Overview: You will recall that many GOP voters did not cast ballots in the Florida panhandle in 2000 because the MSM announced that the polls in Florida had closed an hour before they actually did in the ten western counties of the state — leading to the debacle of the Florida recount. There are many conflicting trends in this election, and we name a number of them below. But we think there is a real possibility that through reporting and polling, the entire country today is being treated like the Florida panhandle was in 2000.

There are so many conflicting cross-currents in this election. Watch the Harold Ford meltdown (second video). See the Democrats celebrate two weeks before the election. Witness a sitting US diplomat say that there was “arrogance and there was stupidity” by the US in Iraq on Al Jazeera TV. (The same diplomat was press attache at the US embassy during the Daniel Ortega days in Nicaraugua and who said regarding Hezbollah, “If it gets me in trouble, it gets me in trouble. I don’t care. The Israeli Government has said ‘we hold the Lebanese government responsible.’ The US Government has not said that”… — has he gone native over time?). Meanwhile Barrons says that the GOP will win, based on its research, and NRO says the analysis doesn’t hold water.

This is a mighty strange political season. As for our barometer of what might really be going on, we’ll be paying attention to see if polls begin to adjust their samples in the final days before the election. Fred Barnes noted: “If you suspect there are forces eager to suppress Republican turnout, you are right. Rarely has the press echoed Democratic themes as relentlessly as it has in the closing weeks of the 2006 campaign.” Possibly the Deomcrats really do have the election wrapped up, but possibly this overt and coordinated MSM/Democratic Party Election 2006 campaign has strategically utilized polling operations among other weapons — but the polls themselves would have to readjust before election day if they were cooked, in order for the polling operations to maintain credibility. This would be explained as the result of a “momentum shift” or some such, in the final days.

As we say, the Democrats may actually be far ahead and have this thing sewn up, and that’s fair enough if that’s how people want to cast their ballots. But something smells fishy and seems highly contrived in the massive, coordinated efforts in this election cycle.

UPDATE

We’ll be wanting to take a look at the internals of this 55/37 Newsweek poll, for example, when they become available: “More than half of Americans, 55 percent, would like to see Democrats take control of Congress, according to a poll by Newsweek magazine released on Saturday. The poll of 1,000 likely voters found that 55 percent would choose a Democrat to represent their district if the vote were held now, and 37 percent said they would vote Republican.” This just doesn’t feel like a 55/37 country or election to us. Something is rotten in the state of Demnark, and in the MSM as well.

UPDATE II

The Newsweek poll story does not have the internals posted, but it sure has some strange results, including the odd findings that Democrats are now the party of moral values and tie the Republican Party on the issue of terror. Moreover, the things listed as the “top priorities” of the American people seem downright bizarre to us, given the dangerous world in which we live:

[T]he NEWSWEEK poll shows Republicans in danger of losing a big chunk of their base…In the new poll, 41 percent of Americans say they trust the Democrats more on values and 37 percent said they trusted the GOP more….Likewise, on the war on terror, once President Bush’s signature issue. While Republicans have not restored their perennial lead over the Democrats, equal numbers of Americans trust each party more (40 percent for each.)…The poll found terrorism came fourth as the “most important” issue to voters, at just 13 percent; behind Iraq (31 percent), the economy (18 percent), and health care (16 percent)….

[S]hould the Democrats retake one or both houses of Congress, the American public supports their proposed “First 100 Hours” agenda. An overwhelming majority says allowing the government to negotiate lower drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies should be a top priority for a Democratic Congress (74 percent, including 70 percent of Republicans); 68 percent want increasing the minimum wage to be a top priority, including 53 percent of Republicans; 62 percent want investigating impropriety by members of Congress to be a top priority; and 58 percent want investigating government contracts in Iraq to be a top priority. Fifty-two percent say investigating why we went to war in Iraq should be a top priority….calls to impeach Bush: 47 percent of Democrats say that should be a “top priority”…

Maybe that’s America today. If so, we are in big trouble. Why do we get the feeling that the entire country is being treated by the MSM like the Florida panhandle in the election of 2000?

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 21st, 2006 at 4:57 pm and is filed under Democrats, General, MSM, Polling, Republicans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.