Congressional Quarterly says Michael Bennet “needs to get better known” — who? Oh yeah! Colorado’s junior junior U.S. Senator. The Democrats’ Public Policy Polling – in a herculean effort to put an impossibly meaningful spin on an election that’s more than 21 months away – finds almost half of Coloradans will admit they don’t even know who Bennet is.
(How many of the 54 percent were fibbing, or thought maybe pollsters were asking about this AFC West rival running back?)
We’re a long way from knowing much of anything about the dynamics for the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Colorado. But we’ll at least begin to have a good idea of the terrain when we see how Bennet casts his vote on union card-check legislation.
With the announcement that Attorney General John Suthers is staying put, that might open the door for a dark horse GOP candidate like Ryan Frazier to jump in and pick up some extra fundraising steam.
We’ll see. Political junkies of Colorado, pay close attention.
Geez, this must be a little embarrassing then.
“PPP also tested Bennet in hypothetical 2010 contests against Republicans Scott McInnis, Bill Owens, Tom Tancredo, and John Suthers. Bennet led in each of the match ups except the one against Owens, where he trailed 44-41. Still, there’s an argument to be made that a three point deficit isn’t bad against an eight year Governor for someone most voters in the state had never heard of two months ago.”
Matt,
I’m not sure who is supposed to be embarrassed by any poll released 21 months ahead of an election almost no one is thinking about. Maybe you mean the potential Republican candidates whose names are being tested by a Democrat-sponsored polling firm. A little bit, then, perhaps. But I’ll let the four figures you mentioned decide for themselves whether they are embarrassed or not. You may have noticed the GOP is in the wilderness, and the brand has fallen on hard times. But I’m guessing you don’t care to engage in any constructive dialogue on that matter. Too bad.
On a different note … As a champion of the Democrats’ alleged fiscal responsibility, you have been strangely silent about the trillion dollar pork bill rolling through Congress right now. The GOP Congress’ numerous screw-ups on fiscal issues in the recent past pales in comparison to this debt-inducing monster. I’m just thankful they finally grew a backbone. Where is your team at on fiscal responsibility?
“I’m not sure who is supposed to be embarrassed by any poll released 21 months ahead of an election almost no one is thinking about”
Presumably the same folks who think it’s relevant that no one knows who Michael Bennet is 21 months before that election. I’m merely filling out your coverage of the poll – you seem to have forgotten to mention the rest of their conclusions.
I have no problems with the current bill. The Republicans have proposed no reasonable alternative that doesn’t resemble what they spent the last 8 years doing – and we know how well that worked. Something must be done to shock the economy back into a normal rhythm.
Its pretty easy for the Republicans to grandstand when they hold no actual levers of power. They’d have been stupid to vote *for* the bill, since they wouldn’t get any credit *for* it, and could only take heat from their base, which is all they’ve got left. I’d expect nothing less than politicking and pandering to that shrinking demographic at this point in their slide to irrelevance.
Thanks, Matt. At least we now know quite clearly that your disgust with all things Republican has nothing to do with any sense of true fiscal responsibility, economic liberty, or even a general concern with the public interest. That’s clear enough. If you really believe there are “no problems with the current bill,” it only shows your true colors – either as a blindly partisan Democrat or a socialist ideologue. Either of which is fine, of course.
It’s entirely within your natural-born rights to say: “Something must be done to shock the economy back into a normal rhythm,” and associate that with the massive boondoggle coming out of the Congress. Such an expression of faith, the belief that directing hundreds of billions of dollars into government programs old & new will do “something” to “shock the economy” for the good, is greater than what can be said of many Christians I know. While it’s quite admirable on a personal level, we all know that most of us have a selective distaste of faith-based politicking.
You also write: “Its pretty easy for the Republicans to grandstand when they hold no actual levers of power. They’d have been stupid to vote *for* the bill, since they wouldn’t get any credit *for* it, and could only take heat from their base, which is all they’ve got left. I’d expect nothing less than politicking and pandering to that shrinking demographic at this point in their slide to irrelevance.”
So they made the smart choice, which is to condemn themselves to political irrelevance? What was the smart choice? You may wish to reconsider what you wrote there. Unless you have come to believe so deeply in your own propaganda that no matter what Republicans do, it’s bad, sick, stupid, evil, yucky, harmful, etc. Maybe you’ve failed to consider the distinct possibility that the bill is terrible policy. I know it’s hard to believe that Obama could be wrong about something….
Finally, what about the 11 Democrats who voted No? Are they just grandstanding, too? What did it take to make a move that reflects poorly on the strong arms of their own party’s leadership? My concern is less whether the GOP slides into irrelevance than whether our nation slides heavily into debt and European-style socialism on the back of partisan pork and false promises. Hurrah to all 188 members of the House – from both parties – who recognized the bill for what it is and had the courage to vote No.
“has nothing to do with any sense of true fiscal responsibility, economic liberty, or even a general concern with the public interest.”
How’s that? There’s not a whole lot of “fiscal responsibility” in sitting by and doing nothing as we sink into a Depression. Not a whole lot of “economic liberty” when there is no economy to speak of.
“Such an expression of faith, the belief that directing hundreds of billions of dollars into government programs old & new will do “something†to “shock the economy†for the good, is greater than what can be said of many Christians I know. While it’s quite admirable on a personal level, we all know that most of us have a selective distaste of faith-based politicking.”
So, what’s your plan? The last 8 years of tax cuts doesn’t seem to have done a whole lot for the economy. I don’t hear any plans coming from the right, just a lot of “faith-based politicking” in the same old trickle-down silliness.
Argue with them, don’t argue with me: http://www.cato.org/special/stimulus09/cato_stimulus.pdf
So, their plan is a newspaper ad? Was this ad introduced as a bill?
Sigh … Sorry to have questioned your deeply-held faith.
I would recommend you go back and read the actual bill that passed the House again, and read a few economics texts – including Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson to keep it easy.
But only if you’re ready to have your faith challenged. Feel free to take your time.
So you can’t or won’t articulate the alternatives the Republicans offered? I still don’t see anything but a newspaper ad. Put some of your clearly superior economics knowledge to use and explain to us what the Republicans have on offer that will stimulate the economy. Since Republican “economics” is really a one trick pony, I’ll offer my rebuttal in advance: in an economy this uncertain, tax cuts don’t get spent, they get saved.
“I would recommend you go back and read the actual bill that passed the House again”
And what are you expecting I will find in the bill that passed with no Republican support, that will make me think the Republicans have offered a plan that will work?