Q Poll: Dodd fading; Blumenthal would trounce Lieberman

Some advice for Dodd (0.00 / 0)

It's time to completely reform the financial services industry -- from better banking regulations to more consumer-friendly bankruptcy and credit card protections.

When you're the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee with a majority of Democrats in both houses of Congress and a Democratic president, you can't blame banking problems on anyone but yourself. It's your mess to fix.  

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by: CaptCT @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 14:50:21 PM UTC

You forget Dodd's in a bind... (0.00 / 0)

He's counting on the bankers' $$$ to fund his 2010 re-election.

Does anyone really see Dodd standing up to the Credit Card industry with renewed usury laws? And their abusive practices continue despite last year's
"stern warnings".

If Dodd decides to put the voters interests before those of Big Corporate America, I'm back on board. However, I just don't see that happening.

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by: AndersonScooper @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 20:57:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

People still love Granny Rell (0.00 / 0)

I can't figure out why... there's just no rational explanation for a 70% favorability in this economy. I'm stumped.

"There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning." - Warren Buffet

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by: joesaho @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 15:04:41 PM UTC

A quote from my Homer Simpson coffee mug: (4.00 / 3)

"If you don't do anything, you'll never make mistakes."

Rell does nothing, so my guess is they don't blame her for anything. I think that if one of the Dem candidates can make the case that Rell's inaction is a mistake -- she fiddles while CT burns -- they might have a chance.  

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by: CaptCT @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 15:21:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

She's sincere... (0.00 / 0)

Sincerely unqualified.

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by: Scarce @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 15:26:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The general public doesn't understand (4.00 / 1)

just what exactly she wants to cut in her budget proposals, and why say, the GUTTING OF THE CITIZENS ELECTION PROGRAM is a bad bad thing.  Not to mention eliminating things like the Commission on the Permanent Status of Women, the African Affairs Commission, etc.

They just hear "no new taxes" and think everything is just dandy.  

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by: Kim Hynes @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 17:03:01 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Three words (3.00 / 1)

Blame Nancy DiNardo.

As head of State Central, she should be out there ripping Gov Rell to shreds on a number of issues but as always, she's AWOL.

Although Chris Healy is a joke, at least he hits the airwaves every chance he gets taking shots at the Democrats.

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by: ctblogger @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 17:15:10 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I disagree (0.00 / 0)

State Central isn't even sophisticated enough to put together a decent website.Why on earth would we want such an inept organization making believe they are the Democratic Parties Spokespeople?

Unless and until our elected Democratic officials decide to demand more for the JJB dinner money they hand to State Central each year we're much better off if the old, tired useless 72 geriatrics just remain invisible.

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by: ctkeith @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 18:40:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Excellent point. Where is DiNardo? (0.00 / 0)

And what IS she doing?  You're absolutely right that she should be out there every day making the Democrats' case against her administration.

Why the heck isn't she stepping up?  And if State Central can't get anything done properly, tell them to step aside and let someone else do it!

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by: thomashooker @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 19:58:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Lieberman's at 18% Fav among CT Dems (0.00 / 0)

So I guess no more JJB dinners, eh?

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by: Scarce @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 15:29:42 PM UTC

Exactly (0.00 / 0)

I wonder why Repub Doug didn't ask people if they'd vote for Ned Lamont in a rematch with LIEberman?  Why play up the Blumenthal challenge that probably won't happen?  

Daily Kos is a lot more on the ball that Q-Poll, having asked people about Lamont and Lieberman and divining a big portion of buyers' remorse in the Constitution State.

Too bad Repub Doug doesn't want his audience to know the whole truth.

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by: thomashooker @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 15:34:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Dodd needs to retire- and announce it quickly (4.00 / 2)

He's bleeding support, and every day that goes by without a resolution of his mortgage thing makes it that much more certain that his support won't return.

He needs to clear the deck for a viable challenger in 2010.  And he needs to come out in support of Ned Lamont.  Ned worked for Dodd, he paid his dues, and he deserves the seat.

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by: thomashooker @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 15:37:19 PM UTC

I don't think so... (4.00 / 2)

we have the Chairman of a major Senate committee and all the influence that gives CT and progressives. He stands up for those issues that we support and you want to throw that all away because he got VIP treatment from a loan company. Not me, he has done many many good things and as Obama said " we all make mistakes" and we shouldn't let the perfect stand in the way of real good.

HoJo is the B&%t*&D in all of this and we should focus on him.

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by: KillingworthDem @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 16:25:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What good is having Dodd as chairman of the Senate banking committee... (4.00 / 2)

... when he makes the banking system worse?

1993-95: Dodd opposed the proper accounting of stock options and Dodd pushed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act through Congress -- over Bill Clinton's veto and over the objections of SEC chairmen, consumer groups, and even the AARP -- leading to the Enron scandal, the Madoff scandal, etc.

1999 - 2000: Dodd voted in favor of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (after originally opposing it) thereby allowing banks and insurance companies to merge and become "too big to fail"; Dodd supported the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, enabling free trading of credit default swaps and other derivatives that brought down the U.S. banking system.

Dodd has done little to protect consumers under credit card laws and bankruptcy laws.

Now, if Dodd reforms the banking industry -- fixes the problems that he himself helped create -- then, yeah, it might be nice to have a Senator with seniority representing CT. As the current chairman of the Banking Committee, he has the power to do just that.

If he doesn't reform banking, what's the value of having Dodd chairing the banking committee? I would rather have Ned Lamont or Chris Murphy or any other CT Democrat in the Senate working towards reform, but especially a Senator young enough to build up seniority.  

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by: CaptCT @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 17:11:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Chairman? (4.00 / 1)

I don't give a shit about what he got from Countrywide or whomever.

He backed the BK bill. That was bad for average Americans. He supports the credit card industry over the people. He has not used his chairmanship to do squat to hold the executives responsible for the failure of banking. He has no problem giving away billions and getting nothing in return. He may be the chairman of the committee, but he has only used it to enrich his campaign warchest, not to help the people.

The question is not what you are, we already determined that, we are now negotiating price.
electrealdemocrats.com Online since 3/07 -- TimetogoJoe.com Online s

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by: Met00 @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 21:17:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I went to Dodd's Healthcare iniative meeting in Danbury (0.00 / 0)

He made it sound like he was going to lead the fight for Healthcare.  He indicated that Kennedy was going to have a hard time leading the fight and that it was left to him as one of the remaining senior senators to make it happen.  I never thought of him in that role, but it seems like he has taken a back seat to a lot of the financial crisis solutions and this may be a way for him to regain some of his reputation back.

I also have to say that Dodd handled the meeting well.  He had a number of Republicans asking about immigration and health care and I thought he stood up and said the right thing.  I don't think that Dodd would go after radical change, but it will be interesting to watch is he more interested in setting the course of the next 50 years in Healthcare or Banking?

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by: ctpublius @ Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 00:36:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Doug Schwartz quote (4.00 / 2)

"Sen. Lieberman's approval is negative, but up slightly. It's a long time until 2012, but this poll shows that if Connecticut's popular Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal takes on Lieberman, as the buzz suggests, Lieberman would get crushed..."

You gotta love the "crushed" bit. Long after he's gone, Jim Amann's influence on Connecticut politics will live on.

Connecticut Bob

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by: Bob Adams @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 16:21:11 PM UTC

LOL (0.00 / 0)

if Joe has lost Douggie, he's lost Connecticut.

"There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning." - Warren Buffet

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by: joesaho @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 17:19:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bad news for Malloy -- but when better known, Will Susan B stumble? (0.00 / 0)

I think it's more that it's bad news for Malloy than good news for Bysiewicz.  I  have to interpret the message to be that people will take someone fresh who seems  nice over Malloy, who is better known but apparently not necessarily believed to be the person for the job.  

I question whether Susan B would hold up so well if Dems ,new more than that she meets and greets well.

From having done a little looking around under the carpet, IMHO this is a SOTS who tells everybody that everything is fine while covering up the issues that exist with the elections administration in our state.  In 2008, the prez primary audit in Bridgeport would not have been conducted under the strict rules of  Ohio's audits (no, we are NOT the "strictest in the nation").    The ballots were 100% out of their bags at the time the audit was to start, and there was  no straight story about how it happened.  SOTS says they didn't know this, but when the ballots were not re-sealed properly, chapter and verse of the statutes were violated and yet Susan B had these chain of custody corrupted ballots "re-audited" and used the results to shore up the statistics of the "state post election audit report" (aka whitewash), a summary written in such a way that it's really pretty hard to figure out exactly what went on in those federally funded "audits".

In Bridgeport, after every single ballot was presented having been taken out of its bag by persons unverified sometime after the election and before the audit, and when every single district's ballots were mixed up so that no mandated district level  comparison could occur of machine vs. hand counted ballots (a statutory requirement of the audit), and when all the ballots arrived in unlabeled  and unsealed recycled printers' boxes, mixed up by district but SORTED by party, those ballots were still "audited" --TWICE -- and apparently were still reported in an aggregated report by UCONN as if nothing happened.  There was a sizeable discrepancy that was "fixed"  by "recounting" ballots that were unverifiable as the originals cast -- and the state report said that the highest level of discrepancy was 4 ballots.

This is a supreme screwup, but the Susan B modus operandi is to keep it all under wraps and tell everyone that all is fine, and there really is no problem.  (The quote was, "well, we aren't really so concerned about chain of custody after the challenge period is over", apparently meaning that the audit takes place outside of the challenge period and therefore chain of custody is interpreted by SOTS as to be irrelevant to verifying the accuracy of the machine cast vote.)  Also, the challenge period is NOT over, because the opportunity to file a complaint exists for a few days after the auadit takes place.

Is this how you want the state government run?  Waltzing from one questionably  managed screwup to another with boundless good intentions, but questionable skill and experience on your team (years of service do not always equal competently managed work)?  

That's one way to preserve a broken system that can enable you to win an election.  Sorry, but why else would she not fix what is clearly broken?  It's deliberate or incompetent - neither one looks too good to me.

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by: greenpeas @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 17:24:02 PM UTC

Mayor Malloy (0.00 / 0)

must be trying to boost his recognition factor.  He's  filming with Robert DeNiro down here in Stamford today.  Wonder if he took a screen test?

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by: chele @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 19:46:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Amounts to a near push-poll against Dodd tho... (4.00 / 1)

19. How likely are you to vote to re-elect Chris Dodd for United States Senator in 2010 - Do you think you will definitely vote for him, probably vote for him, probably not vote for him, or definitely not vote for him?

20. Would you say that Chris Dodd is honest and trustworthy or not?

21. How much have you heard or read about allegations that Senator Dodd may have received special treatment from Countrywide Financial on mortgages on his two homes - a lot, some, not much, or nothing at all?

22. Are you satisfied or not satisfied with Senator Dodd's explanation of this matter?

23. Does the controversy surrounding Chris Dodd's mortgages make you more likely to vote for him for Senator in 2010, less likely or doesn't it make a difference?

14. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Chris Dodd is handling his job as United States Senator?

                    Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Approve              41%    15%    62%    36%    37%    44%
Disapprove           48     80     25     51     55     42
DK/NA                11      5     13     13      8     14

..but 41% is bad news any way you slice it.

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by: Scarce @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 17:38:53 PM UTC

I'm sure Dodds petrified (0.00 / 0)

That he might win by less than 15 points.

Nothing "near" about it.Schwartz saw an opportunity for face time on national TV and to get his poll mentioned everywhere so he took it.

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by: ctkeith @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 18:01:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Could be a push poll (4.00 / 1)

The language they use is definitely accusatory: "allegations that Senator Dodd may have received special treatment from Countrywide Financial on mortgages on his two homes ..."

The poll could have asked: "Have you heard or read that Senator Dodd revealed mortgage documents indicating he received no preferential loans from Countrywide?"

Likewise, Quinnipiac's last survey asked people how they felt about Lieberman's "support for John McCain," and not about Lieberman's harsh criticism of Barack Obama. So, the way they word things matters.  

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by: CaptCT @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 19:13:58 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not the first time Schwartz's wording was "pushy" (0.00 / 0)

Remember the poll question he used, last winter I think, about whether people were upset with Dodd for being out of state so much?  It also came across to me as having been worded as a push poll-type question -- it fed the idea to people instead of asking a in a more evenhanded way.  

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by: greenpeas @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 22:55:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

My reaction as well!! (0.00 / 0)

It was a really sleazy hit-job against Dodd.  Not a poll at all, really.

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by: thomashooker @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 20:00:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Dougie is... (0.00 / 0)

as unbiased as David Vitter. The only difference is Dougie is the whore.

The question is not what you are, we already determined that, we are now negotiating price.
electrealdemocrats.com Online since 3/07 -- TimetogoJoe.com Online s

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by: Met00 @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 21:26:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Blumenthal's Charisma (0.00 / 0)

I was just watching today's Maron v. Seder http://airamerica.com/breakroo...  Sam Seder could not hold in his elation about this poll (he hates Lieberman).  He announced this with the tune "Zippity Doo Daa" playing in the background. Seder did, however, suggest that Blumenthal had the charisma of an cup; an empty cup.

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by: mvbrown @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 22:17:12 PM UTC

Who is the Republican that can beat Dodd? (4.00 / 1)

Approve/disapprove polls are worthless.  Tell me who his Republican opponent will be.  Jodie Rell is the only electable, high profile Republican in the state, and she isn't going to run for the Senate.

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by: mvbrown @ Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 22:48:16 PM UTC

Maybe John McKinney (0.00 / 0)

Dodd has just a 36% approval rating among independents, the biggest voting block in the state. And just 41% overall.

Given those horrible poll numbers, some fresh new face may be able to step in and beat Dodd. Someone like McKinney. There may not be a better time for McKinney to run for Senate.

If Dodd doesn't start working to reform the banking industry, McKinney can easily run as a consumer advocate -- promising to reform banking, credit cards, bankruptcy laws -- and quite possibly win.

Dodd should start working to reform banking now, or he's leaving himself wide open to a challenge.

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by: CaptCT @ Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 01:35:47 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Is it possible for Dodd (0.00 / 0)

to bite the hand that feeds him?

In the past he has been so reliant on financial industry $$$ to fund his campaigns, that I doubt he has the independence to stand up for the American consumer.

I hope I'm wrong. And there is a lot to like about Dodd. But he's got to figure out who he wants to represent, us, -- or his high-flying corporate buddies.

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by: AndersonScooper @ Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 07:18:14 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

good question (0.00 / 0)

The banks are in so much trouble that Dodd has some leverage -- they actually NEED reforming, and they know that as well as anyone.

But I think, ultimately, Dodd would have to go to businesses outside the banking industry. Regular businesses have been getting slammed by the economy, and a lot of them hate the credit card companies and big banks as much as consumers do.

There are also investment groups -- these guys have watched their stock portfolios drop by 50% because of banking malfeasance. They want to see the economy improve, and it can only happen with banking reform. I'd go there for funding.  

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by: CaptCT @ Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 11:11:57 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Who was the Democrat who could beat Shays? (0.00 / 0)

Or the Democrat who could beat Liddy Dole. (certainly not an unknown State Senator named Kay Hagan.)

Or the Democrat who could beat George Allen, who was supposed to be the GOP favorite in the 2008 Presidentail contest.

Elections aren't always A vs. B.

Sometimes they become a referendum on Incumbent A.

I fear the fresh faces McKinney and O'Connor more than Rob Simmons. Yet I wouldn't rule Simmons out. Not after the Statehouse Dems raise everyone's taxes.

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by: AndersonScooper @ Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 07:11:28 AM UTC

[ Parent ]