Andrew Kohut: The GOP Is in Better Shape Than You Think

[cali]

Tucked away in recent polls—which have documented the extraordinary anger directed at the Republican Party during the shutdown crisis—are measures of clear disappointment with the Democratic Party. The disappointment is substantial, and it raises big questions about the 2014 midterms.

The Republican Party's favorable ratings fell substantially in most every national survey that uses this yard stick, declining to 28% in the Gallup poll at one point. Yet when the GOP was matched up against the Democrats on key political measures, it did not look so bad.

A mid-October Pew Research national poll found that a plurality regard the Republicans as "better able to deal with the economy" than the Democrats (44%-37%). Independents favored the GOP on the economy by a whopping 46%-30% margin in that survey.

The Republicans took most of the blame for the shutdown, yet a growing number see the GOP as "better able to manage the government." In December 2012, the Democratic Party held a 45%-36% advantage over the GOP as the party Americans viewed as better able to manage the government. By Oct. 15—in the midst of the shutdown and debt crisis—the Democratic lead on this measure disappeared: 42% said the Republican Party is better able to manage the federal government, compared with 39% who named the Democrats.

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http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303763804579181512436325236

Never, ever overestimate the collective intelligence of the electorate at large.

[Fumesucker]

1. HL Mencken called

I couldn't get a message, he was laughing too hard to talk.

[B Calm]

2. Like I told my financial adviser, I always do better

in the market when there is a democratic president in charge! I never could understand why people think republicans are better at managing the government.

[cali]

3. Myths don't need to have a basis in reality to become widely accepted

and then there's always the scary line about democrats will tax you to death.