Chris Dodd’s “unexpected” re-election problem
Stuart Rothenberg over at Real Clear Politics ponders Chris Dodd’s future. He points out a lot of issues that have created a PR nightmare for Dodd. ( My favorite personally was Dodd moving his family to Iowa. I’ll bet people in Connecticut consider someone who ditched them for Iowa not election-worthy. ) Rothenberg rifles a bunch of issues Dodd will have to overcome in the coming year to hold on to his seat. I’ll just add one more to the scenario that Rothenberg totally omits. Dodd is doing horribly with independents. A lot of that has to do with the issues Dodd has created over the last several years. But, some of that will have to do with the fact a lot of independents love a divided house. Now that the Senate has gone Democrat, some people will vote Republican. By 2010, I expect that attitude to be an issue to deal with especially since Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are such lightning rods for the liberal left. So, add a national trend to balance the house as a factor Dodd will most likely have to overcome as well.