Jim Geraghty goes through the latest Rasmussen poll numbers in the Nevada senate race and finds no good news for Sharron Angle:
Harry Reid now leads in the Rasmussen poll, 45 percent to 43 percent.
The firm now classifies the seat as “Leans Democrat.”
I’ve talked to Nevada Republicans who aren’t giving up. Some of them say that Angle is getting a bit better at message discipline, focusing on emphasizing her message instead of getting drawn into what Reid and his allies want to talk about. She’s bringing in new staffers, and she still has an easier task, of simply convincing Nevadans she’s better than an incumbent who they have decided they don’t like.
But this is an appalling poll result when Rasmussen finds 49 percent of Nevadans “strongly disapproving” of Obama’s job performance, and 48 percent “strongly disapprove” of Reid’s job performance, and 55 percent describe their financial situation as “getting worse.”
What’s hurting the Republican? For starters, an astounding 58 percent find Angle’s positions “extreme.”
If only someone had foreseen Angle’s challenges in the general election.
Click here to read more.
dante // Jul 28, 2010 at 12:57 pm
If Rasmussen is admitting to a 2pt lead for Harry, that’s pretty much as close to a slam-dunk as you’ll see in politics today…
Watusie // Jul 28, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Indeed. Harry can start thinking about whether he wants new curtains.
Moderate // Jul 28, 2010 at 1:38 pm
If Republicans had run a cardboard cutout they would have won. They managed to find sub-cardboard.
Their [Nevada Republicans'] performance is so abjectly inept that I’m tempted to find meaning through a conspiracy theory. Maybe the GOP wants Harry Reid to continue on as the Senatorial face of the Democrats.
busboy33 // Jul 28, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Well done Tea Party!
You sure showed ‘em!
***pops another bag of popcorn for the coming Hurricane of Crazy in the next few months***
forgetn // Jul 28, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Had Ms. Angle been an “honest broker” after the primary, and stood her grounds she would probably be doing better. Following her primary win her policy flip flop marked her as an individual with a poor moral compass for her inability to stay true to her (well documented) views, which are easily accessible on You Tube.
Moreover, her unbelievable efforts to avoid the mainstream media (including a very pregnant reporter) during a press conference she called made her look like a fool. Had she had the courage of her opinions she may be doing better today, it is often forgotten that before being a Republican firebrand she was a Democrat — maybe she has no real convictions and is just an opportunist. Then the latest poll is just proof that the Nevada electorate has figured out who and what she is!
Slide // Jul 28, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Thank-you teabaggers. You are the gift that keeps on giving.
Watusie // Jul 28, 2010 at 2:32 pm
It is possible that we’ve got another incoming.
I reckon the stupidity of what he just said is worth at least another 2-3 points for Russ.
H/T TPM
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/goper-ron-johnson-ill-eventually-sell-my-bp-stock-based-on-market-conditions.php?ref=fpblg
TAZ // Jul 28, 2010 at 2:37 pm
NY 23rd all over again……..
Oldskool // Jul 28, 2010 at 3:00 pm
But will the teabaggers learn anything from these races by 2012? Probably not.
busboy33 // Jul 28, 2010 at 3:50 pm
@Watusie:
In his defense, he didn’t know this was making him into a colossal d**k. He just assumed everybody else was obviously trying to use political power to profit personally. He had no idea that was unethical — he was just doing that whole Tony Robbins “Seize The Day” proactive type of thing.
God help me, and us. You are all my Countrymen and so to some extent we are all brothers, and I love my brothers above all others. But some of my brothers are Grade-A Monty Python twits. Which is fine except for their dangerous obsession with running the country . I don’t mind nitwits, but you don’t let them stand next to the deep fat fryer — they’re going to hurt themselves!
DirtyLibrul // Jul 28, 2010 at 5:40 pm
This is great news…for the country. If the Tealiban is able to rise to power lord help us all. The fact this is playing out in Nevada is pretty big news and the implications on other races is pretty significant. Harry was down by, what, 20 points a few months ago? One, I believe he was down against a generic (R), which goes to show candidates DO matter and two, if this can happen in Nevada then NH (Ayotte’s flirtations with the Queen TeaBagger Palin), KY (which has a lot of registered Ds even though it’s a red state), and Ken Buck in Colorado (a state Obama easily carried in 08). So things might not be so dire for D’s afterall…
anniemargret // Jul 28, 2010 at 6:32 pm
forgetn: Angle was a Democrat at one time? Didn’t know that. Shudder…Shudder…..
msmilack // Jul 28, 2010 at 10:02 pm
anniemargret
She was a lot of things at one time, but she couldn’t last in the Democratic Party for five minutes today.
msmilack // Jul 28, 2010 at 10:13 pm
When I read Jim Geraghty’s sentence, “If only someone had foreseen Angle’s challenges in the general election,” I honestly thought he was joking because so many people DID foresee it! As with the candidate Palin, however, for the majority in the GOP, the truth came out after it was too late to get a different candidate. In Nevada, though, it is even worse. Republicans can’t even pretend to like her; in Nevada, elected GOP officials have announced that they are voting for and campaigning for Reid, because she is a nightmare to work with. As a result, when I read the rest of this article, I was shocked a second time to read the author blaming her negatives on the liberal press — as if they invented her gaffes, her inability to work with others, her extreme positions. I believe it will take more than this poll for the truth to break through to this writer.
easton // Jul 29, 2010 at 9:23 am
“If only someone had foreseen Angle’s challenges in the general election,” I honestly thought he was joking because so many people DID foresee it!
He was joking, he was referring to his own predictions. “Sharron Angle has her fans; she’s been endorsed by Mark Levin, Erick Erickson of RedState, and the Club for Growth. Ultimately, this is a choice for Nevada Republicans; if they conclude that Angle’s no-holds-barred conservatism is what they want to represent them, they’re free to make that choice. But they shouldn’t be surprised to see 70-year-old Harry Reid doing cartwheels shortly thereafter.”
LFC // Jul 29, 2010 at 10:35 am
Moreover, her unbelievable efforts to avoid the mainstream media (including a very pregnant reporter) during a press conference she called made her look like a fool.
To be fair, I believe that is one more press conference than Sarah Palin has ever faced. They are two empty peas in a pod. Since George W., Republicans really seem to have decided that they like their candidates vapid, uninformed, but assured as hell.
forgetn // Jul 29, 2010 at 1:14 pm
LFC:
The problem is that the activists in the Republican party are looking for candidates that pass a “purity” test, that does incalculable harm to the nominee during the subsequent electoral campaign.
The rise of You Tube has really changed the political landscape in America. What a candidate used to say on Tuesday in front of his supporters had no consequences on what he said Wednesday to the electorate at large. Many politicians have used the “I’ve never said” or “you misconstrued my statement” with the obligatory staffer “proving that the Congressman or Senator actually said…” . Easily accessible video equipment (iphone) is permanently change the electoral process.
The Republicans are more at risk in th cycle because they are the opposition, and as such must make very strong statements of opposition to the Democrats. It would appear that the media consultants have either not learned the lessons of 2008 (think Rev. Wright), or (and more likely) are being ignored by desperate candidates seeking their party’s nomination. Watching the Daily show (yes liberal but superb at attacking hypocrisy) has shown that your own words can now easily be used against you (without editing even).
In the case of Ms. Angle her primaries statements were only acceptable to the anointed few of the far right of the republican party, for not only is Ms. Angle a Republican she arises from the fringe (Patriot Majority) who’s views are probably “repulsive” to most republicans and definitely to the electorate at large. She has been a gadfly moving left to right to win elections (it is hard to say if her moves were made out of changing convictions or expediency).
The great lesson of the Angle disaster is that for a politician speaking without strong policy commitment has far reaching implications in their ability to eventually win. Hence the need for such a discussion forum as David is providing here.
Fairy Hardcastle // Aug 2, 2010 at 8:50 am
Latest Mason-Dixon poll puts the race 43-42, in other words, a dead heat. I really can’t see all those smelly citizens wanting to vote for Reid.