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Political environment continues to deteriorate for pro-abortion Democrats

Oct 29, 2014

 

By Dave Andrusko

 Pro-abortion House Minority Leader Nancy Pelos (D-Ca.) with House Democratic leaders

Pro-abortion House Minority Leader Nancy Pelos (D-Ca.) with House Democratic leaders

As a pro-lifer who has the privilege of writing for a living, there are few things more fun than to draw together a series of news items that paint an affirmative, compelling portrait. Here are four such items.

#1. Perhaps I should put this last, but it is so interesting I bumped it up. It’s a press release from the Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP), located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. A new national poll of America’s 18- to 29- year-olds finds slightly more than half (51%) of young Americans who say they will “definitely be voting” in November prefer a Republican-run Congress with 47 percent favoring Democrat control – a significant departure from IOP polling findings before the last midterm elections (Sept. 2010 – 55%: prefer Democrat control; 43%: prefer Republican control). The cohort – 26% of whom report they will “definitely” vote in the midterms – appear up-for-grabs to both political parties and could be a critical swing vote in many races in November. …

By a significant 12-point margin, 42 percent to 30 percent, a greater proportion of young Republicans say they are definitely going to vote in November than young Democrats, a wider margin that seen in Sept. 2010 IOP polling (38%: Republicans “definitely” voting; 33%: Democrats “definitely” voting).

“A significant departure”? That’s putting it mildly.

#2. Headline from today’s Washington Post: “Poll: Midterm momentum belongs to GOP.” The Post found more people saying they will vote for the Republican candidate for the House of Representative(who is almost always pro-life) than the Democratic candidate (who are virtually uniformly pro-abortion) 50% to 44%.

Moreover by a 46% to 33% margin, the public thinks Republicans will take control of the Senate—and by 33% to 24%, they think this is a “good thing” (39% said it would make no difference.)

The President’s disapproval remains high (51%) and it is having an impact. “More than half of voters say that the president will not be a factor in their vote. But among those who say he will be, the percentage who say they will use their vote to express opposition to the president is 10 points higher than the share who say they want to send a message of support for him,” write Dan Balz and Peyton M. Craighill. Speaking of the impact of Mr. Obama on vulnerable Democrats….

#3. Karen Tumulty, also writing in the Washington Post, opines

Running away from an unpopular president of your own party is a time-honored tactic in midterm elections. The problem is that it rarely works.

That is even truer than usual for the current crop of endangered Senate Democrats. Their efforts to distance themselves from President Obama’s record — rather than defend it — has become a source of friction with the White House.

“I’ve always believed that it’s not an effective strategy to run against a president of your own party, unless you’ve been actively opposed to that president,” said David Axelrod, who was Obama’s top political strategist in his two presidential campaigns and a senior adviser in his White House. “You’re going to get tagged with it anyway.”

With so many Democrats trying to suggest a distance from Obama that doesn’t exist, Axelrod added, it’s natural for the president and his team “to be a little frustrated.”

It’s not often that the Washington Post, let alone a top Obama operative, would acknowledge what Senate Democrats are trying their best to ignore: you can’t run away from/hide from/or pretend that an almost down-the-line support for the President’s proposals somehow translates into “independence.”

It is amusing, really, the unwillingness of some Senate Democrats to answer the question if they voted for the President. They’re already obedient. This simply makes them look foolish. And

#4. Under the headline “House Dems fret debilitating losses,” POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt writes

The political environment continues to deteriorate for House Democrats ahead of a midterm election that’s certain to diminish their ranks.

With President Barack Obama’s unpopularity hindering their candidates and Republican cash flooding into races across the country, Democrats are increasingly worried that the election will push them deep into the minority and diminish their hopes of winning back the majority in 2016 or beyond.

Looking to contain the damage, Democrats are pumping money into liberal congressional districts that were long thought to be safely in their column. Over the last several days, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has directed resources to maintain seats in Hawaii and Nevada, both of which broke sharply for the president in 2012 — an indication of just how much the terrain has shifted against the party over the past two years. …

Party operatives say Obama is weighting down House candidates across the country. In the districts of 24 of the 30 most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, more voters say they view the president unfavorably than favorably, according to polling data conducted over the last month for party strategists and provided to POLITICO. In 10 of those 24 races, Democratic lawmakers have recently lost ground along with the president.

More tomorrow. Don’t forget, the mid-terms are next Tuesday.

Categories: Politics
Tags: Politics