Oldies but goodies
by digby
Again, you wonder who the Republicans think they're going to persuade to vote for them. They had something good going with the Seniors when they became the protectors of the pensions and health care against the weird foreign socialist who was trying to pull the plug on granny. With their quixotic crusades in place like Arizona against people who look like they might be Hispanic, it was their only possible growing demographic. And they decided to abandon that plan and go for the wrecking ball.
Big mistake:
"Obama's overall approval rating among independents and Democrats is virtually unchanged since late April, but among Republicans it is up 12 points, to 27 percent," Holland says. "That 27 percent sounds pretty anemic, but it's Obama's highest approval rating among Republicans in over two years."
The same pattern holds among age groups. "Bin Laden's death has not made much difference in Obama's approval rating among people under the age of 65, but among senior citizens, positive views of his track record are up nine points, to 51 percent," Holland adds.
This cohort knows very well how much they depend on social welfare programs to survive. They think their children and grandkids are going to need them as well so they want them to survive intact. And they've also been around long enough to know which Party it is that has been trying to kill the programs off since the day they were passed. (Hint: not the Party that passed them.)
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