Bah, Humbug!

The latest narrative-stalling poll from Gallup is in danger of causing genital whiplash among the punditerati who greeted Gallup’s last scary poll with premature ejaculations of glee.

As an example, I cite deplorable wingnut Will·i·am A. Jac·ob·son, allegedly the unholy product of a necromantic experiment to see whether a circlejerk performed by Dick Cheney and a cabal of John Birchers at midnight on Hallowe’en over a copy of the Constitution could conjure the incarnation of the essence of Schadenfreude.

Last week’s manifestation:

The Left Brought The Wave Down On Itself
Trust me, I’m not counting my chickens before they have come home to roost.  But it is enjoyable to read the distraught comments from those trying to run away from the wave.

Having invoked his unwary reader’s trust, the undead professor then spoils the effect by not just counting his chickens, but tearing them limb from limb and draping himself and anyone else within blogging distance with the giblets:

The “wave” is the most recent Gallup poll showing a 10 point generic ballot lead in favor of Republicans, a historic high.  I’m not schooled enough to compare that number to real life numbers, but a lot of people on all sides see it as tremendously significant.

You can gird yourself in garlic and grab bell, book, and candle and go read Jacobson’s original post yourself at the link above if you really must, but if I let slip that the phrase “a lot of people” links to Memeorandum, you’ll no doubt get an inkling of the nature of the sample he’s basing his conclusions on.

Jacobson then nutpicks some quotes from Hullabaloo to rub into his decaying flesh:

I don’t think those about to go swimming understand what has happened, as witnessed by these two posts at Hullabaloo:

* Tristero: “This is exactly what happens when top Democrats, including the president, are obsessed with appeasing Republicans - who can’t be appeased - and take liberal support for granted.
* Digby: “Oh gosh. What to do? I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that if you want to get people enthusiastic you might want to pick a big old fight right about now instead of trying desperately to avoid controversy (also known as “kerfuffles”.) In case the Democrats don’t realize it, Republicans and right leaning Independents aren’t going to vote for them no matter what they do. Even if they open up those FEMA camps and start rounding up every Muslim and Mexican looking person they see, it won’t work. Neither will rolling over and playing dead.

But he neglects to cite for his reader the opener to Digby’s post, which places matters in a less sensational perspective:

The whole Village is working itself into a frenzy, drooling and quivering over this new Gallup poll:

Rather, he lets the warm scent of blood go to his head:

I think I was pretty clear in the battle over health care that I respected the opinions of the principled left, even if I disagreed with their principles.  I think it would have been healthy (pun intended) to have a national debate over single-payer or Medicare for all or whatever, a debate I am confident we would have won.

I’ll pause there a moment for you to catch your breath and compose yourself after that devastating pun.

Instead, the left was unwilling to join us in stopping Frankenstein-like Obamacare, pushed through by the Harry Reids of the world.  As Jay Cost points out, it was Obamacare beyond all else which crystallized the opposition to the Democratic Party, and which started the wave rolling.

Now brace yourself to be roundly scolded:

Make no mistake, the left brought this on itself, not by being too liberal or not liberal enough, but by allowing itself to be co-opted by the unprincipled, power-hungry, self-aggrandizing Democratic leadership, from Obama on down.

The wave may be coming, and if it does, it will wash away what needs to be washed away, including the illusion that the modern Democratic Party stands for anything.

Ho hum. Another day, another poll, and the ghoul must return to his coffin before dawn breaks. But credibility demands that he address the current less gratifying news, through gritted fangs, and far more concisely:

The Gallup Generic Tracking Poll - Let’s Just Flip a Coin
The last Gallup Generic Tracking Poll showed Republicans up by a historic 10 points.  I meant, the last Poll prior to the one just released, which a week later shows a tie.

Any poll that swings 10 points over a week when there was no news is unreliable.

Let’s just flip coins when it comes to generics, and focus on race-by-race analysis.

I’ve got a better idea, professor. Why don’t you just read the entrails? You’re dripping in them.

Posted by YAFB on 09/08/10 at 12:10 AM • Permalink

Sorry, commenting is closed for this post.