It ain’t safe to be a Republican
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has decided to pull its television advertising out of Louisiana, a decision that drastically reduces the party’s chances at its lone takeover opportunity in this election cycle.
The ads, according to buy information obtained by The Fix, will end next Tuesday — two weeks before the Nov. 4 election between Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) and state Treasurer John Kennedy (R).
Even worse, the Republicans are now putting money into Kentucky and Georgia to defend incumbent Republicans.
It’s not a surprise — in their bid to hang onto the narrowest part of the base, they’re driving away people who don’t fit the precise mold, e.g. Muslims-Americans who used to identify with the GOP for its traditional values and emphasis on entrepeneurship, but now feel targeted for their religion. Just like Bush’s attempt at immigration reform was no match for the angriest part of his party, his reference to Islam as a “religion of peace” can’t stem the effect of stuff like this. Even if the politics of literal xenophobia (fear of the stranger) somehow work this year, I think demographic shifts in this country will make this the last election in which it does.
I’m not surprised at all. I’m in Georgia and I see a lot of enthusiasm for Obama, much of it from people I’d never have expected to be interested in politics.
One thing a friend of me told me is that she’s personally helped register thousands of students, and none of them have had a landline – and that polls only go through landlines. Is this true? Could that mean that the results might be even more heavily skewed than I thought?