Following Up
Chief among them is McConnell's airtight association with Bush and the Iraq war. In January, McConnell said, "The president doesn't have a stronger supporter in the Senate than the person you are looking at."McConnell wants to ride the anchor straight to the bottom. I encourage his descent. And do visit Ditch Mitch KY regularly for the lowdown.
Returning the favor, Bush told McConnell's supporters last month: "I'm glad to have Mitch by my side."
Those words, though, could haunt McConnell later.
A Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll last month found that 43 percent of Kentucky voters approved of Bush's job performance and 55 percent disapproved -- the worst of his presidency, but better than the national average.
If there's a Lincoln Chafee in 2008, it may come in the form of Oregon's Gordon Smith. Oregon is not as blue as Rhode Island, but Smith has been frantically running to the middle recently to hide his very right-of-center voting record. A new DSCC poll has Democratic Congressman Pete DiFazio leading Smith by 4%, 42-38. Yet that same sample of people have a generally positive opinion of Smith by 56-25, favorable/unfavorable. And, like Chafee, Smith could face a tough primary challenge. 1998 GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Sizemore recently told Blue Oregon when asked about challenging Smith, "that's not farfetched."I'll bet Chafee is saving a seat for Smith.
posted by Senate2008Guru | 11:40 AM
9 Comments:
You missed a line from the Politico article:
For McConnell, the poll found that 54 percent approved of his performance, 23 percent disapproved and 23 percent had no opinion.
31 net positive approval rating... not too shabby, especially with over $3 million in the bank. No wonder Ben Chandler passed on the race. I wonder what Democrat, other than Charlie Owen, will be stupid enough to take this race on.
I found a poll from April of 2003 that showed Daschle was at 56 approve 38 disapprove. What is important about that poll is that it was done by the GOP.
So yes, McConnel does have a good approval rating. But, that doesnt mean he is safe. His $3 million dollars doesnt either. Its his ability to raise extra that makes him pretty safe. There are probably few Senators, outside of the Presidential contenders, who could raise as much money as McConnell can.
Let's be honest here, Charlie Owen is no John Thune.
Re: Smith as Chafee -
Put that together with the item below about Smith possibly getting a primary challenge, and I think the comparison fits very well.
Dave, I'm pretty sure that was the point.
Although I doubt any national groups like the Club for Growth will bankroll Sizemore, in the event he decides to run.
I can't help it, whenever I hear "Club For Growth" I always think "Hair Club For Men."
On the war vote, it looks like Smith helped himself out. List of the Republicans who have decided to continue giving Bush complete control over the war:
Norm Coleman (MN)
Susan Collins (ME)
John Cornyn (TX)
Liddy Dole (NC)
Pete Domenici (NM)
Mitch McConnel (KY)
Pete Sessions (AL)
John Sununu (NH)
John Warner (VA)
There's a difference between giving Bush complete control and rushing a premature removal of troops. You can make partisan hay over the vote all you like; it will remain partisan hay.
I know - rushing a premature removal of troops - come the spring of '08, it will only be, what, five years? We're really rushing them out of there. A majority of Americans seem to agree that it's time for a withdrawal.
But if va blogger disagrees with it, then it must only be partisan hay.
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