August 31, 2010 9:46 AM

GOP Takes Big Lead in Generic House Poll

By
Stephanie Condon
Topics
Republicans ,
Campaign 2010 ,
Polling
(Credit: CBS/ AP)

A set of new polls suggests Republicans are in a position to make significant gains in this November's midterm elections.

A Gallup poll released yesterday showed that voters would choose an unnamed Republican over an unnamed Democrat by 51 percent to 41 percent. The 10-point margin is the largest lead Republicans have held in Gallup's generic ballot since Gallup began surveying voters on the question in 1942.

Prior to this year, the highest advantage for Republicans in the poll was five points, measured both in June 2002 and July 1994 -- years in which Republicans made significant gains. (By comparison, the highest advantage recorded for Democrats was 32 points, measured in July 1974, prior to President Richard Nixon's resignation.)

Additionally, Republicans surveyed were twice as likely to say they were "very" enthusiastic about voting this year.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Election 2010

Meanwhile, an Associated Press-GfK Poll released today shows that voters with the strongest opinions on national issues are overwhelmingly unhappy with the way President Obama is handling them, suggesting more voters will be motivated to support Republicans this year.

On nine of the 15 issues examined in the AP-GfK poll, Americans who called the issue extremely important were more likely to disapprove of the president's handling of it. For example, people who called the economy extremely important disapproved of Mr. Obama's handling of the economy by a three-to-one margin.

Voters who called unemployment extremely important were twice as likely to disapprove of Mr. Obama's handling of the issue. The same held true for health care and terrorism. Respondents who cared deeply about Afghanistan, taxes, immigration, the deficit and gas prices also mostly disapproved of the president's performance on those issues.

Americans who cared deeply about energy, Iraq, the environment and the Gulf oil spill were split on Mr. Obama's performance.

The AP-GfK poll also showed that most Americans deeply concerned about 10 of the issues said they will vote for a Republican in the House elections.

Click here to check out CBS News' race-by-race ratings for the House..


Add a Comment See all 36 Comments
by tankmansquare September 6, 2010 4:51 PM EDT
A&E blueprint for 911 truth (Parts 1 thru 13)
This is the best presentation of the scientific evidence available, and no government ?expert? can refute it nor wants to contest it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3POeE9b1SE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm7zx4NxydY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qis4K4iHblo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5bz5AluNRk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEoJnRDUuc8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lsVrpieKDc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJIPFTPKvXI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UZZQwbo08&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD-qCDFKP8Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fHqhQZ5Q38&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt8asRqJBSs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMGNa5XaP4k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LwcJKV6_hs&feature=related

The Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for the coming November election. In 2006 when Democrats took control of both houses, the first thing the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said was that they would not impeach President Bush. Why? No one had yet called for his impeachment, and it appears she was launching a preemptive strike against any such attempt. Lying about WMD, and Iraq?s ties to Al Qaeda just to invade a country that had nothing to do with 911 constitutes a ?High Crime.? In comparison, more money was spent investigating President Clinton?s liaison with Monica Lewinsky than was spent investigating 911. Certainly outing a CIA agent is tantamount to treason, and is an impeachable offence. The Democrats could have used this opportunity to show that they were indeed different from the Republicans, but instead they chose to be no different than their Blue Dog counterparts and the extreme right wing of the Republican Party. This brings me to my final point.
What is amazing is the fact that 911 was never fully investigated to begin with. Certainly the 911 Commission failed to address the collapse of Building 7, and the money trail to Pakistan?s ISI. If the Democrats, or Republicans for that matter, wish to restore the trust, respect, and confidence of the American people in the government, then 911 needs to be investigated. All parties involved must be brought to justice, preferably in The Hague World Court, and if found guilty, they must receive the harshest punishment possible. Failure to do so would mean that the government is asking the American people to participate in this fraud by ?voting for the candidate of their choice? in the upcoming election. The two parties would not allow the insertion of a viable third party, as this would upset their power base and throw a monkey wrench into the smoke and mirrors that takes place on Capitol Hill.
The Democrats aren?t really concerned with what the Republicans might do once in power, as both parties work toward the same end. No, the incumbents are more concerned with keeping their jobs and power base of money and influence peddling that goes on by powerful corporate lobbyists. There are no more liberal progressive Democrats within the party. They have swung so far to the right, that there is no more center! The Democrats gave Bush eight years of everything he wanted, and what they didn?t give, he took! The Patriot Act has stripped Americans of their Constitution and Bill Of Rights. We are now involved in a never-ending war on terror, and will continue to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan as long as there are natural resources to exploit.
Reply to this comment
by propitiation September 3, 2010 5:57 PM EDT
What the article is saying can be confirmed based on the Polling data from www.realclearpolitics.com. The Senate is very interesting at the moment.
Currently, the Senate is 57 Democrat 41 Republican 2 Independent that Caucus with the Democrats, so are included in the Democrats column.
What the Polls are currently saying is that if the election were held today there would be 46 Democrats 45 Republicans 2 Independents 7 Tossups.

The fact of the matter is that the latest polls are showing the GOP ahead in 5 of the Toss Up States, Tie in one, and Reid leading by 3%.

In fact if the election were held today the Senate would probably be 50 Republicans 48 Democrat 2 Independents, only if the Tie Toss Up went to the Democrats. That is quite an amazing change of power. A 9 Senate pickup is pretty big and quite possible.
Reply to this comment
by PhilipASC September 1, 2010 2:51 PM EDT
Soooooooo, Americans clearly pay no attention whatsoever to what anyone ever says anywhere about any topic!

That HAS to be the conclusion one must draw since REPUBLICANS HAVE "SAID" (OR WRITTEN OR TWEETED OR POSTED OR HUMMED OR SHOUTED OR A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G) ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about any of the topics in the survey...

...except NO!
Reply to this comment
by mullerohana August 31, 2010 3:06 PM EDT
I have no doubts Republicans will make huge gains in the midterms. There is one reason for this - the liberal base will stay home. Obama's most important campaign promise, transparency, is broken. That's all we wanted - to see what is going on and be part of the process. He's proven himself to be the elitist that the Conservatives labeled him all along. We wanted another JFK, and wound up with an LBJ. Where it counts, he's no different than Bush; and the liberals are no different than the conservatives.
Reply to this comment
by AEstates August 31, 2010 4:22 PM EDT
Sadly; you are correct regarding the likely outcome and more than correct with respect to the reason. Sadly; too many Citizens are disenfranchised or disengaged and won't bother to vote at all. One of the major reasons that our government is so dysfunctional. Seldom does more than half the voting age public bother and then it is usually just Party Line because they can't be bothered to actually think for themselves. I'll vote; even if it is a write in. This election season I think I'll write in for Goofy. Certainly more qualified than either Party candidate in my area.
by AEstates August 31, 2010 2:45 PM EDT
A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Dem Dem, Dem Rep, Rep Rep, Rep Dem, Dem Dem, Dem ...

And that's just starting with Clinton. The insanity began long before that. Probably with the passing of the 17th Amendment. Add the abject failure of our schools with respect to actually teaching civics and history for several generations. Add the sellout of America by the self-serving career politicians of BOTH party's. Add the anonymity of the internet as a replacement for meaningful dialog. Add the change in the press from news to entertainment organizations. Add globalization for the purpose of diluting sovereign nations and national pride.

Does anyone truly believe that Republicans taking control of the house in November will make any difference whatsoever? Any more than that not happening?

If so; I refer you to the definition of insanity and the age old truism that recognizing your insanity is the first step toward your cure.
Reply to this comment
by mscientist August 31, 2010 2:39 PM EDT
Mr. Obama's agenda conflicts with the will of the people on virtually every issue. Isn't it then interesting when he Ms. Pelozi consistently get up and tout all that they are doing FOR the people? The message from the left is quite clear. "I know better what is good for you than you yourself, America, so sit down and shut up."
Reply to this comment
by jimbom121 September 1, 2010 2:06 PM EDT
Actually that is not true...they disenfranchised their base by giving in too much to Repubs who had no intention of doing anything.
by mbahde September 1, 2010 2:27 PM EDT
@jimbom121...do you know what you are talking about? The Democrats put through the Health Care Reform with not one Republican vote. They HAD a filabuster proof Congress for a period of time that they could have pushed through a thousand bills without a single Republican vote, but did nothing because of too much in fighting and felt too comfortable and had no one to point a finger and blame if it failed or didn't go through, so during that time they were the "Party of Nothing"
Every bill they have tried to put through has only required 1-3 Republican votes, which at times they have gotten, but they are also very rigid. Republicans now may be the party of no, but that is because the Democrats have become the party of no compromises. A more balanced Congress say...Okay we both like these so they are in. Now we will give you this if you let us have this and that is how most bipartisan bills have been passed in the past. Now it is sign this or we run to the press and tell them how evil you all are.
by rvauthor August 31, 2010 2:11 PM EDT
While pondering poll results, voters should look at what the Republicans did for American workers and jobs, and the American economy from 1994 when they controlled the House and from 2000 ? 2006, when they controlled the House, Senate, and the White House, and the White House for 2007 ? January 29, 2009.

1) They supported and voted for ending the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 that separated commercial banks from investment banks which directly led to the near collapse of the American economy in the summer of 2008.
2) Defined benefit pension plans are now only available to approximately 8% of working Americans. Of course, all Members of Congress are eligible for a defined benefit pension plan.
3) Millions of good-paying technical, professional, and manufacturing jobs for Americans are permanently gone via off-shoring or replacement by H1-b visa jobs restricted to foreign nationals.
4) House prices doubled between 2002 and late 2007 due to providing millions of new homeowners with sub-prime mortgages with delayed significant increases in monthly payments (utilizing a wide variety of false documents and issuing loans to people who would not be willing or able to pay).
5) The financial services sector that comprises 7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was scooping up 40% of the profits of the American economy.
6) The total lack of oversight of the financial services sector, combined with refusal to enforce the regulations in place, led to the largest financial collapse since the Great Depression.
7) The country now has tens of millions of homeowners who purchased homes in the 2004 - 2007 period who are upside down in their mortgages, owing far more than the house is worth. This means they have no way to sell their current home or buy a new home, restricting their ability to relocate for a new job.
8) Most personal IRA plans and 401-k plans lost one third of the value or more in the summer of 2008.
9) Republicans are proposing delaying the start of full Social Security benefits to age 70 because they don't want to redeem any of the $2.5 Trillion Dollars of U.S. Treasury securities belonging to the Social Security Trust Fund.

The Republicans have always emphasized the need for fiscal responsibility. Republicans wrote and passed the 2001 and 2003 tax cut bills that were unfunded. Republicans wrote and passed a Medicare Rx prescription plan that was unfunded. Republicans wrote and utilized emergency appropriations that were never included in budgets to pay for the entire cost of running the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Most of the funding for these expenditures was simply borrowed from foreign lenders, including Saudi Arabian princes and (communist) China, via the sale of more than $4 Trillion Dollars of U.S. Treasury securities that the Republicans are perfectly willing to redeem.

And now, Republicans propose extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts at an estimated cost of $3.1 Trillion Dollars without funding or paying for them. How much more Republican fiscal responsibility cans the American electorate take?

Based on their running commentary in the past two years, does anyone think that they would do anything differently if they get control of the House or Senate?
Reply to this comment
by mbahde September 1, 2010 2:18 PM EDT
I would love to return to Bush/Republican congress economics. The democrats keep saying how back then they didn't care about the middle class and still don't...well I would say they did a better job protecting the middle class. Unemployment under Bush/Republican Congress at it's highest was 6% in 2003 and as low as 4%. After a Democratic congress took over the number slowly crawled its way up to 7.4% by the time Obama got in office. AFter he got in office, now a Democratic President and Congress...it has been as high as 10.1% in 10/31/2009 and hasn't gotten back under 9.5% since and this after the Democrats "Stimulus".
The stock market under Bush/Republican Congress also broke the all time high with a DJIA over 14,000. Which meant people with 401k plans were actually able to retire. When did the market go kaput? Bush/Democratic Congress with their Bail out funds for banks and car dealerships.
Yes the lowering of standards for giving out mortgages was a big mistake...it was something I figured the Democrats would have done first seeing as all it was potentially going to help out were the gimmies and destitute that let their credits go so far south that no one in their right mind would have loaned them any money. This was just as bad a move as Obama's "Cash for Clunkers" program.
So would I rather live in the times of Bush/Republican Congress or today's Obama/Democrat Congress...I think the answer should be obvious.
by PhilipASC September 1, 2010 2:54 PM EDT
Useless details, Buddy.

American voters just don't "DO" details.
by abarafi August 31, 2010 12:37 PM EDT
In retrospect, perhaps the worst thing that has happened was the election of Obama. Not because he's a bad president, but because the deck was so stacked against him by eight years of Bush/Cheney that no matter who won, they would inherit a mess that would take a long time to fix. Had McCain won, things would now be far worse, but don't try to convince the Tea Party ignorati about that. So, Obama will most likely be sacrificed by the demons let loose beginning in 2000. And, we will all pay a price except for those who through Bush's tax-cut largess have amassed huge fortunes and can beat a hasty retreat. The best thing we can do is let the GOP know that we know who caused our current problems and increase the Demo seats in both the house and senate. But, I'm not holding my breath. We have shown a consisten penchant for voting for people who do not have our best interests at heart.
Reply to this comment
by landon1975 August 31, 2010 1:22 PM EDT
abarafi... I agree wholeheartedly with you. I am neither a fan or opponent of President Obama. That said, I think he has done a fairly good job at tackling the many issues he had inherited.
People are fickle, and unfortunately, short of memory and forethought. For the most part, people allow lobbyists to sway the way they think even though they offer no new information. The spin is all that matters any more. And let's face it, the GOP has done NOTHING for the American people these last couple of years.
What they have done is generate a significant amount of trashy spin. It pains me to say it, but the American people are stupid enough to buy it! They even managed to let conservatives convince them that global warming is not real, despite the rising temperatures and other disasters that clearly tell us otherwise.
In the end, the people will choose the worst possible choice, if for no other reason than the fact that there is more money behind the irresponsible. And that means the GOP can afford to tell us lies while doing nothing to contribute anything to the greater good. Just the greater dollar amount of the few rich and powerful.
by PhilipASC September 1, 2010 2:57 PM EDT
Actually, he'll either use Hillary to insure a 2nd term and do what he couldn't get done in this first one (due to the atmosphere and the economy) OR he'll just be, as he promised, a one-term president with major accomplishments, go home and enjoy his family for another four years...and then run again after the country has gotten another taste of the selfish, wealthy-first ideology of the Repulicans.

He is after all, not only relatively young, but still very personally popular.
by stn_sage August 31, 2010 12:26 PM EDT
This election should have been a 'cakewalk' for the Dems...
but due to their failure to fulfill the public's agenda...
chances are good they're going to be losing a lot of seats!
Reply to this comment
by jimbom121 September 1, 2010 2:17 PM EDT
Could not have said it better.
by Brokennews August 31, 2010 12:21 PM EDT
This poll is bogus and it is way too early. Democrats have more money and 10 years of dismal republican failure to pound home to the American "people". The worst possible thing Americans could do...the most ignorant stupid thing Americans could do is return the party of No....the party of Emptiness and Nothing and Nixon and Hoover and Bush to office. That would be the epitome of stupidity. But then again, I have sat here and watched Americans elect George W. Bush to office twice. Americans are a stupid lot and have already ruined their country with moronic voting choices. All the stupid Democracy that Americans brag about isn't apparently working. Stupid Americans.

by magik13 August 31, 2010 11:30 AM EDT


This quite the rant! Let's see!

The poll is bogus: Gallop is usually the poll that Dems point to as accurate. But as usual, if you don't like the poll attack the polster, but if you like the poll, then it's legit. Typical!

Democrats have more money: So you think the guy with the most money is the best candidate. And I thought that Republicans were the party of rich guys. Silly me!

Americans are a stupid lot: Yes! Insult people who don't see things your way & call them stupid!! Way to go! That message always help bring those independants into the fold. Such an inviting message!

You may be right about the screw-ups of the Republicans in the past (I can name several), but as of today folks still see that as a better option than what the Dems are doing. People are chosing the lesser of two evils. What killing you is the fact that folks see what going on today as more evil that what was being done a few years ago. That should really have your crank knotted up!
Reply to this comment
by mbahde September 1, 2010 1:58 PM EDT
LOL...Republicans may represent more of the "rich" class, but the Democrats are better at becoming rich by stealing from the rich all the way down to the poor....Bell city council ring a bell? Got caught way over-paying themselves, so they "willingly" took pay cuts. They should have gone to prison.
by PhilipASC September 1, 2010 2:59 PM EDT
Yup. But we are also too stupid to realize how stupid we are:

"I'm plumber. Now do what I say when it comes to credit default swaps."
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