Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* The Obama campaign is hitting Mitt Romney over his "47 percent" problem again, releasing this new television spot overnight. The tagline: "Instead of attacking folks who work for a living, shouldn't we stand up for them?"
* A new Bloomberg National Poll puts Obama's lead over Romney at six points, 49% to 43%, driven in large part by the public's unfavorable view of the Republican candidate.
* In Ohio, a new Quinnipiac/CBS/NYT poll shows Obama leading Romney by 10 points, 53% to 43%.
* In Pennsylvania, the Quinnipiac/CBS/NYT poll shows Obama leading Romney by 12 points, 54% to 42%.
* In Florida, the Quinnipiac/CBS/NYT poll shows Obama leading Romney by nine points, 53% to 44%.
* In Ohio's U.S. Senate race, both the Quinnipiac/CBS/NYT poll and a Washington Post poll show incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) with double-digit leads over Josh Mandel (R).
* The same is true in Florida's U.S. Senate race, where the same two polls show Sen. Bill Nelson (D) with even bigger leads over Rep. Connie Mack IV (R).
* Now that it's officially too late for Todd Akin to drop out in Missouri's U.S. Senate race, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) is launching a more aggressive ad campaign targeting the right-wing candidate.
* And with an eye on 2016, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are both making appearances in New Hampshire this week.
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These are all fake polls. Fox and Friends tell me that all the polls showing Obama in the lead have to be regiggered because everyone of the polls (including Fox News) is biased against Mitt. Damn the facts for having a liberal bias.
One problem with these polls and the ever-increasing lead for the President is that it could give a sense of security - false or otherwise - for supporters of the POTUS and some may not make an effort to vote, since he seems to have a commanding lead. And on the other side of the coin, it may "scare" Romney supporters to make sure they get out to vote.
I too have heard the "liberal bias" argument when it comes to the polls. I wonder if there is a way to see the breakdown of the responents and their affiliation. It is supposed to be a cross-section of the country, but if say a poll calls folks in NYC and Chicago mostly - that would tend to "favor" the Democratic candidate. I know they are supposed to be "scientific" but I just wonder if after a lot of hang ups or "no" answers when asked to participate that they may not get as good a mix of respondents as intended.
Steve, you are an idiot.
The Campaign round up covers not one House race. Of course there are 435 of them, and even if the swing races are counted we are talking 35 to 40. Like Sports, most viewers have neither the attention span or the interest for what appear to be minor league contests. These are all off the radar- People want to see the pugilistic bouts in the main events.
Think about it. If the GOP keeps the House, it is status quo. They have won, and monied interests have won. Because they just want government out of the way. Eventually if the debt burden is not dealt with, then the long knives will be out to cut back the "socialistic state". So 4 more years of dysfunction is a win.
The game is won or lost not in that debate ring, or in the Warren or Sherrod Brown races. Fascinating as that blow by blow sports writing is, Just try to pry your eyes from the shiny object.
Please stop it.
Find some way to cover where the real battle is being fought- the fight that progressives very likely will lose due to their fascination with shiny objects.
John - you make a very good point here. But,
?? Honestly, I think that's unnecessarily harsh, dude. Any chance you can offer some
well-researched, detailed posts about those "swing races"? I, for one, would greatly appreciate them...
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
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Personally I would like to see some polling of non-battleground states. I wonder how the 47% comment is playing in the red states.
If we are guaranteed 4 more years of dysfunction due to intense coverage of electoral events that had little or nothing to do with changing the dynamic, then what level of harshness ought to be applied.
This has rapidly devolving into a carnival of political spectacles. Hosts and opinion meisters need huge buckets of cold water thrown on them. They are giddy with excitement over the coverage.
What term is appropriate collectively for a Press that ignored the decisive races of 2012? Is the press in general being idiotic? If it is appropriate in general, then why demure from applying it to specific cases. This is not ad hominem. This is describing an act of stupidity by very intelligent people.
Happens all the time, and sometimes buckets of cold water is the correct course.
If you want more information on how monied interests are controlling the under the radar races, the whole problem in microcosm is covered by Jane Mayer on her piece examining Art Pope's activities in state races North Carolina. (New Yorker) (NPR)
^ Was that first line a question?
Now who is an idiot? Just using the same brush..
Of course it is important to keep the White House and Senate. But ask yourselves why the GOP will do anything different for the next 4 years if they retain the House.
Today the situation is:
Status quo. GOP loses some seats but what incentive do they have to do anything but a replay of 2010-2012?
We lose. And we lose on races that were not given any attention by the national media. Not that MSNBC does not have people on their staff that know exactly what is going on. Take Russert for example. Alex Wagner had him on Monday I think, and he mentioned a news item no one seems to give a dang about. The DSCC pulled all their ads for Larry Kissel.
Right. Who?
In March, he was ahead in the polls, now he is regarded as a lost cause. Obama is drowning in cash and Kissell is getting crushed by hit ads from the GOP and PACs. The NRCC is doing it everywhere. Just pick any of the swing races for the House and look at the youtube commercials. Search on Larry Kissell, and try hard to find any pro Kissell pieces. You will be hard pressed.
We are getting killed.
I am not concerned about the Senate situation. It's not that I think Warren is a sure thing or that it doesn't deserve attention. Murray deserves election as Senate leader and she should blow away the Senate rules on requirement of a supermajority as a consequence of GOP obstructionism. Failing that, we can resort to conference committee games, but that does not solve the obstruction of court and commission appointments.
The key battle is to get Nancy back in the driver's seat. We lose if Nancy doesn't get her 25 seats. She is optimistic, fine- provide some stories from folks in her orbit that convey the direness of the situation. The DCCC needs more dough funneled their way if we are going to pull out of this pathway to defeat in the House. Obama's Pacs would do well to recalibrate their strategies and through their muscle behind the key swing House races.
And a word to the Media dudes and dudettes. There is great drama in this. It is a story of the little guys fighting the good fight against the Art Pope's. Sure, a lot of these candidates are blue dogs/ centrists which many progressives cannot relate to. Of course maybe the coverage has to come out of the more conservo type MSNBC shows because blue dogs have to avoid association with being too progressive for their voters.
John,
Here in the 6th district of Minnesota, we are doing our absolute best to show Michele Bachmann the door. She has won this district by the narrowest of margins and we won't let it happen again.
I know it is only one of 435 but as the sparrow said, "One does what one can."
Guys like you form the backbone of democracy. Good for you.
It does look close- 48 to 46 percent. There are conservo hosts who might do it. Bachmann gets tons of free PR, and there is no love lost between Scarborough and her-- If I remember correctly he thinks she epitomizes of the ruin of the GOP.
So it makes a good story. A sane fiscally conservative independent fighting against a lunatic extremist. MSNBC should invite Graves onto Morning Joe and give him some national exposure.
Pauly, I suppose you probably saw it, but in case you were unaware, Matthews had Graves on yesterday.
I wonder if there was any discernible spike in donations to his campaign after the appearance. Do you know?
That could make a difference at this point. Is there a story about the battleground House races being overpowered by Right wing money? If it is true then it is fair to bring it up and invite little guy Dem candidates on who are getting the crap kicked out of them in the alley by the GOP while the crowd is watching the "main event" of the Presidential and Senate races.
I know this was true in the Art Pope state races due to the Jane Mayer reporting. It would be very surprising for GOP operatives to not play a card they think can effectively played.
I see where former Senator (till he got his butt beat) Insanitorum and Confederate Senator Demented have endorsed fellow crazy person Akin now that he's "in it to win it." Birds of a feather...
Watching the screeching get dialed up to 11 is cool - kicking Republicans is fun.
Claire is going to need all the help she can get to hold on against the Tea Party wackos backing Akin. Don't assume the McCaskill race is in the bag.
Romney put out a new ad attempting to repair the damage from his 47% videotape. In it he presents a false choice, i.e. either compassion is supporting people on welfare OR helping people get off welfare. Can't it be BOTH? This is another example of his divisive approach to governing that is totally unnecessary. As a candidate for president, he should be inspiring us as Americans to work together for the welfare of all.
Yeah. Thing is, it's a bad day for him when he's spending money and ad minutes trying to explain away a recording of him sneering at people who have the temerity to think they're entitled to food in front of a room full of obscenely rich people and it's really hard to make it work you've spent the last year building a reputation for pathological dishonesty.
Obscenely rich people who spent more to attend that meal than most Americans earn in a year...
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
The "ruling class" in this country pays its employees as little as possible and then tells them they're poor because they don't work hard enough.
The fact that some people buy into that crap truly amazes me.
Those Senate race numbers ought to have House Republicans wetting themselves. Charlie Cook will never admit it, and god knows the Republicans gerrymandered the livin gs*&t out of the House districts in every state they got their hands on in 2010, but it's really beginning to look like yet another wave election could be on its way.
Only if we all GOTV! So, let's do that.
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
What the Democratics need to show in their adds, is what has happen in the Republicans controlled states; limiting voter rights and strangling women's right to safe abortions.
I for one have never voted by party, this election if you are running for dog catcher and a Republican, I am voting for the other guy.
When the election results are in and so many of the hate mongers are rejected at the polls, I predict that the Ron Byers in our midst will be yelling that the Great Conspiracy of fake pollsters and non-Fox & Friends reporters of news some how "rigged" the many separate elections to engineer a totally non-representative outcome specifically designed to deprive the Ron Byers in our country of their inalienable rights. It is impossible for them to take off their tinted and distorted glasses just as it is impossible for them to be gracious about the majority of their fellow citizens refusing to don such visual "aids". They will never admit that right wing extremists damned the facts (because of their right wing bias).
david rivera, a gop house member from florida currently running for relection had set up a fake democrat to run in the primary...now the "democrat" has gone public
miami herald
Justin Lamar Sternad, whose failed congressional campaign became the subject of a federal grand-jury investigation, has told the FBI that U.S. Rep. David Rivera was secretly behind his run for office, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald have learned.
Sternad, 35, also told authorities that his campaign manager, Ana Sol Alliegro, acted as the conduit between the campaign and Rivera, who allegedly steered unreported cash to the Democrat’s campaign, according to sources familiar with the investigation and records shared with The Herald.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/25/3021207/rivera-ran-secret-campaign-sternad.html#storylink=cpy
How close did Sternad get to winning the primary? Did he have a chance? If not, what would be the point getting him into the primary?
To draw down support and resources for the legitimate Democratic candidate before the general election? I've seen more than a few Rape-Public-CON "dirty tricks" in my time...
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
Pretzel,
I could see the drain on resources - probably not a whole lot since ALL the candidates would still print up their lawn signs and ads regardless - but I would think that the Democratic voters in that district would still vote for the primary winner over the Republican candidate even if it wasn't their "guy".
skip,
here's how steve put it yesterday
The underlying scheme is rather ridiculous. Rivera, fearful of a challenge from Democrat Joe Garcia, allegedly arranged for Justin Sternad to run against Garcia in a Democratic primary.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/24/14072875-congressman-and-envelopes-stuffed-with-cash-dont-go-together-well?lite
if you click on the miami herald link in my previous comment it will take you to a page with links to all the paper's coverage on this
This commercial seals the deal, Rmoney and his money-friends just got taken down a peg all by themselves. Sometimes I love the internet, and the "modern" ability to record people's actions and words, even without them knowing it. Somebody is always watching now, mostly that is a good thing even though in our bizzaro world sometimes even recorded, blatant truth is not enough to offend the status quo.
If anyone missed it on "The Last Word", google "Homer Votes 2012" and see what happens when he votes for Romney. Priceless! You've got to love the suicide nets!
Rush (today, 9/26/12) questioned where the democratic-independent-republican precentages came from (voting year, post voting survey, etc.) He obviously contested them. WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
Yeah, that all looks good, but what do those polls say once they're "unskewed?" LOL
It's a good thing the real poll in November can't be "unskewed."
Gosh with these polls I worry-are the Diebolds in a secure location? Will there be armed "poll watchers" challenging votes? Will Rove look into Harri Kari?