According to an article in The Politico, Congressional Democrats are divided into two camps by recent polling data that suggests the public is really upset with Congress. One camp is described as 'concerned.' The other camp is in full-blown panic. The article doesn't say how many members are in each of the two camps, but either way, the Democrats believe they have a real problem.
“There are a lot of Democratic members who are consumed with” the sour state of public opinion, said one top party operative who works closely with the Democratic leadership.
From the Democratic perspective, there is definitely a case to be made for alarm. It is based on the history of recent decades that shows whenever voters get this unhappy, unpredictable things can happen.
One person who knows that well — his Democratic clients were beneficiaries of the phenomenon in such politically seismic years as 1992 and 2006 — is pollster Stan Greenberg. He came back from the field in October with numbers for NPR that showed 69 percent of voters disapprove of the job Congress is doing — up 20 points from last January and the highest disapproval rating since Democrats reclaimed their congressional majorities. More striking than the data was a focus group Greenberg observed with James Carville, a fellow consultant for the Democracy Corps project and his partner in Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign.
“We’ve never seen people as angry and frustrated as they are now, … even more than in ’92,” he said.
As it happens, however, Greenberg is firmly in the stay-calm camp of the Democratic debate. Along with pollster Mark Mellman, who also consults with Democrats, he has been trying to reassure anxious members with this sunny-side-up message: The public dislikes Republicans even more than they dislike you.
“It’s certainly true that people are disgruntled with Congress and lukewarm about the Democrats in general,” Greenberg said, adding that, “However modest Democrats’ numbers are, Republicans’ numbers are much worse and dropping.
“The main story is Republicans are seen as backing the Iraq war, backing Bush and blocking change,” he said.
Gee, that's a real winner of a campaign strategy. "Vote for us, we're not as bad as the other guys." I have been pointing this out for a while now – Congress has the worst approval record ever in some polls – merely appalling in others. But that sort of polling indicates serious problems for incumbents – in both parties. But the main problem, I suspect, is going to be for members of Congress who are trying to win the presidency. Voters seldom promote someone who is doing a rotten job in the one they currently hold. That could be a decided disadvantage for the Democrats even more so than the Republicans. Worse yet, the late night comedians are now slamming the Dems:
In making this case, the GOP has been getting a boost from Jay Leno, who mocked House Democrats in his monologue on Monday and Tuesday nights, in particular the recent news that Democrats are backing off their 2006 campaign pledge for longer workweeks. “I guess they realize they don’t need a full five days to do nothing,” Leno cracked. “They can now do nothing in four days.”
That is actually a pretty good sign of how low they have sunk in public opinion.
Gee, that’s a real winner of a campaign strategy. “Vote for us, we’re not as bad as the other guys.”
That would only be the message if they’re complete idiots. (Admittedly, there’s a high probability of that being the case.) Instead, they should recast Republicans as obstructionists, and campaign with this message: “Vote for us – we can’t stop Republican obstruction of the change YOU WANT without a bigger majority in both Houses.” It’s a somewhat complex message, but it could work.
“Democrats are ready to lead, prepared to govern and absolutely willing to work in a bipartisan way.” Pelosi Nov 9, 2006