Today, a look at what our friends are saying in The Netherlands about the latest developments Stateside:
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As I have been saying at Dutch blog De Dagelijkse Standaard for months now, I consider a Republican comeback in 2010 all but inevitable. Democrats in Congress, and President Barack Obama, started to overplay their hand at the very moment they took office this year, after Democrats had won all elections.
They mistook their victories for a radical change in American society at large. America is no longer a center right nation, or so they said. As a result, they immediately pushed big, expansive plans through Congress that would radically alter the relationship between citizens and their government, but that would do little else. The stimulus plan was expensive, and increased the size of the federal government tremendously, but will do nothing to actually stimulate the economy.
Obama’s health care plans will destroy the current strengths of the American health care system, but does little to deal with its existing weaknesses. The Democrats’ climate change bills, nonetheless, will reduce global warming by… nothing, but they will weaken the American economy considerably and cost the tax payer a whole lot of money nonetheless.
Furthermore, the way Obama deals with enemies like North Korea and Iran jeopardizes American interests and therefore peace. He emboldens the Mullahs and other enemies of freedom. It will not be long before Americans understand this, I have always believed, and so they will turn to Republicans for a little balance and, especially, policies and plans that may actually serve their interests.
A new Rasmussen poll published yesterday clearly shows that the above prediction is already becoming reality. It shows that “voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on eight out of 10 key electoral issues, including, for the second straight month, the top issue of the economy.” As if that is not enough, Republicans have almostclosed the gap on the two remaining issues, health care and education.
Let’s start with the economy, because this is the number one issue on voters’ mind and the very reason Democrats won the elections last year:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that voters trust the GOP more on economic issues 46% to 41%, showing little change from the six-point lead the party held last month. This is just the second time in over two years of polling the GOP has held the advantage on economic issues. The parties were close on the issue in May, with the Democrats holding a one-point lead. Voters not affiliated with either party trust Republicans more to handle the economy by a 46% to 32% margin.
Especially the last point is incredibly important. Democrats won elections, starting in 2006, because Independents supported them. If these voters now turn to Republicans, the latter can be confident they’ll strike back next year.
More issues:
Most voters (52%) now trust Republicans more on the issue of taxes, also the highest level found in over two years. Only 36% trust Democrats more on taxes. A survey conducted at the end of June found that 39% of voters now expect their taxes to go up under Obama, the highest level of concern measured to date.On national security, Republicans hold a 49% to 40% lead over Democrats. That’s down from a 15-point lead last month.The GOP has a 40% to 34% lead on the issue of immigration and is ahead 46% to 39% on abortion. Republicans also edge out Democrats on government ethics and corruption for the second straight month, 34% to 33%. In June, the GOP held a six-point advantage on the issue.Also for the first time in over two years, Republicans lead Democrats on the issue of Social Security 42% to 37%. Democrats held a six-point lead on the issue last month, and the parties were tied in April.
The only issues on which Democrats are more trusted are health care and education. But even here they’re losing that trust fast:
Democrats have also seen their leads shrink on two of the party’s strong points, health care and education. The party holds a four-point lead on health care, down from 18 points in May. The Democrats’ advantage on the issue is the smallest found in over two years…On education, Democrats lead Republicans 41% to 38%, also the smallest margin in over two years. Democrats held a 15-point lead in May on the issue.
That’s - on both issues - within the margin of error.
To summarize: Republicans are simply more trusted nowadays.
The only surprise of this poll is that it was conducted and published this weekend. I thought it would take Democrats at least a year or so before they would convince Americans that united government is a horrible idea, especially when the Democratic Party is the party in power. It only took them six months. That’s quite an accomplishment.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of all voters say the average congressional Democrat is more liberal than they are, while 36% believe the average Republican congressman is more conservative in comparison to themselves. Just 44% say their own representative in Congress is about the same as them ideologically.
Democrats have to turn this around if they want to keep their sizable majorities in the House and the Senate next year. From the looks of it though, they may have to settle for very slim minorities next year, and they may even lose the House.
Let’s hope so.