopes continue to be doubts that Republicans have a clear plan for the country should they win control of the House or Senate in November. But overall, the poll shows that the party has made big gains in the public's estimation since earlier this year.
Among all voters, 47 percent say they would back the Republican in their congressional district if the election were held now, while 45 percent would vote for the Democrat. Any GOP advantage on this question has been rare in past years - and among those most likely to vote this fall, the Republican advantage swells to 53 percent to the Democrats' 40 percent.
It really seems like the White House and the professional Democrats don't like their base. They get annoyed when people actually expect them to deliver. Now, all those people who actually believed the promises made in 2008 aren't real happy. There's not much time left to fix it -- and there's not much of an indication that anyone is even going to try.
The President is trying to go on the offensive on the economy and jobs this week. He's got to keep doing that til November.
