GOP Runs off Cliff. Dems Say, “Beep Beep!”
16 03 2009
Some interesting new numbers have been coming in this week. It would appear that the approval rating of the GOP leadership is plummeting among…. Republicans. And by ‘plummeting’, I’m talking about a 12-points free fall in one month, according to a Pew Research poll, down from 55% at the beginning of February to 43% now. And we’ve gone well past the 50% mark, meaning that a minority of Republicans approve of their leadership. I find this encouraging, although the places they are looking for new leadership are a bit disturbing. [*coughPalincough*]
Not only that, but approval of GOP leaders overall has dropped to 28% overall — the lowest rating for GOP leaders in 12 years of Pew polling.
In fact, approval of Republican congressional leaders has fallen from 34% in February to 28% currently, the lowest rating for GOP leaders in nearly 14 years of Pew Research surveys.
Why is this happening? Is it general lack of morale among Republicans? Is it that GOP voters are frustrated that their leaders haven’t succeeded in blocking Obama’s agenda? Or could it be that the Dem strategy of using Rush Limbaugh to drive a wedge between die-hard partisan Republicans and those who want to see Obama succeed is working? Something is turning Republicans against their own leadership — in big numbers.
Separately, the poll also finds that Obama’s approval rating has slipped a bit amid doubts about certain aspects of Obama’s agenda. But the big movement here appears to be about the GOP.
This trend is backed up by Rasmussen, and a new poll by Daily Kos, which is worth checking out in its entirety.
Meanwhile, progressives will continue to peer over the cliff.
March 16th, 2009 at 6:22 PM
This is good, from ADN:
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/news/energy/1010-is-palin-holding-up-alaskas-long-sought-gas-pipeline
Scroll through to hear Bill McAllister’s response – This sentence stood out to me:
‘McGinniss notes “her absence from major oil-company summits.’ “She had Exxon in her office last week. Not sure what his point is there.” HUH? McCallister responds to a statement about MAJOR OIL CO. SUMMITS with a defense that GINO had an office meeting with Exxon?
Poor Bill McAllister – how long can he keep speaking for she who cannot speak for herself?
March 16th, 2009 at 6:25 PM
OT OT OT
I’m somewhat like womanwithsardinecan – reluctant to spend a lot of time on the forum. Hope you’ll tolerate this one little teeny OT post. I think it’s pretty interesting.
I live in the Upper Yukon out in the bush. (That’s about as specific as I’m going to get.) Today my hubby was talking to someone ‘in the know’ (somewhat of an insider, shall we say), and this person said that the state has started shooting wolves from helicopters in our area. They started a couple of days ago and had already killed 30-some. There was some mention of a figure of “70 percent,” but for the life of him hubby couldn’t recall what that referred to …… so don’t know if it meant 70% in our unit or what ……
Am sad.
————
THERE! Now if someone wants to talk about it, they’ll have to go to the forum.
(Maybe it’s not that OT, as this kind of news will hopefully see GINO plummet in the polls.)
March 16th, 2009 at 6:57 PM
UK Lady…Watched Beck Fri. What is this crap tht he’s promoting!! Has anyone ever checked Greta’s blog out??? The mentality of these peeps is unbelievable..It is really enlightening..
March 16th, 2009 at 7:04 PM
Has anyone seen this? Why?
8 charged in Point Hope caribou slaughter
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/rural/story/725368.html
“Even when troopers got to the scene weeks later, some still-nursing calves remained, trying to suckle milk from their decomposing mothers.”
March 16th, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Star – yes, I spent time on Greta’s blog for weeks trying to politely talk sense to these people – to no avail. Beck is seriously mentally ill and his “We Surround Them” meet ups are extremely frightening.
crystalwolf: I don’t know why the barbarism happens, it is just heart-breaking.
Apparently, GINO grew up with these atrocities, learned them from her dad and that explains her blood-thirsty actions re the ariel wolf-killings etc.
March 16th, 2009 at 7:10 PM
I love reading the comments made on various articles. Some ppl are so articulate – much like AKM – hmmm wondering if AKM has multi aliases —-
Just a couple “cuties” from ADN
“Actually … I miss seeing Palin doing public interviews, without any script or teleprompters. There really aren’t very many TV programs with that kind of laugh-out-loud humor. It must be hard to be that funny while keeping such a straight face, so she really is talented.
I SO enjoy all your comments here! Thanks for letting an ‘outsider’ in.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“She’s probably waiting to find out if Piper and Willow and Trig are “invited” before she confirms. ”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Guess Meg didn’t call Bill to tell him what Todd decided Sarah should do.”
March 16th, 2009 at 7:13 PM
Martha Unalaska Yard Sign (15:54:13) :
@ Marnie
(Republicans)
But they weren’t far out wacks and dumbhead like they have been since Reagan.
*********************
Errrrrrrrrrrr Martha …. I think you forgot Spiro Agnew and the fact that Watergate did not happen in a vacuum. The Republicans cleverly got you to believe all the Dems were either Johnson or Jane Fonda and the unions were destroying the country. They still play those cards. That’s the song Cheney is singing. It worked for 40 years. The game the Republicans started with Nixon they almost completed with Bush. Read Nixonland for some enlightenment.
I think the Republicans need to wonder 40 years in the desert for what they did and are still trying to do. They tried to turn this country into a dictatorship of idiots.
March 16th, 2009 at 7:14 PM
@crystalwolf aka caligrl (19:04:19) :
Has anyone seen this? Why?
“….. trying to suckle milk from their decomposing mothers.”
=======
can’t find the words ……..
arghhhhhhhhhhh
March 16th, 2009 at 7:17 PM
@Enjay in Eastern MT (19:10:51) :
I SO enjoy all your comments here! Thanks for letting an ‘outsider’ in.”
———
hmmmm, I’ve never seen any outsiders here – unless you’re talking about those talking about those silly ones who go SPLAT every now and then!
We enjoy you too, Enjay! (almost typed Enjoy!)
March 16th, 2009 at 7:23 PM
lol @ Yukonbush
those were comments from ADN on GINO doing the trip or not doing the trip
TS is “reporting abuse” on quite a few comments to get them deleted
March 16th, 2009 at 7:24 PM
PS And all those good ole boy Republicans that went along did so for guns, the fantasy that their taxes wouldn’t go up (they did anyway but the idiots can’t count past 10 fingers and toes), and the desire to manage some strange women’s vaginas. Pretty sad trade-off for a democracy. The numbers would seem to indicate that party members are thinking about it.
March 16th, 2009 at 7:28 PM
Lori Los Angeles~I am really concerned about what would happen if Sara ever made it to the WH…Sarah is a loose cannon.She scares the hell out of me..I love this place…
March 16th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Philip Munger has an excellent new post -
Anne Kilkenny to be Honored by the Alaska Press Club http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/03/anne-kilkenny-to-be-honored-by-alaska.html
Yeah, Anne!!!!
March 16th, 2009 at 7:32 PM
@Enjay in Eastern MT (19:23:57) :
lol @ Yukonbush
OOPS! yup, I saw that later – where the quotation marks were.
lol AT ME!
March 16th, 2009 at 7:45 PM
Ya know, I am about as Conservative as you are liberal.
…and I thought this Blog posting title was funny as hell!
-Pat
Why, thank you!
AKM
March 16th, 2009 at 7:47 PM
The AK Press Corps honors Anne Kilkenny just after Katie Couric is given the Cronkite Award – both awards for exposing Sarah Palin. I posted (as “Ella”) on Phil Munger’s site and I said that “this may make Sarah’s head expode!” Phil answered: “empty objects don’t tend to explode…..”
March 16th, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Lori in Los Angeles(19:47:18) :
The AK Press Corps honors Anne Kilkenny just after Katie Couric is given the Cronkite Award – both awards for exposing Sarah Palin. I posted (as “Ella”) on Phil Munger’s site and I said that “this may make Sarah’s head expode!” Phil answered: “empty objects don’t tend to explode…..”
“““““““`
Lori, I saw that
March 16th, 2009 at 8:04 PM
I know others have mentioned it, but everyone needs to read Shannyn’s latest – it’s superb … excellent research (but it does kinda give you the creepies):
Karl Rove, Sarah Palin & Tim Griffin walk into a bar…
http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/karl-rove-sarah-palin-tim-griffin-walk-into-a-bar/
Am going to recommend to HuffPost!
March 16th, 2009 at 8:05 PM
@Star
Lori Los Angeles~I am really concerned about what would happen if Sara ever made it to the WH…Sarah is a loose cannon.She scares the hell out of me..I love this place…
—————-
she scares the HELL out of me, too!
and I do love my country so much that I can’t let her anywhere near it!
March 16th, 2009 at 8:06 PM
@Lori in Los Angeles (19:47:18) :
I said that “this may make Sarah’s head expode!” Phil answered: “empty objects don’t tend to explode…..”
======
LMAO!
March 16th, 2009 at 8:07 PM
yukonbushgrmaNo Gravatar (20:04:36) :
I know others have mentioned it, but everyone needs to read Shannyn’s latest – it’s superb … excellent research (but it does kinda give you the creepies):
Karl Rove, Sarah Palin & Tim Griffin walk into a bar…
http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/karl-rove-sarah-palin-tim-griffin-walk-into-a-bar/
Am going to recommend to HuffPost!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Its already on HuffPo!
March 16th, 2009 at 8:13 PM
@crystalwolf aka caligrl (20:07:43) :
“Its already on HuffPo!”
========
hahahaha I give up, can’t do anything right.
Thanks crystalwolf, you just saved me lots of time!
That’s what I get for trying to do real WORK instead of keeping up with the blogs like I should ……….
March 16th, 2009 at 8:14 PM
Star and Lainey – do not fret. Her “base” is so extreme, and represents less than 20% of the voters – not enough to possibly be elected, and likely not enough to make it through the primaries. Nonetheless, we will be ever vigilant, for the sake of Alaska, too, also.
March 16th, 2009 at 8:21 PM
yukonbushgrmaNo Gravatar (20:13:38) :
@crystalwolf aka caligrl (20:07:43) :
“Its already on HuffPo!”
========
hahahaha I give up, can’t do anything right.
Thanks crystalwolf, you just saved me lots of time!
That’s what I get for trying to do real WORK instead of keeping up with the blogs like I should ……….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can subcribe to Shannyn’s blogs on HuffPo and AKM too! Its really great! They let you know when they’ve posted a blog!
March 16th, 2009 at 8:23 PM
Bit O/T — (and about ready for bed)
If AIG has a “contractual” obligation to pay millions of dollars to their ppl (with taxpayers bailout money)
THEN
How can a Judge change a Mortgage Balance / Payments or Interest Rate on a “mortgage CONTRACT” ???
sometimes my mind just goes off to la la land before the body does …..
March 16th, 2009 at 8:24 PM
from a poster at Juneau Empire:
“Southeast Alaskans can not vote Sarah Palin back in as Governor, her husband used the Governors office to place calls to John Harris to argue moving the capital out of Juneau!”
“John Harris, the Republican speaker of the Alaska House, said he had never been called by the spouse of a governor before the two calls he got from Todd Palin. One was to argue for moving the state capital to Anchorage. The other was to ask Harris to “keep an eye” on a key aide who had an affair with the wife of one of Todd’s best friends.”
March 16th, 2009 at 8:32 PM
and I thought I’d seen “clueless” before, but this is a pinnacle beyond my comprehension. Wow.
March 16th, 2009 at 8:53 PM
@ SameOld
As much as I agree that I personally would LOVE to see the R’s wander for 40 years in the desert trying to find themselves – I’m afraid that wouldn’t work either. Corruption, greed and overreaching is not just an R trait and Dems can do it, too, and most certainly have. I prefer to remain unaligned and ever vigilant – and believe as the president does that striving for a much higher percentage of educated Americans may well be our saving grace.
March 16th, 2009 at 9:05 PM
AKM’s on a roll, maybe a light night mocha? NEW THREAD!
March 16th, 2009 at 9:23 PM
@Lori in Los Angeles
Nonetheless, we will be ever vigilant, for the sake of Alaska, too, also.
———Thank You…we need to stick together in times of trouble.
John Harris, the Republican speaker of the Alaska House, said he had never been called by the spouse of a governor before the two calls he got from Todd Palin. One was to argue for moving the state capital to Anchorage. The other was to ask Harris to “keep an eye” on a key aide who had an affair with the wife of one of Todd’s best friends.”
——— what’s up with this palin family??!!?? they’re all so bizaar…beyond the pale! they’ve been ‘unregulated’ too damn long!
March 16th, 2009 at 10:13 PM
@yukonbushgrma (18:25:58) :
Here’s info on the wolf hunt: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/wolves/story/725545.html
March 16th, 2009 at 10:21 PM
First, a big hand for Ann Kilkenny. We all owe her a huge debt.
Second, an interesting post on Five Thirty Eight.com about the differences (or lack thereof) between those of different political persuasions and how divided we might not be as a nation.
The post has a link to the survey used to draw it’s conclusions. 330 for me. About as far from maeT haraS as I can possibly get. Whew!
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/03/nation-neither-united-nor-divided.html
March 17th, 2009 at 4:16 AM
if the GOP would focus on competent candidates instead of the train wrecks, then “the base” would be a bit more positive and engaged.
March 17th, 2009 at 4:19 AM
someone ought to start a blog called eyeontoddpalin or eyeonthedud and start tabulating all the instances wherein he operates as governor by proxy. am i the only one who believes that his actions are unethical – even if his actions are not specifically covered by an ethics law?
March 17th, 2009 at 4:58 AM
Enjay in Eastern MT
If you happen to check in this page today. You’ll notice that many regular commenters here are not “insiders,” as in Alaskans. We got into the habit of learning as much about VP candidate Palin back in October etc. as we could, and have stayed on
1) for the reason above mentioned
2) AKM has a great site
3) we enjoy talking with each other
4) and the list goes on
March 17th, 2009 at 6:08 AM
yukonbushgrmaNo Gravatar (18:25:58) :
OT OT OT
I’m somewhat like womanwithsardinecan – reluctant to spend a lot of time on the forum. Hope you’ll tolerate this one little teeny OT post. I think it’s pretty interesting.
I live in the Upper Yukon out in the bush. (That’s about as specific as I’m going to get.) Today my hubby was talking to someone ‘in the know’ (somewhat of an insider, shall we say), and this person said that the state has started shooting wolves from helicopters in our area. They started a couple of days ago and had already killed 30-some. There was some mention of a figure of “70 percent,” but for the life of him hubby couldn’t recall what that referred to …… so don’t know if it meant 70% in our unit or what ……
Am sad.
————
THERE! Now if someone wants to talk about it, they’ll have to go to the forum.
(Maybe it’s not that OT, as this kind of news will hopefully see GINO plummet in the polls.)
———-
Somebody is covering that story but I can’t remember where I saw it because I’ve been blog hopping this morning. The National Park Service is pissed because there are wolf populations nearby that are protected by the park.
March 17th, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Separately, the poll also finds that Obama’s approval rating has slipped a bit amid doubts about certain aspects of Obama’s agenda. But the big movement here appears to be about the GOP.
The poll shows that Obama’s approval rating is slipping because Republicans are changing their minds about Obama. Democratic and Independent support for our President hasn’t changed much and has even gone up a little.
Do we care what the Republicans think about Obama? I don’t. I wish he would stop trying to play nice with them and start treating them the way they treated the Democrats for 8 years.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
The Protecters of the Palin Brand
EXCERPT;
So, who are the figures charged with guiding Palin’s political image in Washington? Here’s the lineup based on our conversations with informed strategists.
• John Coale: Coale, a well-known Washington lawyer and the husband of Fox News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren, drew national media attention when he endorsed Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid in protest of the way in which Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who he backed in the primary, was treated. Coale, in an interview with the Fix, described himself simply as a “friend” of the Alaska governor
LINK;
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2009/03/palins_team.html
SHOCKING COMMENT;
Chris omits a significant fact about John Coale.
He’s a prominent Scientology lawyer.
Here’s a quick rundown of his Scientology training:
http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/j/john-p.-coale.html
.. and another writeup about his involvement with SarahPAC:
http://www.andrewhalcro.com/van_susteren_scientology_and_sarahpac
Sarah Palin — the candidate of Scientology
Who knew? I’ll bet her multitude of Christian evangelical supporters would be interested to find out about this.
But now her babbling all makes sense.
Posted by: tbetz | March 17, 2009 3:20 PM
March 17th, 2009 at 4:19 PM
Dunno if any of you have read this yet, but I strongly suggest it:
http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2009/03/17/Governor-Palins-Big-Energy-Battles?page=1#page=1
Very, very interesting reading.