"And monkeys could fly out of my butt."
Posted on 02/10/2006 9:39:34 AM PST by Reagan Man
Imagine this: It’s Jan. 30, 2007. Following President Bush’s State of the Union Address, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) deliver their responses. In contrast to the President’s call for making his tax cuts permanent, the two Democratic powerhouses say they intend to repeal them all. In addition, they call for a joint congressional committee to investigate alleged “unconstitutional” actions by the National Security Agency and vow to re-examine the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. Filibusters will not be an issue, Reid pledges, because with the Democrats’ controlling the Senate they will simply vote down all Bush nominees they don’t like.
Unfortunately, there is a good chance the elections this fall could make this political nightmare a reality.
Two months ago, both a politically savvy senior Republican U.S. House member and longtime election observer Bernadette Budde of the Business and Industry Political Action Committee voiced concerns to Human Events that in the final midterm election of the Bush presidency, Republicans could lose their majority in the House for the first time in 12 years. At separate meetings, the lawmaker (who ticked off without hesitation 20 Republican-held House seats in danger of going Democratic in 2006) and Budde agreed that the negative poll ratings for the President and the unfolding Capitol Hill scandal involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff might give Democrats the net gain of 15 seats they need to rule the House. (The present lineup in the House is 231 Republicans, 201 Democrats, one independent who votes with the Democrats, and two vacancies.).
Now we are in the election year and many more pundits and pols are predicting that Democrats not only could win back the House this fall, but actually pick up the six seats they need to upend the 55-to-45 Republican Senate majority. Like the last midterm elections of the Reagan era in 1986, in which Democrats increased their House majority and took over the Senate, a similar Democratic resurgence in 2006 could devastate this Republican administration.
Bad Poll Numbers
The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll shows that Democratic candidates for Congress are favored over Republicans by 49% to 43% among likely voters nationwide. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll puts that tilt at 55% to 36% in the Democrats’ favor.
In at least two midterm elections—1974, the so-called “Watergate Year,” and 1998, when the GOP congressional leadership accepted Bill Clinton’s budget without a fight—Republicans lost major ground, in part because their voter base nationally became disillusioned with the party and stayed home. Citing mounting tension between conservatives and the administration over issues such as government spending and the President’s guest worker/amnesty program, veteran political reporter Linda Feldmann of the Christian Science Monitor recently noted that even “though Bush won’t be on the ballot, conservative disappointment in him could hurt the Republican Party in this November’s midterm elections.”
“Not since 1994 has the party in power—in this case the Republicans—faced such a discouraging landscape in a midterm election,” concluded Washington Post political reporters Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza in a recent front-page preview of the 2006 races. “President Bush is weaker than he was just a year ago, a majority of voters in recent polls have signaled their desire for a change in direction, and Democrats outpoll Republicans on which party voters think is more capable of handling the country’s biggest problems.”
Balz and Cilliza cited many of the same endangered Republican-held House seats Human Events cited in December.
Among the Republicans seen as vulnerable in the Senate, Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Mike DeWine (Ohio) both trail their likely Democratic opponents in statewide polls and Conrad Burns (Mont.), the sole GOP senator so far linked to Abramoff and Indian gaming money, only narrowly leads two likely Democratic opponents.
In Rhode Island, liberal Lincoln Chafee, the only GOP senator to oppose the Alito nomination, faces a strong primary challenge from conservative Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey and, if he survives, will be up against a heavyweight Democratic nominee in a very Democratic state.
Moreover, Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl (who faces multi-millionaire real estate developer Jim Pedersen) and Missouri Sen. James M. Talent (who’s up against ’04 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Claire McKaskill) are both in tough races. Democrats also have hopes of winning the open Tennessee seat with Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., as three Republicans are waging a heated primary for the GOP nomination to succeed retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
Will there be a political disaster for the Republican Party, the Bush Administration, and conservatives in general? Much depends on whether the party more strongly embraces its core principles and otherwise behaves in a way that inspires its core voters to go to the polls in November.
Will there be a political disaster for the Republican Party, the Bush Administration, and conservatives in general?
Another article that ends asking ME a question.
Sounds like the Democrats are dreaming again...
Whitehouse or Brown a heavy weight? This is funny. NARAL chased the heavy weight Dems out of this race - Lavegin and Patrick "never worked a day in his life" Kennedy.
Of course, I am not saying that Chaffee would be a lock against Whitehouse or Brown.
Moreover, Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl (who faces multi-millionaire real estate developer Jim Pedersen)
BS if he thinks Jim bankrupt-Soroscrat Pedersen will win
"And monkeys could fly out of my butt."
Generic poll numbers always show Democrats ahead in house races. Dems have a lot of inner city districts they win 90-10. Republicans have a lot of suburban districts they win 70-30 or 55-45.
...What the hell is this guy talking about?
Here's what the left stands for: Censorship (if it offends Muslims), censorship on the airwaves (if they don't think they're getting enough time to present their views), censorship at our universities (cause they shouldn't have to present a conservative viewpoint), letting people hostile to Americans in the country, high priced lawyers for war criminals, raising taxes, using funerals for campaign rallies, eating steak and lobster at beach resorts while talking about the plight of the poor, banning guns in the face of rising crime rates, discrimination against our military personnel, discrimination against blacks and other minorities that disagree with them, and on and on...
At this point, I would have to say its going to be a draw or a slight democrat win. They have no plan and basically hate-America. The GOP is blessed by their opponents.
Another thing no one is talking about is that Cantwell (WA), Lieberman (CT), and now Akaka (HI) all have primary opponents. There is a GOP candidate that could take advantage of this in WA, I don't know about CT and HI.
>>>>>Much depends on whether the party more strongly embraces its core principles and otherwise behaves in a way that inspires its core voters to go to the polls in November.
In this case, core principles are conservative principles. If enough conservative decide to show up and vote, the GOP will probably hold onto power in Congress. If not, it will be a long two years for this President, his administration and the entire nation.
That's the Rat's problem. They don't run 'generic' candidates, they run moonbats.
And, of course, Terry Jeffers and his gang over at Human Events will be happy to tell the Republicans exactly what to do to get out their core voters.
The Abramoff "scandal" is overblown, the Democrats have no message and likely will STILL have no message in November, and the GOP is in the process of painting Democrats as a bunch of nasty, angry, petulant scolds who would use the occasion of a funeral to berate the President of the United States to his face.
Everybody needs to calm down.
If the Republocrats lose power they have only themselves to blame. If you will not govern conservatively, what the bloody hell did we elect you for?
and I hope they keep it up....easier wins for us!
Americans possibly voting for Democrats, GOP losing control of Congress and maybe the President getting impeached. John Gizzi has been around and has seen it all before. Pay attention to his warnings. Get out and vote, get your friends out to vote and when you all vote, vote for the most conservative candidate on the ballot.
Tradesports.com shows the GOP retaining control of Congress in a walk. But then, that was yesterday.
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