Signs of trouble in Red states
There’s word today that Republicans in Congress are ready to hit key states to try and rally support for Bush’s Social Security scheme.
Republican leaders urged Senators in a private meeting Tuesday to rally around President Bush’s plan to overhaul Social Security, as they began quietly making plans to hold a March rally in a key battleground state to promote the issue…. Republicans, though, are considering holding a national town meeting in either Florida or Pennsylvania next month to advance Bush’s proposal, GOP sources said.
To which I say, forget battleground states; Republicans haven’t even convinced their true believers yet.
The Center for American Progress’ Judd Legum noted yesterday that state polls show Bush’s scheme falling flat among those who are already predisposed to support anything Bush wants by virtue of him wanting it.
* Montana — “Montanans oppose switching to personal Social Security investment accounts by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to a statewide opinion poll conducted for the Great Falls Tribune. Nearly 59 percent of the 405 adults surveyed oppose the idea, while nearly 30 percent support it.”
* Kentucky — “49 percent think the president’s plan for private investment accounts for workers under 55 is a bad idea, while 40 percent support it.”
* Arkansas — “[T]he initial 46% of the adult public who favor private accounts drops to between 14% and 24% depending on the consequence presented.”
* Florida — “[T]he initial 47% of the adult public who favor private accounts drops to between 13% and 27% depending on the consequence presented.”
* Nebraska — “[T]he initial 50% of adult Nebraskans who favored private accounts drops to between 14% and 31% depending on the consequence presented.”
* North Dakota — “[T]he initial 44% of the adult public who favor private accounts drops to between 12% and 29% depending on the consequence presented.”
Bush won all of these states, usually by very wide margins. No wonder congressional Republicans are “panic-stricken.”