Polls show Issues continue to be important to average voters.

[Savannahmann]

We all have pet issues. Things that are make or break for our view of how things are going. For the average voter, the most important thing is the economy. The National Debt is always in the top five.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/1675/Most-Important-Problem.aspx

Some here think we need to gain support by highlighting our differences with the Republicans on issues like Guns, Civil Rights (except NSA spying), and renewable energy programs. I always point out that these issues while important to you, and perhaps even me, are not the most important issues.

Well, it's happened. The issues that the voters think are important that we have been stuck paying lip service to? Well it turns out that the voters still think that those issues are important. Worse the numbers for the Republicans are starting to climb out of the basement on the issues. What that means is we have to actually start making proposals on the issues instead of just relying on the assumption that people will just know we are better than the Rethugs.

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/09/13/hope-nope-poll-shows-gloom-on-economy-and-obama/

So where does that leave us going into the debt ceiling fight next month?

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/13/20463534-poll-44-percent-of-americans-oppose-raising-debt-ceiling?lite

Now, 44% is not a majority, not hardly. But when you consider the fact that only 22% support raising the debt ceiling, you start to understand the problem. One third doesn't know how they feel about it, but if even ten percent more drops into the don't raise the debt ceiling camp then guess what? We're going to be slightly less popular than we are.

Our numbers are still terrible, and for some reason we don't look at the polls to see what the people want us to do, and to figure out how to sell our program to the people. Instead we may give a speech, and then we stroll on and try and tell the people that this other issue is really more important.

President Clinton won in 1992 with among other things, the brilliantly simple phrase, it's the economy stupid. Well, it's the economy, that's what the people are worried about. That's what they think is the biggest issue. What are we proposing to work on that issue?

We have got to stop running around every time a radical Republican from a radical district that we aren't going to lose without photos of same said republican with a goat, and even in that case the Republican challenger will probably win, like this proves we're better on whatever issue it is.

All of those distractions are noise. Distractions that aren't going to help us win next year. We have State races, and we have the House, and the Senate to concern ourselves with. We should be pushing hard to get something done on the issues that the Voters think is important.

Now, assuming that all the Republicans are not mouth breathing morons, if one of them reads these continuing poll trends, and comes up with an idea like their Contract with America lie of 1994, we are going to lose the Senate. The Rethugs can't all be stupid, and we keep ignoring these issues at our peril.