The story was based on a poll conducted by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University. The story stated that the survey (poll) paid particular attention to political independents, who will probably decide whether Democrats make inroads in the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
Some of the "facts" from the story:
Virginia residents' negative feelings toward the Bush administration and the national Republican Party have not tarnished state Republicans or broadly diminished their chances to keep control of the General Assembly after the Nov. 6 election.Although Virginia residents say they strongly disapprove of the war in Iraq, more than half of the state's voters approve of the state Republican Party, and a sizable majority has confidence in the state government to make the right decisions for the future.
And independents, about 30 percent of the state's adult population, feel closer to the Democratic Party on health care, global warming and such divisive social issues as abortion and gay rights and are about evenly divided between the parties on the economy, traditionally a Republican strong point.
...the survey suggests that Virginia voters are compartmentalizing their views about state and national politics and might not punish state GOP leaders for decisions made in Washington. Fifty-four percent of voters said they have a favorable impression of the Virginia Republican Party.
At the national level, Democrats have benefited from the unpopularity (to be mild about it) of Bush and the Iraq war. But disturbingly, significant inroads have not been made in convincing Virginians that their Virginia Republican legislators are not working in their best interest. So right at the moment, those surveyed are satisfied with the VA GOP. And that does not bode well for November 6th.
The story reported that Republicans hold a 13-point advantage among independents when asked which party better represents their views on taxes.
But there is good news in the story:
The Virginia Republican Party diverges from the views of many residents on such issues as abortion, gun control, gay rights and immigration, according to the poll. Despite the state's conservative reputation, residents' positions on those issues are not out of step with public opinion in the rest of the country, according to a Post-Kaiser-Harvard national survey conducted concurrently with the Virginia poll.Nearly six in 10 Virginia residents say they think the United States should have tougher gun control laws...
...the Post-Kaiser-Harvard survey found that only about a third of Virginians say they think illegal immigrants already living and working in the United States should be deported.
By a 54 to 40 percent margin, Virginians also say they think abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances.
The question that we Virginia Democrats must address in these last few months before the election is: how do we take these survey results and translate them into a strategy that will produce positive results for the Democratic Party?
Have we dug deep enough and addressed sufficiently the Republican "agenda" for Virginians? Are we concentrating too much on national issues and not enough on what the Republicans really represent in Virginia? Are we using Governor Warner's and Kaine's leadership in our fiscal success as a plus for the Democrats when we campaign around the state?
These are just a few of the questions we should start addressing, followed by a clear, forceful strategy for letting Virginians, especially the Independents, know the difference between the two parties in this state!
What do you think and what would you suggest so that we can upset the VA GOP?