After a nail-biting Alabama Senate election, the victorious Democrats are also celebrating a boost in popularity, as a recent poll conducted by NBC News and Wall Street Journal tout highest Congressional preference numbers since 2008.
Out of 900 interviewees, 50% wish to see a Democrat-controlled Congress, while 39% want to keep the status quo. What might this intel show the Republicans in 2018? In short, it could well mean snap out of this fog or head home with your tail between your legs.
Just one year ago, Republicans rode Donald Trump’s coattails into office and dominated the House, Senate, and the West Wing. Americans celebrated, knowing that the fighting across the aisle would finally fade into the background as the business of the people started to get done. Gridlock, well, it was soon to be a distant, if painful, memory. But the Republicans could not pull it off. And here we are, losing traction just 12 short months into Trump’s first term.
What the heck?
Another question asked of the people who did not unceremoniously hang up on the poll taker speaks volumes on the state of the Republican Party. “Do you consider yourself to be more of a supporter of Donald Trump or more of a supporter of the Republican Party?” A whopping 55% indicated they were Trump fans versus 38% who were party loyalists. These are registered voters—the Silent Majority. Why is this concept so difficult for the likes of Speaker Paul Ryan and Senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell? Even the Democrats on the Hill have backed off talks of impeachment. They are too tied up in the sexual harassment scandals to keep up with good governing. Besides, why waste the effort if the Republicans will destroy each other from the inside?
Another significant issue the poll disclosed was interest in the upcoming 2018 midterms. It seems the Republicans are 10 points behind the Democrats, 49% to 59%, respectively. This tells us the left is wound up tighter than an eight-day clock and looking to snatch back their power on the Hill. And the numbers show an apathy among conservatives that is a poor reflection of the uprising seen just one year ago. Maybe Mrs. Clinton should run again; the palpable fear and anger of a Hillary presidency energized the nation.
There is good news; Trump’s approval rating has increased a few points, but as we all have witnessed, he doesn’t worry about polls – positive or negative. However, a 41% approval number makes the rest of his supporters happy and gives the Democrats something by which to set their monthly Special Counsel investigative goals.
The experts (I did say experts) portend a big Democratic sweep—or at least a respectful gain or two—if these numbers continue to create wider chasms between the parties in 2018. “All in all, I think a 41 percent Trump approval and an +11D lead in the control of Congress definitely puts control of the Senate and the House as more doable for Democrats in 2018,” said Democratic pollster Fred Yang of Hart Research Associates.
Let’s face it; the polls were so egregiously wrong in the months leading to Republican takeover, that our elitist Democrats and their public relations department, also known as the media, are still in varying degrees of recovery after their total and utter humiliation. They did unravel but are now beginning to piece their broken egos back together and work like a well-oiled machine. They seem to be quick studies in the Democratic Party, whereas the Grand Old Party may be resting on its laurels a wee bit too much. This is your first wake up call, my conservative friends, and hopefully, the only one needed.
