The latest New York Times/CBS News poll also finds that while voters rate the performance of Democrats negatively, they view Republicans as even worse, providing a potential opening for Democrats to make a last-ditch case for keeping their hold on power. ...NYT
If Dems get off their duffs, that is.
A case for Democrats: They are seen as having better ideas for solving the country’s problems. The public steadfastly supports the president’s proposal to let tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans. And far more people still blame Wall Street and the Bush administration than blame Mr. Obama for the country’s economic problems.
Voters have a darker view of Congressional Republicans than of Democrats, with 63 percent disapproving of Democrats and 73 percent disapproving of Republicans. But with less than two months remaining until Election Day, there are few signs that Democrats have made gains persuading Americans that they should keep control of Congress.
The way it works out: Republicans have reached the bottom of the pile, Democrats do somewhat better, and "nearly half of voters say they are undecided or have not heard enough about the Tea Party to form an opinion."
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin is not doing well among the majority of Americans.
The poll found that the public has an increasingly negative opinion of Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, with nearly half now holding an unfavorable view of her. Her favorable rating is down nine percentage points since April. ...Two-thirds of Americans think that Ms. Palin’s primary motivation is staying in the public eye, rather than helping conservative candidates get elected.
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Also in the Times this morning is a disgruntled editorial expressing real disgust for specific Tea Party candidates -- Carl Paladino in New York, and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware.
Republican leaders have to decide if they want the tiny fraction of furious voters who have showed up at the primary polls to steer them into the swamp for years ahead. They have a chance to repudiate the worst of the Tea Party crowd and show that they can govern without appealing to the basest political instincts. So far, they have preferred to greedily capitalize on the nuclear energy in the land without considering its destructive effects.
Democrats, especially beleaguered incumbents and the White House, need to counter the toxic message of the Tea Party so voters have an alternative.
For both parties and certainly the broad swath of independent voters, defeating this new crop of Tea Party nominees has become imperative to avoid the sense of national embarrassment from each divisive and offensive utterance, each wacky policy proposal.
The clearest message today seem to be: "Democrats, get going!"
