KA-BOOM – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:   New polling shows the GOP rising.  No guarantees about the future, of course, but a smile is good.  From The Politico: 

Republicans have erased the Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot in a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll that, for the first time since April, also shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating equaling the percentage of voters who disapprove of his job performance.
Fully 39 percent of registered voters say they would support the GOP candidate for Congress in their district, while 38 percent would back the Democratic candidate. Nearly a quarter of voters, 23 percent, are undecided.

Voters are split almost evenly along party lines. Democratic voters break for their party, 85 percent to 5 percent, while Republicans similarly favor the GOP, 84 percent to 8 percent. Among independent voters, 26 percent would vote for the Democrat, 25 percent for the Republican and nearly half, 49 percent, are undecided.

The GOP’s 1-point advantage comes after three months of tracking in which Democrats maintained a lead ranging between 2 and 10 points on the generic ballot. That has been generally smaller than the party’s lead in other public surveys: The most recent RealClearPolitics average shows Democrats ahead by 7 points on the generic ballot, though that’s down from a high of 13 points late last year.

The new year has also produced a Trump polling bump. In the new poll, 47 percent of voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while the same percentage disapprove.

Among Democrats, 16 percent approve of Trump’s job performance and 80 percent disapprove. The numbers are almost exactly inverted among Republicans: 82 percent approve, while 16 percent disapprove. Trump is still underwater among independents: 39 percent approve and 49 percent disapprove.

COMMENT:  Nothing like a tax cut and a strong economy to win support.  Naturally, the politically correct press is trying to counter the Republican rise by an all-out attack on the White House.  CNN has completely lost the soul it barely had. 

But, as with Ronald Reagan, many people are looking past the press at actual events, and they are seeing a president and Republican Congress which, despite many faults and shortcomings, are doing a solid job, if not yet a great one.

And the self-inflicted wounds of the party of Nancy Pelosi should not be ignored.  Every Democrat in Congress voted against the tax cut.   Imagine what that will sound like in the fall's political ads.  "If your member of Congress is a Democrat, he or she voted against you."  Try countering that, Nance.

February14, 2018