Republicans are moving away from old-brand politicians such as President Bush and John McCain and moving toward new-brand figures like Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani, recent polls indicate.
Conservatives who have tried to remain loyal to Bush and McCain over the Iraq war are now losing patience with the two leaders over their efforts to grant legal status to illegal immigrants.”McCain is so closely identified with President Bush on Iraq and immigration,” pollster Scott Rasmussen told The Examiner. “Right now, especially, it’s the immigration issue.
“Every time that comes up, the president’s numbers go down among Republicans,” he said. “At this point, it may be almost an excuse for Republicans to break with the president. Folks want to move on.”
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow disputed the notion that most Republicans opposethe comprehensive immigration reform bill that Bush was promoting again on Thursday.
“I’m looking at the L.A. Times poll,” he said. “And it says 65 percent of Republicans back it.”
But a Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday showed that Republican support for Bush dropped from 75 percent in April to 62 percent in June. That same poll showed support for McCain, the Arizona senator who is running for president, at 14 percent, which is down from 22 percent in April and 29 percent in December. The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
Similarly, polling by Rasmussen Reports showed that Republican support for McCain, who is aligned with Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy on the controversial immigration bill, has fallen to 11 percent, or half the level it was at in January. The poll had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
“Republicans at this point are looking for new, fresh faces because many feel betrayed by George Bush and the Republicans in Congress thus far,” said Democratic political strategist MaryAnne Marsh. “They are now looking at people who don’t have as long a track record, or as long a voting record, as John McCain.”
That would explain why actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who has not even formally entered the race, has catapulted into second place for the Republican nomination, according to the Wall Street Journal poll. Thompson receives 20 percent of GOP support, while Giuliani, the former New York mayor, leads the pack with 29 percent.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who had always trailed McCain by double-digit margins in previous Wall Street Journal polls, is now tied with him at 14 percent.
“In McCain’s home state, his favorables are down to 47 percent — he’s really taking a hit,” Rasmussen said. “And George Bush is below 70 percent approval among Republicans, so these are serious numbers.”
