GOP leadership fumble; Field Poll update

26 September 2010 |permalink | email article

No surprise Democrats gave thumbs down to last week’s House Republican ploy to win control of Congress with their “Pledge to America.” The stunner was the negative reaction within various segments of the party opposite. Most revealing was the failure to address Tea-Party goals like a balanced budget amendment and a ban on earmarks.

Newt Gingrich, architect of the 1994 Contract with America, called it a “significant boost, but it is not a home run.”

A conservative Club for Growth blog post trashed it as drafting a “weak” agenda, “silent” on earmarks and a balanced budget amendment, a Tea Partiers’ echo.

Erick Erickson, the uberconservative editor of RedState.com, called the pledge “ridiculous,” and “laughable.” Others called it the “Pledge to Nowhere.”

Neal Booritz, the Libertarian radio host, said he doesn’t believe the “pledge is going to work out too well” because Republicans aren’t addressing major issues that concern them – or the phrase “tax reform, ” or “corporate income tax.”

Talking Points Memo data was extended by Politico which reported the reaction of GOP congressional candidates, few who even put out statements about “the pledge” – was “tepid,” It’s a far different setting from the day in 1994 when the leadership stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to present the Contract for America, and every single Republican House candidate signed it. House candidates were not invited to the event in Sterling, Va.

It gives me pause, despite a GOP four-point edge in the generic Congressional ballot and predictions of a Democratic demise, as to whether losses will be enough to lose control of the House.

California politics

A new Field Poll indicates the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general are tight and within the margin of error, with small leads for Democrat Gavin Newsom and Republican Steve Cooley, respectively. The poll estimates that about 44% of November voters will be Democrats and 35% will be Republicans. A large number of likely voters are undecided in both races – 26% in the lieutenant governor’s race, and more than one-third, 34%, in the attorney general contest.

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