Harold Meyerson (Washington Post): If you think it is Rep. Paul Ryan’s gutting of Medicare that is pulling the Republicans down, you need to think bigger … his proposal to convert Medicare into a private insurance-voucher plan is indeed a political calamity for the GOP, as the results of last week’s congressional special election in Upstate New York showed. But it’s far from the only disaster that the party has visited upon itself.
For even as Republicans have imperiled themselves on the national level, they also seem to be committing political hara-kiri in one statehouse after the next. Republican governors who took office this year or last – the ones as determined as Ryan to do a wholesale rewrite of America’s social contract – have approval ratings that we normally associate with strains of bacteria. What’s more, they’re tanking in many of the swing states that will be key in next year’s presidential election.
In Florida, only 29 percent of voters approve of Gov. Rick Scott’s five-month tenure in office … In Wisconsin, Scott Walker would now lose in a recall election to either of two Democrats: former senator Russ Feingold and former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett….Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s approval rating is a bargain-basement 33 percent, while his disapproval rating had risen to 56 percent….And so it goes in state after state. In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder had a 33 percent approval rating, against a 60 percent disapproval rating … Gov. Chris Christie’s favorables had slumped to 40 percent, while his unfavorables had risen to 60 percent.
….the Democratic governors of the nation’s two biggest blue states – California’s Jerry Brown and New York’s Andrew Cuomo – both have approval ratings higher than their disapprovals….
But the Republican governors – like Ryan and his fellow Republicans in Congress – have pursued a more radical course that sharply disadvantages most Americans. Even worse, they have sought to enact their agendas without warning their constituents. Republicans did not run last year on a platform of ending collective bargaining, slashing school budgets and gutting Medicare – in essence, favoring society’s most powerful at the expense of everyone else – yet that’s precisely what they’ve done since gaining power. That’s not merely bad policy; it’s bad faith – and bad news for Republicans’ electoral prospects.
Full article here
The Obama Diary 
This is the reason I didn’t get upset about the expected lower jobs report. I think most people see that it is the republicans that are doing everything they can to give tax breaks for the top 2% at the expense of the middle class. President Obama’s favorable ratings continues to rise especially with independents, while congress, republican governors and legislator disapproval ratings are really low.
Me too sjterrid, me too. Looking at polls from swing states like Florida, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin gives me hope that as long as the repug Governors continue to slash and burn services that help unions, women, minorities and the middle class, people in those states will hopefully wise up and realize that Dems make better legislators (b/c they actually have a heart) and Pres. Obama makes a wonderful leader b/c his eyes have been on the ball before day one of his Presidency.
The people did not listen to the stern warnings in 2010. We need to be more proactive rather than reactive. Now we will have to work twice as hard to undue the destruction of the repugs. The country arose from their sleep when Rick walker in Wisconsin phone prank with the Koch brother was revealed. Their platform was to lie about their state budgets in order to strip and dismantle the peoples rights and entitlement programs. It’s not working. Thanks be to God.
I think when we hear of a GOP lie we should let Chipsticks know about it as soon as possible. I believe in my heart people are following our site and reading our comments. I heard about a rethug in New Hampshire wanting a political ad to removed and Comcast said no. The add was regarding this congressman’s vote for the Ryan kill medicare voucher bill…