CNN/Time Poll conducted by Harris Interactive. Dec. 30, 2003-Jan. 1, 2004. N=604 likely voters nationwide. MoE ± 4.
All Voters Bush 55 %
Dean 35 %
Depends 3%
None/Wont Vote 1%
Dont Know 6%
Republicans Bush 91%
Dean 3%
Depends 2%
None/Wont Vote 0%
Dont Know 4%
Democrats Bush 20%
Dean 70%
Depends 2%
None/Wont Vote 1%
Dont Know 7%
Independent Bush 57%
Dean 28%
Depends 3%
None/Wont Vote 1%
Dont Know 11%
http://www.pollingreport.com/wh04gen.htmSo overall, If Dean is the nominee, 20 percent of registered Democrats would vote for Bush, but only 3 percent of Republicans would vote for Dean.
More than twice many independent swing voters would vote for Bush
as would vote for Dean ( 58 percent Bush 28 percent Dean).
Even if all of the depends/none..wont vote and don't know voters among independents went over to Dean:
Bush would still get more of the independent swing voters...
And if all of the depends/none..wont vote and don't know voters among Democrats went over to Dean:
Bush would get 20 percent of the Democratic Voters.
And if all of the depends/none..wont vote and don't know voters among Republicans went over to Dean:
9 percent of Republicans would vote for Dean...
It does not appear that Dean does not have a substantial grasp on the independent swing voter, and that right now, this group prefers George Bush to Howard Dean.
And one out of five democrats prefers George Bush to Howard Dean.
Really one must justify that statement that all registered Democrats are not Democrats but really Republicans if they do not support Dean.
One must also remember that Dean had a great deal of Republican supprt as Governor of Vermont, and out of all of the Democratic Presidential candidates, only Dean has ever had a formal group "Democrats for Dean" established to support his past political campaigns:
Some Republicans back Dean
By TRACY SCHMALER Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER - Democratic Gov. Howard Dean got a boost from the other side Thursday when a group of prominent Republicans turned out to support his re-election bid.
Led by South Burlington attorney William Gilbert, a core group of 11 Republicans said they believed Dean has proven his ability to lead the state in a fiscally responsible direction and for that reason, and his nine years of experience, he is their choice over GOP candidate Ruth Dwyer...
Even Dean acknowledged that his fiscal policy was the common ground he shared with the nine men and two women at the table, most of whom admitted to voting for Dean in the last election.
The group, known as "Republicans for Dean" represents the first organized GOP endorsement for Dean in any of his five campaigns.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/election2000/repbackdean.htmlTop GOP will stick with Dwyer, but some back Dean
By TRACY SCHMALER Vermont Press Bureau
...Meanwhile, a group of Republicans headed by William Gilbert of Burlington is expected to announce their support for Dean this week.
"An awful lot of moderate Republicans feel as I do, that the best candidate is the person with the most experience and the capacity to govern Vermont - that person is Howard Dean," Gilbert said. "It's the people of Vermont who come first, not the party..."
Carl Spangler, another veteran of the Snelling administration who served as commissioner of housing and community affairs, is one of them.
Spangler, a vice president with the American Skiing Co., said he joined the committee because of Dean's record on issues such as travel and tourism.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/election2000/gop_dean.htmlWilliam Gilbert was an executive for a Vermont Energy Utility and was the head of the group of Energy executives who Dean reputedly had advising him on Vermont Energy policy and was involved in the decision to suddenly change the sale of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant to Entergy/Koch Industries when this company placed a last minute bid to but the plant.
Spangler was involved with some of the decisions that resulted in Dean's purge of the Vermont Environmental Board of four of Deans own appointees after they began to disagree with Dean's methods to get around standard procedures for meeting environmental regulations when getting permits for new projects.
But it seems that what applied in Vermont, Dean getting a great deal of support from Republicans (and a good deal less from Democrats, as by 2002, when Dean left office, about 45 percent of the registered Vermont Voters left the Democratic Party and joined the progressive party which has pretty much prevented Democrats from winning any high level offices in Vermont)
Perhaps rather than long term Democrats who have been attacked by Republican based organizations, and have been given the worse ratings by various conservative based organizations(After the death of Paul Wellstone, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry are considered the most liberal and anti-conservative elected officials in Washington, and have been given the poorest grades by conservative organizations for their entire politica careers, while Howard Dean was given "B" ratings by the conservative Cato Institute got most of the years he served as Governor. Kerry has been given F's by the Cato Institute for his entire political Career, as well as Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt and Dennis Kucinich).
Those Republicans who supported Deans campaign in 2000, also gave lost of support for the Bush campaign in 2000, so the same people who backed Dean for governor, backed Bush for president, and it looks like that given the choice, those Republicans who supported Dean for Governor, are not supporting his presidential bid.
And finally a last at An opinion voiced by Deans own long time economic and political advisor:
"The joke among a lot of Vermont Republicans was that they didn't need to run anyone for governor because they basically had one in office already," said Harlan Sylvester, a conservative Democratic stockbroker and longtime adviser to Dean.
(St. Petersburg Times, July 6, 2003)
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles9/DVNS_Howard-Dean.htmHarlan Sylvester has been Deans economic and political advisor for nearly 30 years backing Deans entire political career from the first time he ran for office.