We've all seen it before. Bush's approval ratings sink to new lows and then voila, out comes a brand-new series of fear-mongering speeches across America where the president perpetrates his own reign of terror in an effort to scare voters into supporting his deranged foreign policy and to keep Republicans in power. It's worked like a charm in the past. But is it working again? A new NY Times/CBS News poll released this week indicates that voters may just be falling into the same terrorism sinkhole as before.
First let's start with the good stuff. The stuff which makes Democrats sleep a little easier at night:
-Just 25% of those polled approve of Congress's performance -71% said they do not trust the government to make the right decisions -77% said incumbents do not deserve re-election (the highest since 1994) -48% said it's time for a new Congressperson for their own districts -54% said Democrats will win more seats in November -42% said Democrats will make better choices about Iraq -50% favor Democrats on the economy -44% trust Democrats to be more honest about Iraq -59% said Bush was hiding something when he discusses Iraq -25% said he's actually lying when discussing Iraq -52% believe we will not have lost the war if we pull out of Iraq today -Bush's approval rating is unchanged from August at 37%
So let's assess. Voters are increasingly unhappy with Bush, and disdain for Congress is at its lowest point since 1994 when Newt Gingrich and his Rethuglican Contractors for America blazed through DC in a House and Senate sweep. Looks good for the left, right? Well maybe not. Just like the above GOP doomsday scenario ultimately meant nothing in '04. Let's make no mistake: as in 2002 and '04, the single biggest X-factor here is terrorism. And there's some interesting data behind the data in this week's survey.
The Times/CBS poll found that since Bush completed his recent series of Iraq cheerleading speeches and terrorism fear-mongering, Americans are more scared than ever. The number of people who think terrorism is the #1 issue doubled to 14% from 7% in July. 22% said Iraq was the most important issue, unchanged from July. Additionally, 36% now approval of Bush's handling of the Iraq war, up from 30%. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to see what's happening here. The Busheviks are playing the Iraq/terror card more aggressively and more shamelessly than ever because, for the GOP, the stakes have never been higher. What's most terrifying about all this? They are very, very good at playing this game.
Is America falling for the same scare tactics all over again? Will the Busheviks successfully frighten voters in the polling booths in six weeks to vote Republican? At this stage in the election, that's anyone's guess. To be sure, the data at times appears contradicting as Americans, while extremely dissatisfied with the status quo, do show a propensity to put their faith and trust into the GOP when it comes to protecting the nation. But to complicate matters more, while 42% believe the Repubs are better at dealing with terrorism than Democrats (37%), the margin has shrunk considerably, suggesting that Democrats may be gaining ground on this critical issue. So clearly, when it comes to terrorism, voters seem bi-polar. Or at best, vulnerable to the Busheviks' fear-mongering yo-yo they're kept on.
Perhaps one of the most troubling indicators from the Times/CBS survey is that, while unhappy with the status quo, only 38% of voters polled said the Dems had a clear plan for how they'd run the country, as opposed to 45% for the Repubs. As such, will the midterms truly be a "referendum" on Bush and Iraq as the pundits believe, or will voters be sucked back into making their worst terrorism fears the primary lever when voting? Will they stick with the "devil they've got" instead of the one they don't know? Will the Dems somewhow create a message that truly resonates? Stay tuned.
http://www.OstroyReport.blogspot.com
Andy Ostroy, a NYC-based 45-year-old entrepreneur and political commentator, is an aggressive counter to the Bush administration, the Republican Party and the powerful right wing media machine. Our mission is to do whatever possible to help Democrats take back the House and Senate in 2006 and win back the White House in '08.
www.ostroyreport.blogspot.com/
I quote FDR, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
NOUGH said.
Bush and his regime can fool some of the people some of the time, but he can't fool all of the people all of the time.
NOUGH said.
Rove can scare himself maybe if he looks in the mirror, but he is full of Crap and his motives are stinking up the joint. Its time to get rid of this Bull S%!t about who's doing what and to whom. The News Corporations are putting out propaganda by the bushel and the only people that are getting anything from Bush are the 1%ers that get the fat brakes on there taxes or pay no tax at all. They are the people that are unpatriotic and should not go for the greed that this regimes offers them.
They should understand that they are helping this regime ruin this country beyond repair. NO MORE MIDDLE CLASS leads to a dictatorship. Do these rich people realize that once the middle class is gone that the regime will go after them No the terror is just made up as we go along, to scare a few white people. The poor and ethnic people have no fear because they can't get any lower.
by
anthny (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 39 comments)
on Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 4:07:39 PM
Americans need to remember that 9/11 happened on Bush's watch---that should be the counter "terror alert"---from the Dems. And it seems that we have to be vigilant about the "October surprise". . . which Rove assured his Rethuglican base would occur. We need to alert Americans that there is a good possibility that the next preemptive strike will be on Iran, with no Congressional or American citizens approval. Another war (extension of our occupation in Iraq) would totally bankrupt our government, deplete our already worn-out military, further alienate any of our allies. Dems need to speak to that truth and that we need to be terrified into action of the Bush administration.
by
Yogini (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 5:28:57 PM
The democarts should get some good pschycologists to counter point this fear crap Bush is putting out there.
You can't fight peoples fear totally with intelligence. That's not the seat of fear.
Maybe they have to show the loss as being greater if people stay with this right wing fascist republican party.
Now we are a fascist nation. Just look up what it means and bingo, we're there.
Maybe they need to get really brutal with the truth. Compare early Nazi party tactics and the right wing... the same.
Historically it's always been the same. Scare 'em and herd 'em.
Now the second big one is... how do you make it ok to be wrong??? People would rather die than be wrong.
These are all psychological issues... so maybe the problem is that the republican right wing Fascist know well the psychology of the democrats and are playing into it.
Jeez, now I'm more depressed, I feel like I'm yelling " the emperor still isn't wearing any clothes" and still, no one hears.
For me it's the soldiers... Bush soon will have murdered as many Americans as Bin Laden did on 9-11, is that when he'll stop? He is an arrogant sociopath egomaniac and he won't let anyone best him.
Plus, this right wing Fascist group knows it and plays to that. What other type of man with any intelligence or dignity would allow himself to be so manipulated?
by
Bam M. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 26 comments)
on Monday, September 25, 2006 at 7:50:34 AM
3 comments
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