Joe Lieberman is hitting the bottom......although he might not be on the floor yet. We'll see how he behaves in the coming year. A new Quinnipiac poll finds "Say It Ain't So" Joe with the highest disapproval numbers for a sitting senator in their history of polls.
Joe Lieberman is getting what he deserves...a renunciation by his Connecticut constituency. I wish they had a "recall" provision in their state constitution, but apparently, they don't.
The latest Quinnipiac poll in Connecticut finds the state's U.S. Senators get their lowest approval ratings ever: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has a 38% approval rating.
"Sen. Joseph Lieberman appears to be paying a high price for his embrace of Sen. John McCain in the presidential race. This is the highest disapproval rating in any Quinnipiac University poll in any state for a sitting U.S. Senator - except for New Jersey's Robert Torricelli, just before he resigned in 2002. Among those who say they voted for Sen. Lieberman in 2006, 30 percent now say they would vote for someone else if they could. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said Lieberman's support for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during the presidential election made them think less favorably of him; 43 percent of voters said it made no difference.
Now I don't live in Connecticut, but I haven't heard anything about cultivating great candidates to run against Lieberman in 2012. Does such a candidate exist?
The same poll finds Republican Governor Jodi Rell with a very high approval rating:
Despite a faltering economy and a low satisfaction rating, Gov. Jodi Rell gets a 68 - 20 percent approval rating, including 62 - 25 percent among Democrats.
"Usually, governors take some of the blame for bad times, fairly or unfairly," Dr. Schwartz added. "Yet, Gov. Jodi Rell continues to be in a strong position for reelection, should she choose to run again in 2010."
So is it a foregone conclusion that if Governor Rell decides to run for Lieberman's senate seat in 2012, she will win and Connecticut will have a "real" Republican Senator?
What happens if Chris Dodd, who is also under scrutiny by Connecticut voters gets a Republican challenger or decides not to seek re-election in 2010?
a lackluster 47 - 41 percent for Sen. Christopher Dodd. "Sen. Dodd's low approval rating is bad news for any incumbent, but at this point there is no strong Republican challenger on the horizon as Dodd faces reelection in 2010."
It's never too early to start thinking about who could be challenged and what is the bench that we have in place to hold the seats for Democrats.....unless we want Connecticut to be the only state in the Northeast to have two Republican Senators and/or a Republican Governor.
Anybody from Connecticut, or anywhere else for that matter have some input?