Hartford Courant: Polls: Foley scandal not helping Democrats

[DeepModem Mom]

Shays Hits Hard In Page Scandal
Invokes Chappaquiddick In Rebuking Farrell; Polls Show Issue Not Helping Democrats
October 11, 2006
By DAVID LIGHTMAN, Washington Bureau Chief

....The GOP had seemed to be in deep political trouble a week ago, when many Democrats were stridently insisting that Hastert quit - and pressing their Republican opponents to make the same demand.

But so far, the Democrats' idea to make Hastert the villain has not worked.

An ABC News/Washington Post survey taken Oct. 5 to 8 found that three of every four respondents did not think Democrats would have handled the Foley matter any better, and roughly two in three thought Democrats were pursuing the matter for political gain, not to raise legitimate concerns.

"The Foley scandal has not earned the Republican leadership any goodwill, but neither does it look like a point of differentiation for the Democrats," poll director Gary Langer said.

A Pew Research Center survey taken Sept. 21 to Oct. 4 had similar findings. Before the Foley scandal broke, voters preferred Democrats to Republicans by 13 percentage points - and after the congressman resigned Sept. 29, the margin was the same.

Job approval of Republican leaders, 33 percent before Foley quit, went up 1 percentage point afterward.

In the days ahead, said some analysts, Democrats need to be careful they do not appear to be leading a lynch mob....

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-foley1011.artoct11,0,4392221.story?coll=hc-headlines-politics

[bigscott]

1. yeah because the Hartford Courant

is such an un-biased rag. That paper is not worth lining a bird cage with - and they support Loserman - 'nuff said

[MadMaddie]

2. I call bullshit on the story...

The Neocon method of poisening the news with lies and then hoping the lies catch on has been demystified....people know now....the Repugs are hurting....I wonder how much money the owners of these papers are getting from the Propaganda money that the * cabal has set aside...

[Red Zelda]

3. So many newspapers in this country

aren't worth wiping sheit off the floor.
Poisoning the news indeed.

[DemNoir]

4. Typical Courant and right-wing media

Giant Repub teen sex scandal is trouble for Democrats!

Yeah that makes sense...

[lonehalf]

5. I can tell you that it's not helping us in Georgia

In our weekly poll (all voters, not just Democrats) the question was

"Will the Foley sex scandal cause you to change your vote in November"

Yes - 7%
No - 91%
Don't Know/Care 2%

[yebrent]

8. It may not be changing the way people vote directly, but...

it keeps the Rethugs from controlling the debate during a critical time before the election. IMO, Rove's plan was to hammer the Dems as weak on National Security non-stop, up until the election. That false story has died in favor of Foley and school violence. It may be difficult for the Rethugs to get back on topic. In that way it is helping the Dems.

[robcon]

6. I wouldn't expect people to admit that Foley changed their vote.

But in toss-up/undecided voting situations, I think the Repugs will take a hit because of Foley.

[Doctor_J]

7. Which Dems stridently called for Denny The Hut to quit?

I don't remember that.

[enough already]

9. TOTAL BULLSHIT!

This is what Rove and his band of nazis want us to believe and they are using their corporate whores in the press to deliver the message. We MUST keep pounding the homophobe pukes with Foley.

[madfloridian]

10. That's not true. Andrew Sullivan blogs about it. That is another...

article that appears to be warning Democrats off. We are not ever supposed to talk about anything..just let it go. And that is just baloney.

Read this:
http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/10/foley_and_the_s_1.html

"Across the South, beginning with Foley's own 16th District - where voters have to cast a ballot for Foley for it to count for the GOP’s new nominee, Joe Negron - the Democrats should be major gainers. Southern Political Report now ranks the 16th as Likely Democratic; safe Democratic might even be more appropriate. In Florida, the 13th and 22nd Districts, both with competitive races before the scandal broke, are adjacent to Foley's district and voters have been subject to the same media onslaught. In the 13th (Sarasota, etc.), Katherine Harris's (R) district, Democrat Christine Jennings (R) has released a poll showing her lead has increased from 8 points to 12 points in the past three weeks. My best guess is that both the 13th and 22nd will join the 16th in electing Democrats next month. And Florida's 8th District, with another competitive race, is further north, but could still be affected by the story. After all, Foley was the leading Republican US Senate contender in Florida for months in 2004 and is not unknown.

In Oklahoma, a campaign aide to Republican gubernatorial nominee Ernest Istook (R) resigned because of allegations that he was one of the pages who exchanged sexually oriented instant-messages with Foley. Istook's campaign was already suffering; it's now in free-fall.

Finally, the Foley issue - especially when combined with a variety of other voter complaints about the Bush Administration - could help the Democrats in a number of other congressional races across the South. In Kentucky's 2nd District, which was already hotly contested, GOP incumbent Ron Lewis canceled a fundraiser featuring Speaker Hastert because of the scandal. And in Kentucky 4, ex-US Rep. Ken Lucas (D) is using the issue against freshman Geoff Davis (R). In Virginia 2, freshman Thelma Drake (R) must depend on the votes from an area heavily influenced by Pat Robertson’'s resident headquarters and educational establishments; will they vote this time? Indeed, all of the competitive races in the South - such as North Carolina’s 8th and 11th districts - are likely to be affected to some degree."

[KingFlorez]

11. The GOP is down by as much as 23 points

It seems to me that Foley has caused the GOP problems. But even before that the Democrats were leading pretty well. So, the point is Foley has hurt the GOP.