Thursday, May 24, 2012

WARREN SURGES LIKE A REPUBLICAN

I thought Elizabeth Warren's Senate campaign in Massachusetts was doomed, but it's just the opposite:

Elizabeth Warren is largely unscathed by the weeks-long controversy surrounding her ancestry, according to a new Suffolk University poll released Wednesday evening.

Unscathed? She's not unscathed -- she's gaining, big time:

The survey shows the Massachusetts Democrat trailing GOP Sen. Scott Brown by a single percentage point, with Brown netting 48 percent to Warren's 47 percent. The result marks a measurable shift toward Warren since the last Suffolk poll in February, which had Brown up 9 points, 49 percent to 40 percent.

... Since then, Warren has been ensnared in a round of unflattering stories questioning the credibility of her claim that she is 1/32 Cherokee.


Is it too much to argue that that attack is actually helping her?

A plurality of those polled -- 49 percent -- believe Warren is telling the truth about being part Native American. Just 28 percent said she was not being honest while 23 percent weren't sure.

A plurality of 45 percent also believe she did not benefit by listing herself as a minority at Harvard or the University of Pennsylvania, where she also taught.

More than two-thirds of voters -- 69 percent -- said Warren's Native American heritage listing is not a significant story, with just 27 percent saying it is.


You know how this would work if the parties were reversed, don't you? If an attack like this were launched against a Republican, we'd spend half a day talking about the charges ... and then two weeks responding to cries of "media bias!" from the right-wing noise machine. By Day Three at the latest, the press would start beating itself up for running the story at all. We'd spend all our time talking about the characteristic viciousness of the win-at-any-cost Democrats and the shameful collusion of the scandal-mongering liberal media. We'd forget about the charges altogether.

Shortly afterward, polls would show that the public was shrugging off the charges ... which, somehow, is what's happening to Warren, even without a noise machine. I don't know how that happened. Maybe the public is genuinely unimpressed by stories like this that don't seem relevant to job performance. Maybe a lot of voters have family stories about interesting forbears that they know may or may not be true.

But the poll also says that Obama leads Romney in the state by 25 points. So why is Warren only tied with Brown? A couple of problems:

Warren's greatest strength? 49% of likely voters say she'll represent middle class families better than Brown.

His biggest asset? 47% of likely voters say he'll be more independent than Warren.

... a key finding that could boost Brown: 56% believe Massachusetts would benefit by having one Democrat and one Republican in the Senate...38% say no.


Damn blue-staters. In the red states, voters vote for Republicans. In Democratic states, voters want to be reasonable. And that's how the GOP winds up controlling everything. That's why we can't have nice things.

*****

AND: Warren's favorables are going up, though so are her unfavorables:

Warren's favorability rating has risen 8 points since February, to 43 percent, although her un­favor­able rating has also increased 5 points, to 33 percent, perhaps reflecting Brown’s attempts to portray her as an elitist.

But:

Brown, who has worked hard to burnish his everyman image, is viewed more positively than Warren.

Fifty-eight percent of voters said they view him favorably, up 6 points from February, while 28 percent said they view him unfavorably.


Niceness: once you can fake that, you can get away with anything.

26 comments:

Victor said...

Brown proves that the "Compassionate Conservative" strategy is still out there.

Maybe these attacks on Warren, and the fact that Brown didn't aggressively repudiate them, took some of that 'compassionate' sheen off the "Golden Boy."

I sure as shit hope so.

Of course, this means that now the Wall Street Super PAC's will double-down on the dirt.

Will this help or hurt Warren?

It may depend on how low they decide to go.
Maybe in MA, there's some sort of a BS detector that comes with being a more compassionate MA voter than a red state one.
Also, people from MA are more critical thinkers than the typical subjects of 'raw meat' attacks.

I sure hope so.

Warren in the Senate could be a game-changer.

And THAT'S why they'll stop at nothing to make sure she goes back to teaching in a university, rather than 'schooling' them daily from Capital Hill.

Danp said...

Most independent? What nonsense. An independent Republican is one who gets permission from the party leadership to vote with Dems on issues that don't count, or where the outcome is not in doubt.

Ten Bears said...

It's not a controversy - the claim, as yet unverified to both as to whither or no she actually made the claim and the claim itself, dates back five generations. Statistically anyone whose family has lived here that long has a splash of "Indian" blood. No doubt Scott Brown, blue-blood "American Royalty" that he is, has a splash of "Indian" blood.

Of the First American population that remains, less than ten percent are enrolled as "full-blood" (FBI, heh), the vast majority are those such as I: half and quarter blood, an eighth in some tribes... and many tribes remain unrecognized.

Williard, on the other hand, is a second generation immigrant, and I openly question the legality of that immigration. His grand-father and great-grand-father declared War on the United States of America.

You know why the white dogs stay white don't you? In-breeding.

Victor said...

Btw - "SURGES LIKE A REPUBLICAN," would make a really nice song title and lyric.

Be careful, of course, not to make it sound too much like 'The Bangles' "Walk Like and Egyption."

BH said...

It's good news as far as it goes, but I'm still skeptical about Warren's chances come the general. If she pulls it out, & if MA goes for Obama by anything like a 2-digit margin, then I'd say he could claim a coattail win.

No offense, either, but I'm a tad skeptical as well about MA voters having all that much of a BS detector. If twere so, then Centerfold Pickup-Drivin' Brown wouldn't be an incumbent in the 1st place, would he?

Steve M. said...

I know what you mean about BS detection in Massachusetts, BH. Plus, the zillionaires are going to pump even more money into this race than they did into the Scott Walker recall -- they can't bear to lose this one. But for now it's nice that this fell flat.

AmPowerBlog said...

@Ten Bear:

'It's not a controversy - the claim, as yet unverified to both as to whither or no she actually made the claim and the claim itself, dates back five generations. Statistically anyone whose family has lived here that long has a splash of "Indian" blood. No doubt Scott Brown, blue-blood "American Royalty" that he is, has a splash of "Indian" blood.'

Wrong.

In fact, the claim has been the other way around, that her ancestors helped round up Cherokees for the trail of tears. But that's not the half of it. Warren is whiter that Frosty the Snowman diped in Wite Out. You can't get more white. And her story blows the lid off the left's identity politics.

Gee Steve, ace commenters you've got here!

Don't change!

#Winning

Victor said...

Hey Donald,
Can you provide any evidence of Warren's ancestors helping to round-up Cherokee's for "The Train of Tears" - or is this another George Soros was a Jewish Treblinka SS Death Squad Commander, or organized the gassing and burying of the bodies, myth?

We'd like to see a link from a non-Wingnut Welfare source.

We Liberals are kind of funny that way, and try to provide links to legitimate sources when writing and commenting on our Fascist-Commie blogs - unlike you Conservatives, who seem to pull your support materials from other Wingnuts, or from your real favorite source - the always reliable, Otto Eurass.

And yes, Warren is white!
Alert the media!!!

But is she whiter than a Sasquatch in Israel?
Enquiring minds want to know?

And, Donald - don't change.
We (don't) love you just the way you are!

What a dope!
What A MAROON!!!

Never Ben Better said...

Heard a clip from Warren today on the radio, firing back as the press hounded her on the topic, along these lines (not exact quote, but close):

"How do I know? My mother told me, my grandmother told me, and Scott Brown is attacking my family."

I suspect this line of defense is going to resonate with a lot of people. I mean, if your mom tells you a bit of family lore, do you demand she provide notarized affidavits to prove it?

AmPowerBlog said...

@ C*U*N*D Gulag:

"What A MAROON!!!"

I rest my case, Steve.

Asesome --- FREAKIN' AWESOME --- commenters you've got.

The smartest of the smart!

#Winning.

Anonymous said...

Donald,

We are also still waiting to hear Michelle Obama's "Whitey Tape."

Steve M. said...

What are you doing here, Donald? Should you be off somewhere, flirting with birtherism?

AmPowerBlog said...

Uh, what?

I guess you don't want conservative messing up your cocoon around here.

A birther? Hardly.

I specifically note at my first post cited that I don't care whether Obama's born in Kenya or whatever. But since Obama himself, and wife Michelle, were touting Obama's Kenyan birth and African origins as recently as 2007, looks like it's your side who are the birthers.

I wrote: "For me, it's not whether Obama was born in Kenya. The question is why was he so excited to trumpet his purported African origins."

You're slacking, Steve. Been at this so long perhaps you need to think about bloggers' retirement, BWAHAHAHA!!

Steve M. said...

"Lou Dobbs Mystified by Apparent 'Taboo' on Barack Obama's 'Kenyan Birth'" -- that's flirting with birtherism.

"Associated Press Declared Obama 'Kenyan-Born' in Report on 2004 U.S. Senate Race From Illinois" -- that's flirting with birtherism. (And you ascribed the headline to AP when it wasn't AP's headline.)

I know you think you're aware of all Internet traditions, but typing BWAHAHAHA!! doesn't automatically make you right.

Steve M. said...

Oh, and the Dobbs post has a Joseph Farah link.

But I'm sure you posted a link to that uber-birther in a totally non-birther way, Donald.

AmPowerBlog said...

You're just namecalling.

Is that all you got?

Why did Barack and Michelle Obama campaign on Barack's Kenyan background in 2007? The media won't talk about it. I don't care what you call me, because it's not about being a "birther". It's about leftists all big on talking about how they're "Kenyan" or "Cherokee" and then getting hammered like fuck when called out. So, call me a birther all you want. The more you do the more stupid you luck.

Try to stay above the level of your commenters, Steve.

They draggin' down the level of debate around here. I thought you were smarter than that. Sheesh.

AmPowerBlog said...

Hey, Steve, you "Maroon," I noticed you didn't link this one, 'Obama Gets Pass on Kenya from Democrat-Media-Complex'. Got a YouTube clip there of Michelle O. campaigning, lauding Barack as "Kenyan" in 2007.

Why don't you write a post on that? Post the video right here and attack me as a "birther." Go for it. Id'd love to see it ---- because you're sooooooooo right on this issue!

Lou Dobbs and the WND post are calling out you leftist hypocrites.

Losers.

Losers who think they're soooooooooo smart. Not.

#Winning

Steve M. said...

You're clinically manic.

Ten Bears said...

Hey Doug, would you care to step outside? I haven't killed anyone since 'Nam, and I kinda' miss it.

Oh... and I've got no problem with the cops gunning me down (these days I'm looking forward to it), as long as I take you with me.

So, cunt, would you care to step outside?

Steve M. said...

Both of you: enough.

Christ, I've got Douglas bouncing off the walls like a kindergartner on a sugar high and I've got Ten Bears making death threats. Drop it right now or I start banning people.

repsac3 said...

"...somebody like Barak Obama. A Kenyan, a black man..." - Michell Obama, 2007

Nobody tell Dr. Douglas that most of the gentlemen in "Sons of Italy" chapters were not actually born in Italy, or that there isn't a single member of the "Daughters of the Revolution" who was a citizen when General George Washington became president. The guy's head may actually explode.

(I'm a Pole, myself... but I was born in the USA, not Poland. I'm just sayin'...)

Victor said...

Donald,
"Eh, what's up, doc?"
LOL!
What a M-O-R-O-N!

I'm actually starting to feel some pity for you, DD - you must have had a sheltered childhood.
Did you even have one, you poor "sap?"

"What a dope. What a MAROON!"

That happens to be a classic send-off from the great Bugs Bunny.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037763/quotes

Do you know who he is?
He's a cartoon bunny - not Bigfoot in Bethlehem.

Calling someone a "maroon" is mocking someone:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=maroon

And you, my dimwitted chum, are eminently mock-able. You must work hard at it.

Here's a link to some other great Bugs quotes:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Looney_Tunes_Show

And not only are you a "dope" and a "maroon," you, my cartoon-illiterate "bunny wabbit" are also, an "ignoranimous:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Kh7nLplWo

To again quote the great Bugs Bunny:
"What an embezzle! What an ultramaroon!"

"And remember, 'mud' spelled backwards is 'dum'"

And notice, I provided links, "MAROON!"

ROTFLMAO!!!!

BH said...

Arguing at any length with the semiliterate likes of this Douglas is a fine illustration of getting into a pissing match with a skunk.

BH said...

Oh, yes - my apologies to the Mephitidae for the comparison.

Victor said...

BH,
I stopped arguing with that 'dope' and 'maroon' a few years ago.

Now all I do is mock the twit.

BH said...

Good pick, Victor. Anything more serious would be a waste of your time.