Reply #36: The Democrats are not capitalizing on the unpopularity of Bush

[Hippo_Tron]

Feingold just put the GOP in a situation where they had to either support the censure or support an imploding administration. The problem is that the Dems are spineless and are giving the GOP clout cover. No, Bush isn't at 30% in Nebraska but depending on what month it is, he has gone below 50. Nebraska and Nelson are also the most extreme example and if he were the one defecting vote, there wouldn't be a problem. Sure, Bush is popular in North Dakota but Kent Conrad voted against the IWR and that was more politically risky than censuring an unpopular president. Bill Nelson of Florida is running double digits against Katherine Harris and has about zero chance of losing re-election in a state that is purple anyway. Other than those, I don't see any senators up for re-election that might be taking a risk by voting for this.

Midterm elections are rarely about the issues (at least on the national level) and are almost entirely about the popularity of the incumbent president. Most voters hadn't even heard with the Contract With America and if they did, they didn't know what it was about. Gingrich capitalized on the House Bank Scandal, Democrats stayed home because Clinton's first two years were a failure, and "values voters" sprinted to the polls in retaliation to Clinton allowing gays to serve in the military.

This election is going to be a referendum on Bush's handling of Iraq, Bush's handling of Katrina, and all of Bush's other fuck-ups including the illegal NSA spying. Democrats need to beat the Abhramoff, DeLay, and Cunningham scandals into every voter's head and they need to associate the GOP congress with Bush's imploding presidency. Introducing policy alternatives is great and we are doing that, but ultimately it is not what is going to win us the election.