Non-Trey Politicker folks still abusing poll #'s

Ack.

First, it was some guy named "Alex Isenstadt" cherry-picking polls favorable to Mitch McConnell. Now, "Wally Edge" does a "fact check" that shows Northup and Yarmuth are "both right" on their claims of who Americans blame for high gas prices. Yarmuth claims it is Bush and big oil, Northup says it's Democrats in Congress.

The poll Edge cites show that 60% blame oil companies, 49% blame Bush, and 44% blame "Congress", not even just Democrats in Congress. Somehow, Edge says that this shows they are both right.

Oh, and did I mention this poll was done OVER TWO MONTHS AGO???

How about a more recent poll, eh? Like the one that CNN did 2 weeks ago showing that 68% blame big oil, 54% blame the Bush Administration and only 31% blame Democrats in Congress??? Wouldn't a definitive poll such as this not done over two months ago be preferable in making your point?

Head. Desk. Repeat.

With "fact checks" like these, I might as well just watch Fox News...

(PS- Trey Pollard at Politicker actually does great work over there, even though he gets paid to do it, hence making me very very very jealous. But these other two... good gawd.)

Ted Jackson is flat wrong

Over in the Northup campaign, reality isn't quite what it seems. Polls showing Anne Northup down 10 points means she's ahead, and now, according to campaign director Ted Jackson, Americans are blaming Democrats in Congress for oil prices.

“I understand how frustrating and difficult it is for John to comprehend that he is ever wrong about anything,” said Ted Jackson, Northup’s spokesperson. “At this time, he is flat wrong.”

Jackson was responding to remarks by Yarmuth, in which the freshman Democrat doubted Republicans would benefit from the gas price issue.

"I understand why the Republicans think they have that issue, but the vast majority of the American people blame George Bush and the oil companies for high gas prices," Yarmuth told PolitickerKY.com on Wednesday. "So, I think that is an issue that ultimately will not help them."

“Voters blame Congress for doing nothing to solve the energy crisis,” responded Jackson today.

Hmmm.... I wonder which one is right?

Well, in this type of situation, those of us in the Reality-Based Community (i.e., not Northup folks) go to the numbers to find out. So let's check out what this CNN poll found last week:

Here are the %'s for those blamed as a major cause of the problem:

o 68% - Big Oil
o 65% - Foreign oil producers
o 57% - Speculators
o 56% - Demand from other countries
o 54% - Bush Administration
o 51% - War in Iraq
o 51% - Ban on offshore drilling
o 31% - Democrats in Congress

Don't worry about it though, Ted. Facts have a well known liberal bias...
.

Northup fires campaign manager; schadenfreude nears

Hmmm.... kind of makes you wonder why a candidate who professes to be in the lead and having all the momentum would fire her campaign manager?

Then again, if you live in the reality-based community and know that Anne Northup will not even come within 10 points of John Yarmuth this November, it all makes perfect sense.

Yes, Anne Northup just fired her campaign manager, Scott Will, and here is their explanation:

"Scott did a great job. Sometimes these things don't work out," said Ted Jackson, Northup's campaign chairman.

Jackson said the personnel change wasn't a sign that the campaign was headed in the wrong direction. He noted that Northup out-raised Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth during the last quarter.

"It was more of just a personality and management style. We’re very pleased with where the campaign is fund-raising-wise and organizationally, but when we head into the critical part of the campaign, you’ve got to make sure that personalities mesh," he said.

Jackson said a replacement hasn't been named yet.

Will, who came to Northup's campaign from Iowa, did not return a phone call Tuesday afternoon.

Well, the word on the street is that Northup's folks just got their internal polling back, and..... it's not pretty, folks. Fed Ex Anne can release rosy internal poll numbers all she wants, but the hard numbers staring her in the face this week put the campaign in panic mode.

Sorry Anne, but there is no staff change you could make at this point to avoid Schadenfreude Fest on November 4th.

(PS- Anyone who has ever been near a campaign knows that emotions run high and people have a propensity to show their stress in a negative manner. If political campaigns really fired their managers because of "ugly personalities and counter-productive management styles", then you would have seen a high-level shake-up on Bruce Lunsford's campaign by now (instead you just see many staffers jumping ship). Anne fired her campaign manager because she just now realized how bad she is going to lose to John Yarmuth. Just ask Bruce... he has been through enough campaigns now. If what Ted Jackson said in the story were true, then Brad Katz would not still be in Kentucky....)

Yarmuth 2, Northup 0

Heads up Anne

How much you want to bet that this stuff lands right on Anne Northup's doorstep?

Anne Northup sticking it to Louisville

Seriously, what is up with Anne Northup thumbing her nose at Louisville?

First she filed for her candidacy using FED EX, despite the fact that UPS is Louisville's #1 employer.



Now, she sends out an unintentionally hilarious email, claiming that a poll showing her 10 points down means that she is actually ahead. The email has a pic of horses making the turn for home, with the tag "help Anne continue to build her momentum".

Well, you'd figure the pic would be of Churchill Downs. And you would figure wrong.



Strike two, Anne.

We anxiously await Anne's next gaffe where she can "stick it to Louisville".

Northup Sticks It TO Louisville.wav

MORE Northup funnies

Via Jake, we learn that the Anne Northup funnies just keep on coming today.

According to a mass email she just sent out, the SUSA poll showing her 10 points down means she is.... ahead of John Yarmuth.

No, that isn't a joke, she said this actually shows that she is ahead in the race. Seriously:

Second, we know SurveyUSA polls have been off by 10 or more points here in Kentucky over the last three months.

Ok, folks, lets repeat the mantra from those who don't live in the Reality-Based Community:

1.) All non-partisan polls (Rasmussen, SUSA, etc...) are secretly biased for Democrats, and they inflate the Democrats' numbers by double digits. They have a double-super-secret conspiracy to make Mitch McConnell and Anne Northup look bad... because they are secret dirty liberals.

2.) The only polls that are worth trusting are the internal polls done or commissioned by Republican candidates. Only Republicans are honest. They don't care at all about spin for their campaign, they just care about the sanctity of accurate public opinion polling. It's the principle of the thing, you know?

3.) Magic unicorns will sprout from the earth and fly into the atmosphere, both saving us from the greenhouse gases by inhaling them, and also freeing bazillions of barrels of oil from the earth so we can burn our precious liquid for the rest of eternity, until Jesus comes back down to earth on one of the unicorns.

Let me repeat: this Yarmuth/Northup race will be FUN.

The Northup funnies continue

As I've said many times this year, one of the highlights for this election season will be the hilarious Schadenfreude-Fest that will be the congressional race between John Yarmuth and Anne Northup. John Yarmuth is a shoe-in to win this race by double-digits, which will be Anne Northup's 3rd loss in two years, effectively ending her political viability for many years to come.

What makes this coming campaign and victory even sweeter is (1) Yarmuth's unapologetic progressive stances and votes, and (2) how absolutely batshit crazy he drives the right wingers, as they are foaming at the mouth in anticipation of "beating" him.

Evidence of Yarmuth's coming double-digit was further validated by the SUSA poll that came out yesterday, showing Yarmie with a 10-point lead, Northup behind in every demographic(up one point among whites).

And the best part? The absolute celebration by the delusional foaming at the mouth right-wing KY blogs (including the anti-Semitic Cyberhillbilly) in response to this poll. Apparently, according to them and the Northup campaign, this 10-point deficit is is proof that she has "momentum".

Actually, I have to agree with that.

Back in January, Northup cited a poll that showed her down 2 points. Then, last month, she said that she was down 7 points. Now, she approvingly sites yesterday's SUSA poll showing her down 10 points.

Let's see.... 2 points down... then 7 points down.... then 10 points down...

Yes, this is momentum, but not in the direction that they're claiming.

As I said, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the hilarious Schadenfreude-Fest.

Yarmie's new website

John Yarmuth has a spiffy new campaign website, check it out, yo.

My favorite part is that the first image I saw was of John with Nancy Pelosi.

Take that right-wingers!!! He's a proud progressive Democrat who's friends with a "radical San Francisco liberal"!!! And he's still going to beat Northup by 10+ points!!!

4 months till schadenfreude-fest!!!

Yarmuth beginning his touchdown dance

Republicans will of course try to use "Nancy Pelosi styled San Francisco liberal" as a smear against every Democrat running this November. Some pathetic bloggers here in Kentucky call John Yarmuth (Dem-SF). (isn't gay baiting so mature!)

But with a 17 point lead over Northup, what does Yarmuth do? Bring in Nancy Pelosi herself for a fundraiser.

Love it. Yarmy's looking like Butch Johnson with his guns blazing.

And the only thing that Northup's campaign can do is whine whine whine.

As I've said many times, this will be one schadenfeude-tastic election.

(If Yarmy only didn't wank away last week on telecom immunity... W.T.F. Young was that about???)

Told you so: Yarmuth up 17 on Northup

I've been calling it for months now: the impending double digit victory of John Yarmuth over Anne Northup.

An absolute schadenfreude-fest. The KY right-wingnuts gnash their teeth at the liberal Yarmuth and proclaim that Northup will get his revenge on "Mr. MoveOn Ramadan-loving Christ-hating Yarmuth".

But in the end, what they will get is a blowout loss. The third loss in the span of 2 years for Anne Northup. Schadenfreude out the wazoo.

And Survey USA gives us the great news tonight:

John Yarmuth (D): 57
Anne Northup (R): 40

Bloodbath. Grab the popcorn.

Big Oil Anne

I get endless pleasure out of the delusions of the right-wing here in Kentucky that think Anne Northup is going to even come within ten points of John Yarmuth this Fall. This thing is going to be a bloodbath, and I'm going to enjoy every second of it.

#1- She proved during her stay in Congress that she is mini-Bush, and Louisville knows that Bush is the worst damned president ever. Who in their right mind thinks that we want to continue on that path of failed leadership when they can keep John Yarmuth? As her primary opponent Chris Theineman pointed out yesterday, Northup voted with GWB 91% of the time. That, in itself, is enough to bury her.

#2- With gas prices out of control, why would you want to put someone into office who is a stooge of the oil industry. As Theineman said yesterday:

As a member of Congress in 2005, she voted for a $14.5 billion tax break for Big Oil (H.R. 6, Vote 445), passing President Bush's energy bill that amounted to a giant hand-out for oil companies.

She helped her pals in the oil companies again later that year, voting against price gouging standards that would have prevented big oil from over-charging us for gasoline. (H.R. 3402, Vote 500).

It's no wonder. Anne Northup has received more than $300,000 in political contributions from Big Oil interests.

Northup is nothing but Mitch McConnell's pawn for the election this November. His crony at the NRCC was responsible for that phony poll showing a close race between Northup and Yarmuth back in January. Why did Mitch want Northup in the race? So she would at least spur a respectable turnout among Republicans in Louisville, thus helping Mitch tread water there in his race, which he thought would be against Andrew Horne.

So... sit back and grab the popcorn, and enjoy watching Northup lose her third race in 2 years and John Yarmuth make right-wingers heads explode in Louisville for many many years to come.

Worst. President. Ever.

28%

Operation SchadeNorthup only 7 months away!!! Bush/Northup!

The Ghost of Schadenfreude Future

It’s shaping up to be a rather dreary Fall right now for Lefties in our KY races, but there is one shining light that I simply cannot wait for.

John Yarmuth’s double digit victory over Anne Northup.

As Yarmuth’s campaign so effectively showed in 2006, Anne Northup IS George W. Bush. Every step of the way, Anne Northup was there to rubber-stamp Bush’s disastrous policies.

In October of 2006, George Bush’s rating in the Louisville area was 40/59% approve/disapprove. This was able to cut into Northup’s huge incumbency advantage and bring about her defeat.

Today, Bush’s rating in Louisville is 33/60%, and we all know that it’s only going to get worse. Louisville doesn’t want to go back to Bush-folk, they want to go forward, and Yarmuth is their man.

On one level, this will be gratifying due to it being Anne’s third loss in the span of 2 years. She’s proven to be a glutton for punishment, but this might be her final embarrassment for a long, long time.

On a more personal level?

John Yarmuth drives right-wingers crazy.

Why? Because he’s a Democrat with a spine, and he doesn’t give a damn what they think.

When presented with idiotic legislation to honor Christmas, claiming that Christians are oppressed in America, he laughs it off. This sets the wingnuts into a frenzy, with some nice latent anti-Semitism, to boot.

And he voted to acknowledge Ramadan! "He hates Christians! He’s pro-Muslim! Wait, I thought it was because he was one of those damn Jews?! Well, he must be one of those Christ-hating Islamo-Jews!!! Those are the worst kind!"

And when our Congress should have been trying make sure we didn’t give Bush another blank check on Iraq, they instead decided to vote on a bill to condemn the millions of members of MoveOn. Yarmuth saw through that, and wouldn’t vote for it. That’s called spine.

And from the right? "He’s part of the George Soros global Jewish conspiracy!! Jewy America-hating Jew Jew!!"

How about some ignorant homophobia? Calling him the representative from San Fransisco? Not only juvenile, but completely out of touch with how moderate and secure in its own sexuality this district is. Calling him a fag-lover just shows how fucking stupid you are (and you know who you are).

John Yarmuth votes like a real Democrat with a spine, and he will continue to this year, and the next 2 years he’s in office after he whips Anne Northup again. The right in KY is all worked up about how liberal Yarmuth is, but guess what? The majority of Louisville loves the guy, and they are not Bush conservatives.

So consider this another added bonus of Yarmuth’s coming double-digit win over Northup this fall. He will continue to make the right froth at the mouth for many years to come.