Gallup: Dems hold 23 point lead in generic ballot

[Zynx]

By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Four weeks before congressional elections, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows Democrats hold a 23-point lead over GOP candidates. That's double the lead Republicans had a month before they seized control of Congress in 1994.

President Bush's approval rating was 37%, down from 44% in a Sept. 15-17 poll. The approval rating for Congress was 24%, down 5 points from last month.

<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-09-poll...

[maseman]

1. Holy shizzle batman

23 point spread? I cannot see Nuke-gate helping them very much.

[Beetwasher]

14. The NK News Should Hurt Them Actually

It's another massive failure for Repub Foreign Policy.

[Art_from_Ark]

24. One of the first things $hrub did in 2001

was to snub the Nobel Prize-winning South Korean president who came for an official visit in March 2001. Then he started ratcheting up the Saturday morning cartoonish "Axis of Eeeeeevil" rhetoric a few months later.

[buddysmellgood]

25. Holy Foley!

[kurth]

2. Still, no room for complacency.

Please get out and vote!!!!!!

[AX10]

3. Is this meant to make us complacent?

It won't work!

I find it hard to believe that we are this far ahead.

[Vincardog]

5. We have to kick the Greedy Old Pedophiles to the curb this time.

[longship]

4. The big issue indicators!!!!

While the candidate polls are flipping all over the place, all of the big issue indicators are moving monolithically in one direction. 23% is an absolutely huge gap which is not going to be made up in a month, no matter what happens.

The momentum of these big issue indicators is what's important, because the only outliers are the candidate polls. Something's wrong with the candidate polling this year.

These things say something important.

This is *not* to breed complacency. This is to activate everybody. Our victory has to be *huge* this year. Everybody has to do their part to bring this about.

Get active now!

[pnorman]

6. Don't ANYONE here lower their guard!

I doubt they'd DARE steal the vote with number. But if they could narrow it to about 10% 0r even lower ...........

[dubyaD40web]

7. K & R!

[jbonkowski]

8. Generic ballots are meaningless...

The old saying "All politics are local" is true. The people who actually vote (as compared to those who answer surveys) don't tend to think of their local member of Congress the same way they think of all the "others" in Washington.

It will be a lot closer than this. Turnout will be critical, and turnout in a lot of primaries this year were very low.

jim

[damntexdem]

9. Yeah, but in 1994 ...

the Dems didn't have Diebold to protect them. What will that 23-point edge translate into in terms of FAIRLY-COUNTED votes?

[SoCalDem]

12. Yep.. Diebold , the bogus polls, the lack of exit polls, and the drumbeat

of Fox-Snooze droning on and on and on were not a factor in 94..

fingers crossed

[BootinUp]

10. Oh goodie, now lets bring this one home!

I hope the Dems are prepared well to discuss Bush's failures on NK and also to respond to any attacks on missile defense systems.

[dicknbush]

11. This kind of a poll confuses me...

What does it mean really. In the words of Tip O'Neil It's all local. So if Joe Blow in Kokomo says yeah those Repubs suck but then goes out and votes Repub because he thinks his Repub guy is not like those other Repubs well then this is all for nought isn't it. I hope to God that th4e Dems gain 50+ seats in the house and send these rats scurrying for the doors....BUt I won't believe a thing Until I see Fat Ass Hastert walking down from the podium after giving the gavel to Nancy! Then and only then will I crack the champagne!

Here is my Democratic Slogan for the Election.

IF YOU WANT A CLEAN HOUSE GET A WOMAN TO DO THE JOB! VOTE DEMOCRATIC AND HELP NANCY DRAIN THE SWAMP!

[Tellurian]

13. Well, yeah...the Repukes always comeup with newer ways of stealing..

not that I'm trying to be a wet blanket or anything..

we've ascertained how they stole the Kerry's election in Ohio..
the missing ballots were just converted to Votes for Bush and
the Diebold machine was programmed, after a certain amount of Kerry
votes, to kick them over to Bush. (the discretionary tool method)

I hope all the bases are covered this time and someone has made an effort
to get professional assistance in checking each Diebold machine for corruption
and unusual programs mechanized to flip votes to an opponent or 3rd party candidate.

[warrens]

15. The trick is getting them out to vote

If you can, volunteer for a local dem. Get out the vote. It's kinda dull, boring work, but it's absolutely vital. Repukes, whatever else they may do, vote. They stampede to the polls. Dems have to be dragged. The BIGGEST days are the weekend before the election and election day. If you can, take some time out to man the phones or knock on doors or drive a van to pick up people.

[Vidar]

16. Good news. Hope they can hold it.

[w4rma]

17. What do you mean "they". Aren't you going to help?

"They" need your help.

If we don't make this happen, it's not just "their" fault. It's all of our faults.

[Vidar]

26. "We". Forgive my choice of pronouns.

[mikelgb]

18. just remember

the farther ahead dems are the more ruthless they will get... constant vigilance

[Zynx]

19. Good point, but we should be encouraged.

[brentspeak]

20. Ignore all polls, both good and bad-sounding.

The only thing that wins elections is to help out the candidate as much as one can (canvassing, etc.).

[greeneyedboy]

29. act as if the recent polls have us down 5%

i read recently, maybe on mydd.com, that WJC's war room folks always campaigned as if they were down 5 percent in the recent polls. seems like a good idea to me--never get complacent, and never lose hope. this is not hopeless, nor is it in the bag, because it's all about TURNOUT (yes, and making sure votes get counted--that's a separate project i hope we will all participate in.).

[gristy]

21. That may be enough of a lead to accomplish two things

Limit the "October Surprise" options, and their impact, available to the cabal
Make stealing the elections impossible, given this spread coupled with MSM's new-found balls

[krkaufman]

22. We're more gerrymandered now, and the news is more tilted...

... not to mention those black box things, so I won't be holding my breath.

[Zynx]

23. Gerrymandering only helps so much when you piss people off.

The other key is that this year we are going to clean up in statehouse races. We can redistrict between elections thanks to the Supreme Court.

[krkaufman]

28. "we can redistrict" -- THAT needs to be part of Nancy's plan

And I'm not saying that we need to take the districts to the other extreme. We need to go for the ethical high ground and create reasonable districts.

I was just thinking about this last night (i.e. state races & redistricting), and, wishfully thinking, thought we could name this new egalitarian approach to districting as "nancymandering."

p.s. I think you underestimate the degree to which Congressional districts have been distorted. The current districting is going to be *very* difficult to overcome.

[bdamomma]

27. No matter what we have to get the Dems in!!

It is the matter of our survival.