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"Suburbs will decide the election" Politico
Politico via Gabrielle Cusumano/Townhall ^ | September 29, 2008 | By: Joel Kotkin and Mark Schill

Posted on 10/06/2008 2:46:50 PM PDT by WmShirerAdmirer

"As of now, polls suggest McCain, who lagged in the suburbs into the summer, has pushed back some of the Democratic momentum. He now enjoys, according to the latest Wall Street Journal poll, a 10-point edge among suburban voters, not far from what Bush garnered in those parts of the swing states. If McCain can combine this suburban group with his rural and small-town base, he could be in striking distance of staging an upset."

Suburbs will decide the election

By: Joel Kotkin and Mark Schill

Excerpts from: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/14082.html

"Suburbs may not have cooked up the mortgage crisis, but they absorbed much of initial damage. Now that Wall Street and the big cities are also taking the fall, suburbanites might feel a bit better — but there’s still lots of room for anger out in the land of picket fences, decent schools and shopping malls."

"Widely demeaned in the media and academe, suburbs still exercise their power at election time. Home to roughly half the country’s population, and likely a greater share of its voters, suburbs seem destined to remain — to borrow from that great wordsmith George W. Bush — “the decider” in this election."

....

More Excerpts

["At the same time, after seeming unsettled, the rural and small-town electorate appears to be returning to the GOP fold. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s place on the Republican ticket and, perhaps even more, the mainstream media’s snooty reaction to her, may have sealed the GOP deal in the countryside, at least at the presidential level. One sure sign: The small Obama strike team sent to reliably red North Dakota this summer has departed for more competitive terrain in nearby Minnesota and Wisconsin."

["So now it’s really up to the suburbanites..."]

["As of now, polls suggest McCain, who lagged in the suburbs into the summer, has pushed back some of the Democratic momentum. He now enjoys, according to the latest Wall Street Journal poll, a 10-point edge among suburban voters, not far from what Bush garnered in those parts of the swing states. If McCain can combine this suburban group with his rural and small-town base, he could be in striking distance of staging an upset."]

["McCain, who appeals more to independents than Bush did, should be able to erode some of this advantage in such communities. But Palin’s social conservatism could turn off many generally well-educated, middle-of-the-road voters who are so prominent in many of the most upscale suburban communities."]

["At the same time, Palin — herself a former mayor of an Anchorage exurb — could help McCain consolidate Bush’s gains in the fast-growing exurbs, which tend to be more heavily composed of traditional families and generally less ethnically diverse. In his 2004 victory, Bush won 97 of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing counties with roughly 63 percent of the vote. If McCain can duplicate that feat, he will be well-positioned."]

["McCain also has an opportunity to win in the Detroit suburbs, where Obama’s ties to disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick could hurt him. Bush won those areas in 2000 and 2004, but not by enough to capture the state’s electoral votes. As in Pennsylvania, McCain needs to forge a rural-suburban coalition to capture this traditionally blue-tinged state."]

["For Obama, suburbs in wobbly red states such as Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Virginia and Missouri offer similarly critical opportunities..."]

["If so, McCain’s rural and small town base will not be enough to win the critical swing states and the election. If the Republicans can hold their 2004 suburban base, though, McCain could yet triumph. Whatever the result, one thing is clear: Suburban voters will be the deciders."]

Joel Kotkin is a presidential fellow at Chapman University and executive editor of www.newgeography.com. Mark Schill is a principal at Praxis Strategy Group and the site’s managing editor.

Excerpts from: ://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/14082.html


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: election; suburbs
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You must go to Politico's page at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/14082.html to get mentions of how suburbs affected the Reagan, Clinton and Bush elections.
1 posted on 10/06/2008 2:46:50 PM PDT by WmShirerAdmirer
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To: WmShirerAdmirer
Suburbs, in theory maybe, should decide the election, but inner cities will steal it with the help of ACORN through vote fraud.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809140383

2 posted on 10/06/2008 2:51:35 PM PDT by FrdmLvr ("Stand up, Chuck!")
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

BUT, I thought The Mulatto King had ALREADY WON!!! What’s up with that?


3 posted on 10/06/2008 2:52:28 PM PDT by RoseofTexas
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

We are going to win but we have to work for it. Donate and volunteer for McCain-PALIN 2008.

If Sarah keeps pulling huge crowads and firing up the base then we will win. We are not behind anyway.

Our opponents are a terrorist lover who blew up the globabl financial system with Fannie & Freddie.

His VP pick is a loon who hangs out at Home Depot & diners that no longer exist and who plagerizes Neil Kinnock speeches.

Kinnock was a hard left trade union loser who got his arse kicked by Maggie Thatcher.


4 posted on 10/06/2008 2:54:10 PM PDT by Frantzie
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To: WmShirerAdmirer
Well the suburbs around my home are predominantly Republican, and I see a half-dozen Obama signs and two McCain signs.

I was on a business trip last week, down through Maryland's eastern shore, through Norfolk/Suffolk, to DC, and then up to the suburbs north of Philadelphia.

Eastern shore: solid Obama. Dozens and dozens of signs along that main highway (route 13?) to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, all Obama. Zero McCain.

No signs that I recall in Suffolk, but we were in military country there.

The biggest shock: in the suburbs north of Philly. These are wealthy areas. Dozens of Obama signs. They were everywhere. Maybe three McCain/Palin signs.

This was last week. We were in the Philly burbs on Thursday, October 2nd.

I kept thinking of that lady who called Rush and stated that her repeated requests for yard signs, made to the McCain campaign, had yielded nothing.

5 posted on 10/06/2008 2:54:35 PM PDT by Steely Tom (Without the second, the rest are just politicians' BS.)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

I thought Karl Rove decided elections?


6 posted on 10/06/2008 2:56:22 PM PDT by TexGuy (If it has the slimmest of chances of being considered sarcasm ... IT IS!)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

I am hearing that Mccain is moving ahead in the suburbs by 10%, winning voters on the economy and energy 43-42, Winning white women, winning among men....

...how many more groups are left to support obama in these massive poll leads he has? I have already taken into consideration the dead, prison populations, and domesticated animals.


7 posted on 10/06/2008 2:57:06 PM PDT by johncocktoasten (Obama/Biden '08, in and of itself, A Bridge To Nowhere)
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To: Steely Tom
Wealthy libs..probably professors, or maybe even lawyers working and feeding off of government in some way.
Same with MD around the DC area..all left wingers, all sponging off the government in some capacity...and all wealthy.
8 posted on 10/06/2008 2:58:54 PM PDT by snarkytart
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To: Steely Tom

That’s the point. All the signs are on public thoroughfares. Not in yards.

Obama is marking the spots where your personal possessions will be placed after his triumph.


9 posted on 10/06/2008 3:00:04 PM PDT by johncocktoasten (Obama/Biden '08, in and of itself, A Bridge To Nowhere)
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To: Steely Tom
No way in hell is the eastern shore of MD Obama territory.
It will easily go for McCain. ALL of MD will go McCain except for PG County, Montgomery County, and Baltimore City. Unfortunately the three are the most populated and heavily minority and erase the votes in all the other districts.
10 posted on 10/06/2008 3:03:24 PM PDT by snarkytart
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To: All

If McCain/Palin wnats to win Pennsylvania, they’ll need to hit bery hard in the suburbs around Philly.


11 posted on 10/06/2008 3:04:45 PM PDT by MplsSteve
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To: snarkytart
No way in hell is the eastern shore of MD Obama territory.

It will easily go for McCain. ALL of MD will go McCain except for PG County, Montgomery County, and Baltimore City. Unfortunately the three are the most populated and heavily minority and erase the votes in all the other districts.

I'm only telling what I saw.

By the way, driving across that bridge/tunnel while playing a CD of Van Morrison singing "Into the Mystic" was quite an experience. Especially since I was the passenger, not the driver.

12 posted on 10/06/2008 3:06:15 PM PDT by Steely Tom (Without the second, the rest are just politicians' BS.)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer
“I’m not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me.”
-- Barack Obama, 1991
13 posted on 10/06/2008 3:06:41 PM PDT by x
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To: x
“I’m not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me.”

Of course. The suburbs are where intact families turn out kids who love America and are difficult to recruit into bomb-throwing subversive organizations.

14 posted on 10/06/2008 3:08:14 PM PDT by Steely Tom (Without the second, the rest are just politicians' BS.)
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To: Frantzie
We are going to win but we have to work for it.

Everyone who reads FR must, repeat MUST, go out and put up yard-road signs in every highway within a 5-mile radius of their home. Volunteer to hand out literature.

I've done this where I live in Pennsylvania, and believe me, it is a cathartic experience.... getting thumbs up honks and also flipped the bird from Obama worshipers.

My newest yard sign (got 25 from dirtcheapsigns.com) says "10 out of 10 terrorists support Obama: Pennsylvanians support John McCain"

One of my previous 'home made' campaign signs actually made the local newspaper, which loves Obama so much they endorsed him in April.

Bottom line: DON'T just sit around worrying... when you could be out there helping.

It really DOES make a difference when neighbors see that others can't stand Obama, and in fact trust McCain.

15 posted on 10/06/2008 3:08:20 PM PDT by Edit35 (.)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

Let the average suburban voter who doesn’t pay much mind to politics watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QcpdUtxNQ

How about Obama openly campaigning for his communist cousin Odinga who signed a pact with Muslims to enact Sharia Law if elected and started riots when he lost. Obama campaigned for an openly Anti-American candidate in a foreign country in 2006.


16 posted on 10/06/2008 3:10:07 PM PDT by word_warrior_bob (You can now see my amazing doggie and new puppy on my homepage!! Come say hello to Jake & Sonny)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

You can’t fake anger. If this financial crisis was truly the fault of Bush, Wall St, etc, the Dems would be acting totally different. They wouldn’t be so mild mannered about assigning this blame. Those who know the truth are truly angry. McCain needs to express the anger that hard working people who follow the rules are feeling. The world financial market is in complete turmoil. The people who are acting really angry will be more believable than the people who are calmly pointing fingers with no real conviction. This isn’t just a question of going negative, it’s a question of expressing the anger of authenticity. McCain and Palin need to do this from here on in.


17 posted on 10/06/2008 3:11:40 PM PDT by The Fop (Just say NO to Jesus Lincoln King Jr.)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

You mean a radical left wing candidate with a history of unsavory associations with radical left wing nuts, including a terrorist who attacked the US Capitol building and the Pentagon doesn’t play well in the ‘burbs? Shocking.

Most of the polls we see are bogus. This guy doesn’t pass the smell test. Of course, the Dems and the media lost their senses long ago.

The media and the Obama campaign thought they could pull one over on the public. As long as the McCain campaign is not afraid to continue to hammer Obama on his past, the truth will be forced out.


18 posted on 10/06/2008 3:19:28 PM PDT by Harry Wurzbach (Rep. Thaddeus McCotter is my hero.)
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To: Steely Tom
...requests for yard signs, made to the McCain campaign, had yielded nothing.

tis true.

McCain/Palin signs did not arrive in Bucks County (north of Philly) until a few days ago, and the GOP is super tightwaddy with them

It's because the MoveOn nutjobs rip them down as fast as we can put them up.

I'm serious. The juvenile delinquent cretins, and union members, in the Democrat party have NO morals... and in fact think it fair campaigning to destroy any and all Republican candidate signs.

In 2006, I was in charge of putting up campaign signs so I know about what I speak.

19 posted on 10/06/2008 3:28:01 PM PDT by Edit35 (.)
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To: MplsSteve
If McCain/Palin wnats to win Pennsylvania, they’ll need to hit bery hard in the suburbs around Philly.

WIP Sports talk radio with a huge audience has had an Obama ad on every hour on the hour for weeks now --Not one McCain ad --what the hell is wrong with his campaign
20 posted on 10/06/2008 3:31:56 PM PDT by uncbob
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