I pointed out earlier this year that a perfect storm was brewing.

President Obama and the Democratic leaders in Congress hastily drew a bold line in the sand on the role of government and the direction they wanted to take this country.  They shoved a poorly conceived stimulus bill, riddled with pet projects, down the throats of congress.  They moved to raise taxes and continue to promote a much larger hand of government into corporate offices and living rooms of Americans.  With the multi-trillion dollar healthcare bill falling apart, it’s becoming clear that perhaps this is not the kind of change the American people anticipated.

We are approaching an environment that is ripening for Republican candidates across the country. Candidates running on a strong economic and jobs message, with a clear vision outlining a more accountable government, over a larger more intrusive one, are seeing momentum gather for their campaigns.

I wanted to share with you some key analysis from three different reputable Republican polling companies, who have publicly released findings, which coincide with this assessment.

See below:

Latest bi-partisan George Washington University national Battleground Poll, conducted by The Tarrance Group in conjunction with Lake Research (a Democratic polling firm).

Highlights:

• President Obama’s Job Approval is down to just 53%, while 42% disapprove.  The intensity on each side is nearly even, with 40% strongly approving, and 37% strongly disapproving. He is upside down among Independent voters, 42% approve to 50% disapprove.
• For the first time in several cycles, Republican voters are more energized about voting than Democratic voters.  Fully 75% of Republicans say they are extremely likely to vote in the 2010 elections, compared to just 66% of Democrats.
• The generic Congressional ballot is back to a only a 3-point Democratic advantage.  By comparison, the generic showed an 8-point DEM lead in the 2006 cycle.
• Just 34% approve of the job Congress is doing, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a 32% favorable image, with fully 51% unfavorable.
• Republicans have regained their advantage on the issues of holding down taxes and controlling wasteful spending. However, on the issue who would better handle turning the economy around, Democrats in Congress still lead by 14-points.
• Only 33% say that the economic stimulus passed by Congress is working, while 61% disagree. But 58% say they agree that it should be given a year to really make a difference.

For more information: see Ed Goeas’ presentation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A5jni0AgoA

Latest NPR poll done by Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (a Democratic polling firm).

Highlights:

• President Obama’s approval rating has dropped below 55%, and as many voters strongly disapprove as strongly approve.
• The GOP has a one point advantage on the generic ballot – highlighting that voters want balance in Washington.
• A plurality of voters believe that Obama’s economic policies have run up a record federal deficit while failing to end the recession instead of his policies having averted an even worse crisis.
• Voters say that the Democratic Party is not doing a good job addressing the country’s priorities this year. However, in a sobering finding, they think the GOP is doing an even worse job of addressing the country’s priorities.
• A plurality of voters are strongly opposed to the Obama plan to change health care. Voters who had been undecided on this issue have moved to the negative perspective.

For more information: http://www.pos.org/latestnumbers/nprjuly2009.pdf

Another interesting Poll by Wilson Research Strategies for the Kaiser Family Foundation on healthcare, analyzed the language for Republicans to remember when discussing the Democratic plan.

Highlights:

• Discuss the costs in specific, personal detail. The quickest way to motivate opposition to nationalized health care is to remind most Americans that their taxes and their premiums will go up.
• Focus on the universality of the proposal. If the benefits are not going to benefit them personally, Americans are less willing to pay for them.
• Don’t let Democrats pretend that only “the rich” will pay for health care. The strongest argument proponents of health care overhaul have is that “someone else” will foot the bill for this.  Democrats are obviously aware of this and should not be allowed to get away with it.
• Most importantly, a personal price tag must be added to every proposal. Specific numbers build opposition to this proposal.  Americans can’t understand and don’t care about billions and trillions, but they do care about $500 in new taxes for themselves or $100 in additional healthcare premiums.

For more information: see WRS’ full assessment on the issue at http://www.w-r-s.com/nationalassessment/.

Brian Donahue is a strategic media consultant with Jamestown Associates.  He also blogs at http://30or60.com.