| A new MSU poll on Montanans' feelings towards issues, elected officials was reported on in the Billings Gazette today. The numbers are about what you'd expect. People dislike the Iraq war, they dislike George Bush (and oppose his veto of CHIP), and really, really like all members of their Congressional delegation (emphasis mine):
Baucus, a Democrat, received an approval rating of 64 percent, with the rest of those surveyed about equally split between disapproval and undecided. His approval rating in the same poll has swayed from 50 percent in 1994 to 68 percent in 1998.
Schweitzer, also a Democrat, received approval from 63 percent of those surveyed, while 18 percent disapproved and 19 percent were undecided. The governor, elected in 2004, had a 69 percent approval rating in 2005.
Rehberg, a Republican, was supported by 59 percent of respondents, with 17 percent disapproving and 24 percent undecided. His positive job approval rating is up from a low of about 49 percent in 2001 and 2005.
Tester, a Democrat elected last year, received the approval of 57 percent of those surveyed, while 16 percent disapproved. A larger portion, 27 percent, was undecided. It was the first time Montana State University Billings had asked the question about Tester.
There you go. No surprises, really, although I've been curious about Tester's numbers for awhile. This is the first approval poll taken after he's been in office long enough to have an effect on people's views; that 27 percent are undecided indicates there's still room to grow. And Tester's good approval ratings makes him seem a lot less of a vulnerable target, as people have claimed. I suspect his popularity will only increase as people get to know him.
And why not? He's a savvy, competent, genial, and honest representative. The likelihood of Jon getting wrapped up in a scandal - like, say, getting hinky with Abramoff boys - is practically nil.
On the flip side is Rehberg's 59 percent approval. I'm not going to lie: that's a big hurdle for Bill Kennedy to climb. Make no mistake, Bill's a great candidate, and if anyone can oust Dennis, it's Mr. K. But I think Kennedy's going to have to pin down Rehberg on some issues, get him to state where he actually stands. You have to admit, like with CHIP, Rehberg's good at taking multiple and opposing views on a number of issues. But, like Shane, I think Rehberg's record, especially on Iraq, is his weakpoint:
In support of number 3 above, consider the states support for the Iraq war:
The poll found that only 35 percent of Montanans surveyed now support the decision to go to war in Iraq. About 58 percent oppose that decision, up from 48 percent in both 2005 and 2006 in the same poll.
Let us all take this time to remember that Rehberg has voted in lockstep with Bush on this issue since day one. Also, consider that Bush had an 87% approval rating in 2001 but has slipped to 35% now. Can you say 'sinking ship'? Good. I knew you could.
Oh, one quick thought about the Good Guv: this is the first approval numbers I've seen since the much discussed and vitriolic 2007 legislative session, and Schweitzer's approval numbers seem virtually unchanged. Interesting... |
