CT; The Mystery of the Vocal Senator and the Silent Senator

In a few days Robert Downey Jr. will star in a new movie version of "Sherlock Holmes". This week in CT we have been treated to a new mystery.

One senator, Joe Lieberman, has been out front and center on the debate over health care...attracting almost as much attention...and venom...as wayward golf legend Tiger Woods

The other senator just weeks ago pledged to make it his mission to pass health care reform as a tribute to his late friend. But in recent weeks, Chris Dodd has gone into radio silence on the whole issue.

At first I thought Harry Reid had put a gag order on Dodd, lest unpleasant banking stories step on socialized medicine talking points. But now I realize this form of omerta is probably the result of Dodd's pollster's

Today I wandered into a copy of a poll Whit Ayres took in CT on November 8-10 for a national business advocacy group. The results indicate that this very blue state has little enthusiasm for health care reform    

Connecticut voters overall, and independents in particular, think that health care reform will raise their taxes, increase the deficit, cause their health care costs to go up, expand government control over health care, and harm health care for seniors

 The specifics bear this out.

• 66% of CT voters believe health care reform will cause taxes to go up
• 69% of CT voters believe health care reform will increase the deficit
• a majority of CT voters, inclusing 68% of independents and 62% of seniors believe the proposed Medicare cuts will harm health care for seniors
•  a majority of CT voters believe the reforms will raise their health care costs

The "public option" didn't save the troubled bill. Although overall support was split; the intensity of opposition was far greater than the intensity of support, with 36% of the voters "strongly opposing" it.  44% of independents "strongly opposed" the public option.

Finally, despite all the screaming and bleating from the lefties across the nation, the poll showed Joe Lieberman clearly the more popular of CT's two senators  Lieberman had a 52% to 29% favorable rating, while Dodd was negative by a 41% to 47% rating; which included a shocking  59% negative rating from independents.

So this polls explains why Joe Lieberman is comfortable standing alone on health care, and why Chris Dodd is on radio silence. The relentless advocacy of health care reform didn;t save Dodd's political fortunes, and the issue isn't looking to do much damage to Lieberman's standing.

Explains why one dog is barking, and one isn't. now doesn't it?