“WTF is going on here? Is the bailout vote only hurting Republicans? What about all the Dems that voted for the bailout? WTF!!!! “
What is going on is that when things are going bad people like to take it out on the party that controls the White House.
I suppose the reaction of Bush, McCain, and even Palin in NOT placing the mess squarely on the Dems where it belongs gives an impression that this is indeed a “bipartisan” issue. For them not to do as Truman did and run against the “do nothing Congress” fails to paint Pelosi, Reid, and their ilk as the bad guys in this.
Regarding projections though, CQ.com, which seems quite even handed, has a slightly more optimistic projection. As of now at least. They have Republicans ahead or leaning in 179 districts. Pretty sad considering 4 years ago they had over 230. But that 179 has another 21 districts as a tossup. If we win a lot of those then the numbers are not so bad. They could be within striking distance of taking back a majority in 2 years, if things head downhill under President 0bama.
Having said that, at this time in 2006, CQ still showed Republicans well ahead in many districts that ended up falling, like Bradley’s seat in NH, Ryun in KS, etc.