Poll: Russ Feingold Ties Gov. Scott Walker In Hypothetical Wisconsin Recall

[highplainsdem]

Source: TPMDC

Poll: Russ Feingold Ties Gov. Scott Walker In Hypothetical Wisconsin Recall
Jon Terbush | April 25, 2011, 12:23PM


A slim majority of Wisconsin voters don't support the idea of a recall election to oust Gov. Scott Walker (R), according to a new poll. That is, unless Russ Feingold is offered up as the challenger who could replace Walker in just such an election.

In a poll of registered voters conducted by Ethridge & Associates, 51% of respondents said they oppose recalling Walker, compared to 44% who said they supported doing so. However, a recall election would not be just a choice of keeping or booting Walker, but would pit Walker against a Democratic challenger. To test that dynamic, Ethridge paired Walker with progressive favorite former Sen. Russ Feingold, and found the two tied at 48%.

-snip-

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/poll-russ-feingold-ties-gov-scott-walker-in-hypothetical-wisconsin-recall.php

[undeterred]

1. 51% oppose recalling Walker?

Who are these people?

[Veronica.Franco]

2. They are the "you union people got somethin I don't got" ....

and "I want mine before YOU get your's" .... dats who ... ;-)

[freshwest]

3. The same ones who voted Feingold out. Explore their base. I suspect fundies and rural folks.

Pitting Feingold against Walker may not be effective without a very strong campaign, listening to their concerns. Your progressive base has done a good job in educating urban people, no doubt, to know the big picture. Check the smaller groups and keep fighting, Badgers.

[undeterred]

5. 400 registered voters isn't much

I think if people understand what he's been up to and are educated on the issues there would be a lot of support for Feingold. He's always gotten Republican votes for being a fiscal conservative, and people don't forget those 18 years of listening sessions in every county in the state.

[freshwest]

8. If he'll stand for governor, the campaign needs to start NOW and not stop until he's in office.

His being rousted from office was unexpected and discouraging. There is an undercurrent most people don't understand going on in Wisconsin and other states. Is there a lot of rightwing radio, FOX stations and fundamentalism rising up there?

[undeterred]

12. Walker is the governor, and the recall cannot start

until he's been in office for a year. No petitions until January. You're not going to see anyone announcing a campaign until the end of the year, or they would look like a fool.

[freshwest]

17. I'm talking PR campaign before announcement. We've got a GOPher AG here for whom Rove or ...

The Koch brothers are funding, now plastering his face and voice all over the net with 'public service' advertisements.

He went against our Democratic governor, behind her back, after she'd negotiated and informed businesses and other groups in the state about Obama's health care plan. She got many people and small businesses on board.

Then the AG got into bed with the GOP and announced on the news that he was joining the states filing lawsuits against its implementation. Without telling the Governor.

No doubt planning to run for Governor soon. The last two failures that ran against her were following the straight GOP party line. The Rove crowd did all manner of dirty tricks here.

This AG got votes from Democrats in the last election, expecting him to be non-partisan. Now that his true loyalties are revealed he is going to go full-fledged GOP. This kind of money is put out in preparation for runs.

That's what I'm talking about, not that he make a fool of himself. It looks like that woman who played with the custody of the votes and had a track record of 'errors' did a major job of demoralizing with her sudden discovery. I don't care what the technical aspects of it were, it was a public relations coup for Walker.

But I haven't heard a peep out of Feingold. And the people that elected his opposition won't be sitting this one out. It's essential that the Democrats keep on whipping up their base and get them out in overpowering numbers to overcome electoral fraud.

That's what I mean. But I'm preaching to the choir, so I'll shut up.

[undeterred]

20. The thing about Feingold is

nobody tells him what to do. He's got a spine of steel and arms that nobody can twist. So if he thinks its right for him to run and he thinks he can win, he'll pick the time and the place to say so.

I think having 13 recall elections in the upcoming weeks is making this the most amazing year Wisconsin Democrats have ever had. We're beating most of our target times and having more volunteers turn out than expected. So I'm not going to cry over a poll. And if Feingold doesn't run, we've got other good Dems who will step up to it.

[freshwest]

23. Thanks, that's encouraging to hear. What danger to incumbent Dems do those other recalls pose?

I read that three Democrats are on the GOP recall hit list. Any risk of their succeeding?

Although the list having grown to thirteen --read it America, 13!-- of GOP on the recall chopping block is great.

Thanks for the news on Feingold, I just wish he'd make some kind of statement, I miss his voice in D.C. He was always a stalwart for us.

I'm getting a lot of emails from my senator's office asking for donations for restoring real Democratic voting strength in D.C. Does that money go to Wisconsin as well, or is there another group?

TIA and your words lifted our hearts today.

[lutefisk]

4. The same ones who voted for Prosser.

And Feingold will do even worse once the same money used against him in the Senate election is put in play. It's like pressing a big red "Stupid" button- misleading billboards, television and radio ads, and hate radio will all rally the large ignorant and mean-spirited portion of our state's population. As I've said before, Wisconsin's not as smart as we look.

[undeterred]

9. Great attitude, Wisconsinites!

:sarcasm:

[lutefisk]

28. Too many people are too easily manipulated- resulting in Ron Johnson, Scott Walker, Prosser...

If I have an "attitude", it's a rational one.

Of course I hope Walker is recalled, and if Feingold wins the recall election that would be the best way out of this mess I can imagine. It's just going to be very tough, judging by recent elections.

I'm a state employee in a very red part of the state. I was born in this state and family landed here over 150 years ago. I'm very attached to the education system the Republicans are in the process of destroying. I'm very attached to many things in this state that the Republicans are trying to destroy. I've done my part- here in the "red zone" as well as in Madison, but I see too much of our population being too easily manipulated into supporting the destruction of our state. It's not an attitude, it's reality.

:hi:

[valerief]

6. They probably polled corporations. nt

[RufusTFirefly]

7. Heyy! Corporations are people, too! You gotta problem wid dat?

[valerief]

14. I know they're persons. Hence, the insane (for humans) results. nt

[jwirr]

16. That describes most of our rethug leaders. You know those interment

camps everyone says the government is building - they would make great treatment centers for rethugs.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

25. I've heard several people I think are Dems say they are against recalls

since "we elected them in". I told them I support them because Walker ran on a completely different platform than he now promotes, and also because of the Rethug senators' appalling, and in some cases illegal/unconstitutional, actions that precipitated and followed the Dem senators leaving the state.

1 of these people was in denial or naive about e-voting fraud, too. Bottom line, I think there is a lot of ignorance, willful or otherwise, out there.

[border_town]

10. How Feingold is not way

ahead in a hypothetical poll is beyond me. Wisconsin had a great senator in Russ Feingold and they booted him out. You would have thought with all the BS Walker is doing Feingold would run away with any polling.

[undeterred]

11. This is a 50:50 state.

We rarely have anyone win a statewide race by large margins. Its never happened and its never going to.

[valerief]

15. How come it's never going to? How can you make that prediction?

Is it your faith in the stupidity of humans?

[undeterred]

18. Well, I've been here 10 years and the margins are always

razor thin. Unless there is some major shift in the population and the way people define themselves this is the way its going to go.

On the plus side, we only have 11 electoral votes and presidential candidates still come to visit us.

[valerief]

22. Probably a major shift in the way votes are counted would make a bigger change. nt

[undeterred]

26. Well, the thing in Waukesha really has me wondering.

I don't know if the shenanigans only goes back to 2004 or longer. Gore won the state in 2000 and Kerry won in 2004 but it was really close in both of those elections too. We have a LOT of independent voters and no party registration, so its not that easy to keep track of.

[valerief]

27. Well, it'd be easy if the votes were on paper. nt

[snort]

13. Not enough recall support for weasle boy?

Shows how fucked up the situation is.

[Warren Stupidity]

19. I am astounded and dismayed that these numbers are so close.

I would think after the crap that has been pulled that the numbers would be 60-40 at a minimum.

[Imajika]

21. The Prosser election should have shown you otherwise...

Regardless of what the "yeah, but it was a moral victory that the election was so close" crowd try to spin, the Prosser v Kloppenburg race was a referendum on Walker's policies and everyone knows it. The election showed that, at this time, about half the Wisconsin voting public will come out and cast a ballot in favor of the Republican candidate and anti-worker, anti-union positions.

All the protests, the hundreds of thousands in the streets, the energy, the solidarity, and perceived momentum did not win the day when it counted.

I know people are putting a tremendous amount of hope in these state senator recalls, but a poll like this shows just how hard it is going to be to make any real inroads via this method. I am not convinced that when the dust settles we will even come out ahead once the recalls are done.

We can see by a poll like this that the enemy is every bit as determined as we are, and it will require even more energy, more organization, more money, etc, to win the day in Wisconsin (and nationwide).

[Warren Stupidity]

24. dismayed by that too

this does not bode well for the near future.