By Avrumi Weinberger (on Twitter @conservadox https://twitter.com/Conventional wisdom was humbled yet again when Quinnipiac University released a new national poll http://www.quinnipiac.edu/
1. Run fiercely and unapologetically on social issues and you’ll win.
Republicans have been scared into thinking that they don’t have a chance at recapturing the women’s vote unless they back off so-called controversial social issues, such as abortion and “womens’ health” http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/08/
Turns out, in a general election match-up between Hillary Clinton and Ben Carson, the overtly devout Christian who has said some eyebrow-raising-comments on abortion in the past http://www.vox.com/identities/
It’s also noteworthy to point out that Ted Cruz, that’s right, Ted Cruz would beat Hillary Clinton among women 50%-41%, better than Marco Rubio who would beat her 48%-40%. Just saying.
So what’s going on?
One can reasonably suggest that an unabashed candidate who stands on principle can turn out the more conservative women to support him or her, whereas a more “moderate” or “mushy-in-the-middle” kind of candidate leaves them uninspired and cause them to sit out the election, resulting in defeat.
2. Another takeaway from the Carson numbers. The media have lost a lot of clout.
In an October 13th piece on Breitbart News http://www.breitbart.com/big-
Obviosly, Ted Cruz was right when he said http://www.realclearpolitics.
So, stop being so scared stiff of the mainstream media and learn how to fight back.
3. Being smiley and “moderate” and “reasonable” doesn’t necessarily help your favorability.
For decades, the Republican establishment have been arguing that we need a moderate candidate in order to win elections. Well, it didn’t work with Bob Dole in 1996, it didn’t work with John McCain in 2008, it didn’t work with Mitt Romney in 2012 and it ain’t working in 2015 with Jeb Bush.
Jeb Bush has the lowest favorability ratings of the entire GOP field, an embarassing net favorability of -33%. Who has the highest favorability, you ask? Ben Carson, with 24% equalling to a 57 point gap between the two.
Among Republicans however, the gap is even greater. Ben Carson has an almost unheard of net favoribility rating of 76%, while Bush languishes at -3%. Behind Carson are Rubio, with a 61% net favoribilty rating and Ted Cruz is close behind him with 59%. Donald Trump is way behind with a net favorability of 33%.
Also in the poll, 23% of Republicans say they would never vote for Jeb Bush, and the only candidate who does worse than that is Donald Trump with 25% saying they would never vote for him. Carson, Cruz and Rubio fare the best, with only 3% saying they would never vote for Carson, and 6% saying they would never vote for Cruz or Rubio.
Incidentally, the two candidates who would draw the largest turnout among Republicans against Hillary Clinton are Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, turning out 89% of the party.
Republican elites are working hard, trying to figure out the new criteria for creating favorability. To give a hint, timidity and weakness are not among them.
4. Americans believe that a Senator or a Congressman is better fit for the Presidency than a Governor.
Political pundits have been hammering the idea that executive experience is the key. Americans think otherwise. In the poll, a legislator beats a governor 36%-33%. This conversion is obviously pointless though, after the rise of Ben Carson and Donald Trump, the two current frontrunners on the Republican side who have never held elected office, whose combined support includes over half of the party. There’s another myth debunked.
Now you know when you hear the pundits laying down axioms and postulates, dictums and political truisms – check the data.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
Matzav, you have GOT to change your typeface. This newest font is too thin and light to read anymore.
The news is hard enough to read at times, your silly wimpy font makes it unbearable.
I’ll check back in a weeks or so.
Ditto to #1 , Ditto to #1 , Ditto to #1 !!!!!
Plus, i cannot access any of the videos anymore like i use to….Will be searching for new website as well. In principle, i only open up one site at a time….Very soon will be giving up on matzav and going to……
The poll gave Carson the highest ratings for honesty. But the poll was taken before he was caught lying about his shilling for a disreputable supplement manufacturer (so disreputable that the right wing extremist then-Attorney General of Texas and now-Governor Greg Abbott sued them!), and also before he was exposed to have lied about having been offered a scholarship to the US Military Academy. What is astonishing is that the videos of his shilling are all over the internet and his claim of admission and scholarship is easily checked out and has been disproven, yet he still doubles down.
The poll sample was 44% Republican, 42% Democratic, and 14% Independent. The actual 2012 electorate was 32% Republican, 38% Democratic, and 29% Independent.