Tag Archives: Congress

I suspected this would happen once the Republicans in the House proposed doing away with Medicare….

Duh…..

I just hope the notoriously short sighted American electorate remembers this by next year….

From CNN:

Washington (CNN) – It’s one of the storylines for 2012: Can the Democrats win back control of the House of Representatives?

A new poll suggests that they may have a chance.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday, the Democrats have a four-point margin over the Republicans in the battle for control of Congress. The poll indicates that 50 percent registered voters say if the election for Congress was held today, they would vote for the Democrat in their district, with 46 percent saying they would cast a ballot for the Republican in their district. The Democrats’ four-point margin is within the poll’s sampling error.

The GOP won 63 seats in last year’s midterm elections, taking back control of the House for the first time in four years. CNN’s last poll conducted before the midterms indicated the Republicans had a six-point advantage over the Democrats.

GOP victories in 2010 were due to some major historical shifts. More women voted for Republican candidates than Democratic candidates in 2010 for the first time since exit polling began in the early 1970s. Voters who never attended college – generally considered to be the bulk of the blue-collar vote – voted Republican in House races for the first time since 1994. And 56 percent of independents voted Republican in 2010, the highest that figure has ever been in exit polls.

“Now the Democrats are seeing some of their natural constituencies coming home,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “In the latest generic ballot, Democrats have a ten-point lead among women, and a nine-point lead among voters who never attended college. But the Republicans still have a plurality of the Independent voters, 47 percent to 43 percent.”

The poll also indicates a geographic split that may favor the Democrats, with Democratic candidates pulling a majority in the Northeast, Midwest and West. Republicans win a majority in the generic ballot only in the South.

“It’s far too early to use these results to accurately forecast the 2012 congressional elections,” Holland notes. “But it does indicate that some of the shifts that swept the GOP into power in 2010 may be shifting back.”

The generic ballot question asks respondents if they would vote for a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district, without naming any specific candidates. It’s used by many polling organizations, including CNN/Opinion Research Corporation surveys.

via CNN Poll: Democrats up 50-46 percent in battle for House – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs.

Uh, maybe the GOP should have read this before they went after Medicare…

But I’m glad they didn’t….

I’ve said it many times:  Demographic trends are against the Republicans in the longterm.  We just have to survive them in the short term….

From the AP:

For the first time, Americans 45 and older make up a majority of the voting-age population, giving older Americans wider influence in elections as the U.S. stands divided over curtailing Medicare and other benefits for seniors.

Along with the information about the growing influence of older adults, preliminary census estimates also show a decline in the number of married couples with children, slight growth in household size and a rapid rise in the number of Mexicans.

The findings, based on the latest publicly available government data, offer a preview of trends that will be detailed in the next round of 2010 census results being released this month that focus on age, household relationships and racial subgroups.

As a whole, the numbers point to a rapidly graying nation driven largely by the nation’s 78 million baby boomers, who are now between the ages of 46 and 65 and looking ahead to retirement.

“The center of American politics gets older,” said E. Mark Braden, a former chief counsel to the Republican National Committee who now advises elected officials and state legislatures. “Given the current fiscal concerns, it’s going to be a test case whether Republicans or Democrats can talk about entitlement reform without getting killed” politically.

via The Associated Press: Americans 45 and older are new voting-age majority.