Saturday, October 30, 2010

'Undecideds' Flocking To The GOP

As the campaign nears its close, those voters in the middle have finally begun moving.
And they're flocking to the GOP.
It doesn't matter what you call them -- independents, moderates, uncommitted or undecided -- these voters are now beginning to make up their minds and from every indication they're placing their bets on the Republicans.
The New York Times gave hints of this in a story a couple of days ago when it said the Obama coalition was coming apart.
And now the Wall Street Journal is out this morning with a story that leads as follows:
The Democrats' final push to woo undecided voters appears to have fizzled, potentially putting dozens of competitive House races beyond reach and undermining the party's chances in at least four toss-up Senate seats, according to party strategists and officials.
Independents, a crucial swing bloc, seem to be breaking sharply for Republicans in the final days of the campaign.
Now the political pollster Stuart Rothenberg (hardly a right-leaning prognoticator by any means) is saying the GOP could pick up more than 70 House seats. That would be staggering. And the Republican's chance of taking the Senate still remain very much alive.
Even Democrats now admit that the current election is "all about Obama" and that's bad for them and there's nothing they can do about it. Where once they all wanted Obama at their side (indeed, they couldn't get enough of him) Democrats now can't get away from Obama fast enough.
Don't say I didn't warn of this.
If you've been reading this blog regularly, you know that I warned months ago of creeping disenchantment with Obama -- even among the most stringent Democrats. I told you that they were beginning to privately express regrets and disappointment. I talked about buyers' remorse. Now, the very real impact of all this is being felt.
Now, all of you know that, Chris Christie notwithstanding, New Jersey is still a blue state.
But here's more from the Wall Street Journal story today:

In New Jersey, 11-term Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone has seen his lead over the Republican tea-party favorite Anna Little narrow rapidly as undecided independents have broken in Ms. Little's favor.
"If Little wins, it will represent a complete annihilation of the Democrats in this race, and it could well happen," says Patrick Murray, who directs the state's Monmouth University Polling Institute. Across the state, he said, "independents are going for Republicans more than I've ever seen before."
Will the House pickup be as high as 70 seats or more? Or will it be more like 50 or 60 seats, or maybe less? No one can say with certainty. I certainly can't.
Will the GOP have a real shot of gaining the Senate? Who knows?
What we do know is that we appear to be in the midst of something really BIG -- momentous, even perhaps historic.
Click here for the full Wall Street Journal story.

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