GOP Surging

There is a turnaround happening right now in the presidential election among voters and it is kind of awesome. For the last couple of days, polls show McCain beginning to overtake Obama in the race for president. The latest Rasmussen poll has him up 47-46. The Zogby poll has McCain leading 42-41. These results are still statistically insignificant, but show a dramatic shift in the mood of the country. Powerline gives a brief analysis of the polls. It was only a little more than a month ago when Obama had been routinely out-polling McCain by 7-10 points.

Obama's trip overseas which was meant to rally worldwide support and create some separation between himself and McCain added little, if any kind of bounce to his lead here in this country. Larry Kudlow has an entry on his blog today that goes into greater detail about the message of energy expansion is amassing huge support from the American public. On Hugh Hewitt's blog, he explains a little about the current Democratic mindset among their leadership.

Kudlow attributes the swing entirely to the message of drill, drill, drill. In fact, he (Kudlow) believes so much in this message that those are often the first words that he spouts off when he begins any interview that he has on his show. And I'm inclined to believe it because there doesn't seem to be much else that is going on in the country.

Many people have assumed that the downturn in the economy is caused solely by the credit/housing-market crisis, but Kudlow smartly points out that we have been enduring the current circumstances for more than a year without too much of an effect. Only more recently has the average American been feeling the crunch as employment rates have begun to rise, and overall growth has begun to slow to a trickle. This recent shift has coincided perfectly with the rise in the cost of energy and it's creating a wedge issue for the GOP that could end up giving them the presidency, and possibly more seats in Congress.

Previously, it was assumed that Republicans would continue to lose seats in the upcoming election, but this issue is big enough and hurting the public enough that it could create an atmosphere that once again favors them in November. It really is kind of amazing. Here are a couple of excerpts from the Kudlow post:

Is there a Republican tsunami in the making?

According to the major polls, Sen. McCain has overcome a big deficit to pull even with Obama. Meanwhile, according to a Rasmussen survey, Democratic party identification has slumped. While Republicans on the House floor shouted “vote, vote, vote” and “lower gas prices,” the Democratic majority turned off the lights, cameras, and microphones. Determined Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell offered unanimous-consent requests to vote on lifting the ban on deep-water exploration, and the Democrats objected. When McConnell asked Democrats if they’d overturn the ban at $4.50 a gallon, they replied “no.” When he raised the price to $5, $7, and $10, they cried “no,” “no,” and “no.”

On the Stephanopoulos Sunday news show, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi underscored her refusal to allow a drilling vote. Asked about the Republican rebellion in the House, she said, “What you saw in the Congress this week was the war dance of the handmaidens of the oil companies.” She went on to say, “We are spending all of this time on a parliamentary tactic, when nothing less is at stake than the planet, the air we breathe, our children breathe.”

Without even realizing it, the GOP drilling offensive has become a new contract with America. And it appears to be working. The public is putting aside global warming and choosing instead new-energy production, a stronger economy, and more job creation. Voters want growth, not austerity. They want Ronald Reagan, not Thomas Malthus. And by resisting this grassroots call, the Democratic party is digging itself into one of the biggest political dry holes in history.

When President George W. Bush eliminated the executive moratorium on offshore drilling a month ago, effectively launching the drill, drill, drill offensive, oil was close to $150 a barrel. Since then, the barrel price has dropped to nearly $120 as futures-market traders anticipate a major shift in federal drilling policy.

One person to watch out for in the coming years is Mitch McConnell. Here is a look at his voting record. He is of Kentucky's senators and is currently serving as the Senate Minority leader for the GOP. The guy is a stud. He is all about lower taxes, pro-life, small government, traditional marriage, energy expansion, everything. Seriously, I love this guy. I'm all for him in 2012, or whenever he has the opportunity to run for President. It was his idea to stay after last week following one of the later sessions of Congress, to turn the lights back on, unlock the doors, bring the press back in so that more attention would come to the GOP call for energy expansion. Look out for him in the years to come.