Culver’s Approval Rating Plummets to 42%

Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 6:59
Krusty Konservative
1,218 views
25 comments

Governors Veepstakes A new Survey USA poll is out and it delivers more bad news for Governor Chet Culver.

Only 42% of those surveyed approve of the job Governor Culver is going, while 50% disapprove. 78% of Republicans, 31% of Democrats, and 50% of Independents all disapprove of the job Culver is doing in leading the state. 50% of people making less than $50k a year disapprove, and 52% of those making more than $50k disapprove.

Yikes!

Making matters worse for Culver is that David Yepsen isn’t around to help manage the damage by reminding Iowans how voters turn to Democrats in tough economic times. It’s pretty clear; Iowans have had enough of Chet Culver, and are willing to give a new person a chance.

Maybe it’s time for Terry Branstad, again…

So the good people at Hill Research Consultants were kind enough to send me the Iowa First Foundation poll they did for Doug Gross. I wrote the other day that Gross discussed former Governor Terry Branstad as a potential candidate at his 5 p.m. meeting. The polling information may tell us why Doug spent so much time talking about his former boss.

Here are the questions in the poll that I think dealt with Branstad.

Thinking about former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, would you like your next Governor to be someone who is…

A lot like Terry Branstad – 14%
Someone like Terry Branstad – 35%
Somewhat different from Terry Branstad – 17%
Very different from Terry Branstad – 18%

Not bad for a candidate who has been out of the political spotlight for a decade.

What type of candidate do you find appealing?

A widely-respected former statewide elected official who has managed Iowa through troubled times before.

44% Very Appealing
46% Somewhat Appealing
4% Not Appealing
4% Not at all Appealing
4% Unsure

This is the question that probably has Doug salivating. Who else would this question refer to? Dick Johnson, Paul Pate, and Branstad are the only people who fit that bill, and I don’t think people would say an Auditor or Secretary of State managed us through anything. No offense to Pate and Johnson but this is clearly a question about Culver.

Would you prefer a candidate who is in their 30’s, their 40’s, their 50’s or their 60’s?

30’s – 4%
40’s – 35%
50’s – 38%
60’s – 2%

Sorry Doug, it looks like the people you polled think Branstad is too old. Questions like this are silly in my opinion.

Do you want an experienced and effective elected official, or an outsider with a fresh perspective and new ideas?

Strongly want an experienced elected official: 34%
Want an experienced elected official: 19%
Fresh perspective: 14%
Strongly want a fresh perspective: 27%

This surprised me. People don’t want a fresh perspective; they would rather have someone who has knowledge of the system. That’s not good news for Bob Vander Plaats.

I see in the Des Moines Register that Branstad says he is not interested. It’s nice that the Register refers to me as chatter… I’ll take that as a compliment. What I don’t understand then is this, if Branstad isn’t interested what is the purpose of asking questions about him in your poll? While Doug’s poll indicated that people think the Republican Party is backwards looking, Doug is guilty of this himself.

Branstad indicated that potential candidates could come from the business community. The names that were mentioned were Mary Andringa and Jeff Lamberti, two names I associated with Doug’s meeting last week. It’s always nice when the Register will backup my intel.

One final note on Dong’s poll, I asked around about how much a poll like this would cost. In the National Journal Doug claimed that it cost $100,000. That’s just obnoxious. My sources tell me that at the most a poll like Doug’s would have cost $35,000. So did Doug inflate what the poll costs to give it more validity? Or is he claiming it cost $100,000 so that he can raise some extra cash from his donor friends for himself and his organization?

I’m sorry, I forgot, this poll is about the future of the Republican Party.

About the Author

Krusty Konservative has written 284 stories on this site.

Herschel Krustofski is the pseudonym for the anonymous author of Krusty Konservative, a blog which focuses on Iowa Politics. Created in February of 2006, Krusty Konservative is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Iowa blogosphere. Since its conception, Krusty Konservative has never shied from tackling controversial issues, and providing insight to the inner workings of Republican politics in Iowa.

25 Comments on “Culver’s Approval Rating Plummets to 42%”

Deace voted for Obama wrote on 6 May, 2009, 7:25
Any Republican rather than Culver.
Timmy wrote on 6 May, 2009, 8:04
Actually I’m surprised Culver is polling this high right now after the debacles of this past session. GOP and all the “Republicans” here are you listening? Independents polled a 50/50 split, do you not get that THEY are who will most likey decide who or next Governor will be? Give them something to vote FOR!!!
Timmy wrote on 6 May, 2009, 8:07
Sorry, I meant “our” instead of “or”, I think I need a new keyboard!
Madison wrote on 6 May, 2009, 8:29
What about Tom Latham?
Madison wrote on 6 May, 2009, 8:36
In addition, it looks like Steve Deace will be receiving his IDP/DNC talking points soon – they’ve got a “Big Lug” to bring back to “political life” and Steve Deace will have to hit the airwaves with his Pro-Chet agenda…
grumps wrote on 6 May, 2009, 11:20
Using state borrowed money to give Cedar Rapids a library sure helps me like him.
Dagny Taggart wrote on 6 May, 2009, 11:45
I wonder if calling the Democrat party the “party of abortion and sodomy” came from the IDP/DNC talking points….
Timmy wrote on 6 May, 2009, 12:43
No, but refering to ours as the Whig party isn’t?
Dagny Taggart wrote on 6 May, 2009, 14:02
Well, I haven’t heard any democrats utter that, have you? Why do you feel we can’t survive the criticism of Steve Deace? Seems to me he criticizes both sides. I don’t understand why you’re so threatened by him.
Timmy wrote on 6 May, 2009, 14:50
Because deace is mainly targeting REPUBLICANS! Read his blog, he skewered Steve Scheffler again today, this after Scheffler went to talk to HIM! If Steve Scheffler thinks he should be off the air he has the right to say that, but that’s maybe because he sees deace for what he really is, a divisive arrogant little blowhard using Christianity for a cover to hide behind!!!
Thinking wrote on 6 May, 2009, 14:55
Timmy,

I saw the “skewering” of Steve Scheffler this morning, and I wanted to punch Steve Right in the face (just kidding, but seriously). Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about Scheffler, but I no longer believe Deace’s actions are responsible, godly, or principled.
Thinking wrote on 6 May, 2009, 15:13
I know Steve Deace and Steve Right are not the same person, but it made me want to punch Steve Right anywho!
Conservative Demo wrote on 6 May, 2009, 15:29
Hasn’t it occurred to you guys that deace is just playing a role-playing game, modeling himself after the pattern established by Limbuggerer, Coulter, et-al? Just a wannabee on a local station. A talk-radio entertainer.
Altoona Guy wrote on 6 May, 2009, 15:40
People aren’t really afraid of Deace, he’s just a convenient scapegoat to embody the deep dark fears the old Gross establishment have. They fear the party its self may simply splinter between the social conservatives who made their home in the party due to Reagan and the old-guard Fiscal Republicans who backed Ford in 1976 and made Bob Ray into the Governor.
After taking the back seat to the fiscal conservatives for nearly 30 years, social conservative s are demanding something for their time and patience. They’ve been treated as “the help” by guys like Doug Gross for a long time and now that he is suggesting that the party needs to “modernize” its ideas (i.e. drop life and marriage planks from the platform an never talk about them again.) After 3 decades of being the party’s work-horses, the notion that an elitist like Gross wants to lock them in the basement like undesirable step-children is frankly an insult to them. Rather than take that, there is a real danger the whole branch could simply walk out of the party and found their own. People like them hate Deace because he gives voice to the real elephant in the room. Social Conservatives are tired of being pushed aside by the wealthy elites like Doug and they aren’t willing to hide in the basement doing his dirty work for him anymore.
If Gross were truly as intelligent as he would have us believe he is, he would simply sit on the sidelines in this primary, watch who the social conservatives coalesce around, then join that candidate. By so doing, he start to reforge the old Regan alliance and he would likely have the political capitol with that candidate to steer their General election message toward pocket-book issues. If that candidate defeats Culver and becomes Governor, Gross can again be the king-maker. If that candidate loses Gross’s political capitol with the Social Conservatives is restored and he can still be a king-maker. Either way, Doug wins.
But, he wont do that. Like anyone who sees themselves as a King-Maker, his ego wont allow him to be so pragmatic. The candidate he supports will get Doug’s support under Doug’s terms which means that whoever the Gross group eventually finds to run will be labeled the elitist moderate and will be doomed in a primary. And if they win the primary as Ray four decades ago, they could see the emergence of a serious 3rd party candidate and an exodus from the Republican party. Either way, Doug loses.
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 6 May, 2009, 15:49
Go back and read Deace’s blogs and listen to him (if you can bear it).

Deace elevates himself by destroying others all the while hiding behind God and Jesus. He is mean spirited and arrogant. Humility is not in Deace’s vocabulary.

He believes he’s the first perfect person since Jesus. He uses Jesus’ name to hide behind while he belittles others. This is using the Lord’s name in vain. I bet Jesus would just as soon Deace left him out of it.
Altoona Guy wrote on 6 May, 2009, 15:57
The problem with your premise DVFO is that this isn’t even about Deace, it isn’t even about Gross. It’s about the rapidly eroding alliance between the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives. Doug and Steve are simply the mouth pieces of the circumstances that are ripping us apart. They don’t control those circumstances, they just give voice to their respective sides.
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 6 May, 2009, 16:15
AG, I don’t view it that way at all. At this point, we have so many overlapping groups there’s no sorting it out.

I don’t even care. My focus is the evil Democrats and all the destruction they’re doing to Iowa and the country.

The damage done by Democrats is so severe that any Republican looks good by comparison. I’ll vote for the most conservative candidate I can get in the primary but after that it’s full speed ahead to defeat this disaster Culver. Don’t even think of not doing everything to remove this “man” from Terrace Hill. Our grandchildren cannot afford him.
Dagny Taggart wrote on 6 May, 2009, 16:39
I agree largely with what Altoona Guy said.

But let me ask this question with respect to the Sheffler thing. As the leader of the “premiere” Christian organization in Iowa, when the mighty court handed down it’s homosexual marriage ruling, where was Sheffler? I never heard him make a statement, go on a talk show, issue a press release, nothing, nada, zipo. I saw a press release on their web site, but I had to go look for that. So why was he essentially AWOL?

Besides, you’re all forgetting that Deace is not a Republican. So you can’t really expect him to carry the water for the Republicans. He criticizes plenty of democrats. You feel he shouldn’t be allowed to criticize our side, I guess?

And I can’t believe there are ‘republicans’ asking for him to be removed from the airwaves. That’s what the democrats say. Is support for the first amendment still in our platform? Or did we compromise that one away already? I know we did with McCain/Feingold, so I guess I answered my own question.
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 6 May, 2009, 16:59
Dagny: stop parroting Deace. You don’t know what all went on. ICA had a lobbyist at the Capitol daily fighting this fight.

Stop listening to that moron Deace. He thinks he knows everything but he doesn’t and he has an agenda to bring out the worst in almost ALL Republicans. He does this in order to elevate himself.

He throws in plenty of God words to fool the gullible and then he acts like a hateful, spiteful jerk.
Dagny Taggart wrote on 6 May, 2009, 17:05
So I got that right, then? You just don’t want him criticizing our side. My question was regarding Sheffler. I know they have a lobbyist, and by all accounts, hes a decent man. But, again, where was Sheffler?
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 6 May, 2009, 17:19
I have no problem with anyone criticizing Republicans but that is not what Deace is doing. Deace is obsessed with doing assassinations on the very ones who are doing the best jobs.

He savages Republicans while ignoring Democrats. There are many who believe he is actually working for the Democrats as he does all he can to destroy Republican candidates. He even voted for Obama.

I don’t necessarily believe that is what Deace is doing. I believe he has an insatiable need to elevate himself to god-like status and he feels better and superior when he destroys the best Republicans.

Why he cannot find even one acceptable Republican candidate is confusing but my prediction is that if he is still on the air next year when we get a candidate for governor, that that person will be unacceptable to Deace and he will spend 3 hours a day trying to destroy him and reelect Culver.

Deace is a pathetic figure. Fortunately, today I was able to read his ridiculous blog from yesterday where he pointed out that Scheffler just isn’t as good a Christian as he, and even find it amusing. This guy thinks he’s god. It is ridiculous.
steve right wrote on 6 May, 2009, 17:53
Timmy,
Steve Deace makes me want to punch myself in the face, so don’t feel bad about it. He’s THAT bad.
Dagny Taggart wrote on 6 May, 2009, 18:16
DVFO, you gotta be kidding me. During the caucuses it was the Mike Huckabee show starring Steve Deace. It was 3 hours of the Huckster every day. Just recently he promoted Kent Sorensen and Jason Schultz consistently before the last election. I also heard him talking about Rep. Alons, Christopher Rants, Merlin Bartz regarding homosexual marriage. And those are just off the top of my head.

Could it be he has stricter standards than you’d like?
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 6 May, 2009, 19:10
I completely agree about Huckabee which made no sense to me but whatever. Just because he has said anything good about any of these guys doesn’t mean he’s been consistent and if I’m correct, he can vote for none of them.

I know of no Republican he’s voted for except for Huckabee at the caucus.

The guy voted for Obama, for Pete’s sakes.

Admittedly, I listen to him very rarely because every time I do, my blood pressure shoots through the roof.

He is mean.