Posted on 11/04/2006 10:46:38 AM PST by meg88
Democrats carry big advantages into Tuesday's elections, with polls showing a Democratic takeover of the House likely, and a takeover of the Senate possible.
But the conventional wisdom is overlooking some significant tactical advantages that Republicans have on their side.
In no particular order, Republicans' late-game advantages are:
The "not my bum" syndrome: Every poll shows disillusionment with the Republican-controlled Congress, and a desire for change. But inevitably, even some voters who want to throw out the bums in Washington are a lot less eager to throw out their own bum -- that is, the member of Congress who represents their home district.
Money: New figures compiled by the Campaign Finance Institute, a nonpartisan organization affiliated with George Washington University, indicate that the average Republican incumbent in a competitive House race had an average of $615,043 in cash on hand on Oct. 18, compared with $328,187 for the average Democratic challenger.
Lack of complacency: When Democrats lost ontrol of the House in 1994, it was at least in part because their incumbents were complacent and didn't sense the national wave heading their way. That's not true of Republican incumbents this year, who have been on alert for months and are appropriately intense in defending their seats.
Clarity of message: Republicans normally are better at boiling campaign themes down to powerful national messages, and their closing message now is typical: "Your taxes will be higher and your country won't be as secure if Democrats win."
Turnout machine: The Republicans probably still have a better one, overall. Phone banks, conservative church mobilization, one-on-one contacting will all be in use.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I knew we had a tactical edge; it's nice to know we have a tatical one as well.
Republicans play titical for tatical.
The bottomline is Dems have no positive message apart from their scorch earthed bottom feeding politics, Republicans are focussed and have policies that resonates with the voting public.
Understatement of the Year Award. This is like saying "Tiger Woods probably still plays a better game than Carl Spackler, overall." The RATS have nothing even slightly comparable to the GOP's Voter Vault.
They tried it in 2004 to get us to defeat ourselves, they way the killed the last-minute vote in Florida in 2000. "We won't be fooled again!" is a great line. I hope we follow it.
And I hope the Vote or Die crowd does a repeat of 2004 when they are stayed home. I'm curious how likely these "likely" voters are.
it's the ratical taticals.
TaDa! The big time secret of politics...everybody else has horrible representation, everybody else has bad teachers, everybody else needs health care, everybody else is having a bad time financially, everybody else supports stupid laws, nobody else supports the troops, nobody else supports the President, nobody else is happy, everyone else is going to die by the "environmental disaster of the day" and the list goes on, and on...
All thanks to years of control by the dominant media.
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JOHN KERRY =
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
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They just found several ratical taticals in the complacement.
These are local elections not national.
The MSM treats the midterm election as a ntional Presidential election. That's why the Ntional polls vs. local polls
differ so much but don't expect the MSM to explain this.
Are any TV ads running showing Pelosi at her "best"?
Dems are hiding her and people need to be reminded or educated what a left wing moonbat she is.
I think you give them too much credit. I don't think the MSM even UNDERSTANDS this!
Not in Kansas District #2...Jim Ryun has not even been visible. He stands a good chance of being unseated by a Dem woman, Nancy Boyda, who he solidly beat two years ago. She has been masterful and he has been...where?
I am really looking forward to waking up Wednesday morning and seeing how wrong and inaccurate MSM has been.
Ryan will be at the Kansas Expo tomorrow with GWB, right? lol...
Rarely understood by some is the fact that our congress critters do what they do to make their constituents happy because THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ELECTED THEM.
Ted Stevens (who is not running this year)is not my favorite person and I would not vote for him. But it doesn't matter one whit to him because I can't vote for him in the first place. What I want is irrelevant to him.
So because I am mad at Stevens I shouldn't vote for Hoekstra? That makes no sense. Hoekstra and I have our points of dispute but over all Petey is a good guy who deserves my vote. He has repeatedly stuck up for what his constituents want.
We hear people say "hold you nose and vote..." but really how many of us have to do so? This election there is no need for me to hold my nose in any of the state or national level races I am voting in.
I am know that some are not so blessed but are there really that many?
Welcome to Free Republic.
The Democrats get billions worth of free media. The GOTV is a response to this situation.
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