The plan is to get out of St. Paul sooner rather than later, but they are unsure how to end on that political "high" note. The developing campaign strategy is apparently going to be heralding they ended early, and not the specific pieces of legislation passed during the last two sessions. Comment: It is sad you have to run away from your record.
Apparently rifts have widened within areas of Democrat leadership in both chambers, and it has created some hard feelings. I have been told by one DFLer that "our caucus did not expect to be in this situation going into the fall election. We are nervous."
To be honest I am surprised at how quick the honeymoon ended for Democrats. That they are nervous given the steep uphill climb Republicans have this year is amazing. I have been told they are hoping the same nationalized sentiment that existed in 2006 is still around, or that a strong Obama campaign can help them fend off what might otherwise be a bad year for DFLers in Minnesota.
In my view: If you look at the historical statistics below you will see what the polling showed prior to Republican losses in 2006. The numbers today for Democrats are the same if not worse depending at what numbers you look at. Either way it is a bad omen.
Democrats are worried about the high negatives in their polling, and the dropping support among independents. The most recent MPR poll shows some weakness with their own DFLer's at 44 percent. The DFL is off to a bad start that is for sure.
Among Democrats, 44 percent said they approve of the Legislature's job performance. Approval dropped to 35 percent among independents, but jumped to 53 percent among of Republicans.
Source: MPR POLL FEB 2008
HHH: Legislature Approval Rating
Date Approve Disapprove
April 30 – May 4, 2005 40% 43%
January 23-26, 2005 39% 42%
April 25-29, 2003 45% 39%
March 7-10, 2002 55% 33%
March 23-27, 2000 54% 29%
