[Liz]

......Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton just hit a new low in 2008 support....only 26% nationwide say they'd definitely back her, while 41% say no way (all data from Rasmussen Reports.com, which accurately predicted the 2004 election).....

Thanks for making my day, Hillary

[Darkwolf377]

I was saying that the immigration issue would end up being a net-gain for the Republicans in 2006 because of people's kneejerk feelings about how the Republicans are the hardasses while the Dems are the soft, mommy party.

Recently USA Today had a poll about how Americans are more into "taking care of business at home" or whatever. It's a crap poll, and this article is the beginning of the REAL examination of the coming election. People simply never "tire" of protecting the country, and where immigration is concerned, the Dems have shot themselves in the foot by constantly calling this Administration--which has spent billions more on social issues than Clinton ever dreamed of--"without compassion" or whatever. The public believes it: They think Republicans are tough on immigrants and terror. Whether this is completely deserved, it's a reputation that shows how weak the Democrats are on both issues.

The Dems are on their way to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory again, and to losing to the "idiot" Bush, again.

[happyathome]

Well...maybe. But Conservative voters (at least in my circle) are equally unhappy with Republicans spending every dollar they have (and lots they don't). Where's the fiscal conservatism? They give the appearance of being a party that's been in power too long and become addicted to the trough.

[Right Wing Assault]

The Bush economy looks pretty good

That's classified information, Deborah! You may NOT release that without written permission from Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Don't you realize the damage such facts can do? Such irresponsibility in our news people!

[Talking_Mouse]

I live in New York (until the end of the month when I move to Tampa), where we still have a Mass in Polish and Spanish at my parish.

I was listening in astonishment to one of my yellow dog democrat coworkers say he has always supported immigration, but he was hurt by the fact that all the demonstrators carried the Mexican flag instead of Old Glory. He doesn't think he can support someone who is in favor of letting large numbers of people who love Mexico more than the U.S.A. be part of this nation.

He thinks he will have to find someone who will vote against "those people staying here" and if that means not voting for a Democrat, for the first time in his life, he will do so in 2006. The massive media coverage of the large rallies where people were not proudly flying the American flag, or even flying it upside down is having effects that the participants did not envision.

[Waco]

The RATS must be hoping the fuel prices will cripple the ecconomy fore Nov. Meanwhile every 2-3 weeks Howard Dean blows hard about how bad the ecconomy is under Bush. Actually he's plying a cruel hoax on the illegals, luring them in to suffer with the rest of us. Then, yelling AMNESTY, to trap them in all this misery forever. No? Oh well.

[sportutegrl]

How we can win in November: When asked how they voted, Republican voters should answer that they voted Democrat in polls taken after voting. That way the Dems will underestimate the number of votes they need to steal to win the election. (Yes, I'm cynical, I live in Pennsylvania).

[manwiththehands]

Republicans seem to have grasped that this is the post-Bush era so they're successfully decoupling themselves from Bush and snuggling up to the more popular Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain

Somehow this does not make me feel any better about the Republican party.

[tkathy]

The "can do" party can fix anything. The "do-nothing" party always makes things worse.

If the dims demagogue race, they will get a lot of their working class voters enraged.

[HHFi]

I knew this issue would be bad for the Dems when I saw comedian Carlos Mencia on "Mind of Mencia" on Comedy Central doing a monologue ripping the protesters to pieces. I figured if this is how it struck him, imagine how it looks to non-Hispanics. One of his lines: "I saw a lady on TV, saying, 'I am an American! Why can't Americans treat me like any other American?' I don't know, lady; maybe it's that f---in' MEXICAN FLAG in your hand!"

[PGalt]

Good people are connecting rapidly.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

That and if we played our cards right, we can pin the high oil prices on Democrats, too. They seem to stop any way of improving oil production.

The problem is we don't trust the Republicans to do a good job of pointing out the truth to consumers.

Some idiots will blame Bush for high oil prices.

[normy]

2 things hurt the Republicans right now, the borders and gas prices. If Congressional Republicans can forcefully make their case for border security first, not any guest worker program, and if gas could manage to drop down to 2.10 a gallon I think the Republicans would crush their opponents this year.

[Savage Beast]

There's rising Heartland rage over illegal immigration--and a variety of other issues: "eminent domain", open borders, litigation, government expansion, expansion of entitlement programs, et al., but this is the bottom line:

9/11 was never repeated--thanks to President G. W. Bush.

The Democrat Party is the political arm of the Left, and the Left is America's greatest and most dangerous enemy.

[Blake#1]

There are now 52 states in the USofA. (IE: Canada and Mexico) Traveling from Colorado to Utah is the same as traveling from Canada, Mexico, to California. They are all immigrants. Much retooling of National Laws has to be done. It takes time. LEARN TO LIVE WITH IN!

[finnman69]

The economy will likely be good come November, of course the drive by media will have swamped us with an avalanche of gas price crisis stories all summer, so consumer confidence will be lower as a result.

[Antoninus]

The GOP has to get right on illegal immigration--even if it means jettisoning the president on this issue--and 2006 will look a lot brighter.

Of course, there are intangibles. The first is, of course, the possibility of a full-blown conflict with Iran in the late summer/early fall.

The other intangible is an abortion ruling by the Supreme Court before the election. If it goes badly and the two new guys look more like Souters than Scalias, a lot of pro-life/social conservatives will abandon ship.

[Mike Darancette]

Notice how the Illegal Alien backers are back peddling as fast as they can on the planned May Day agitation

[jmaroneps37]

Said it before, I'll have to say it again WE are NOT GOING TO LOSE IN NOVEMBER!!!!! We will beat the evil rat and take some of HIS seats!

[Billthedrill]

I fret a little, frankly. The issue could help the Republicans because the backlash is enormous, but it won't if they fall into the same trap as the Dems, only shooting off their mouths and providing no programs, no solutions. Nobody wants to go out on a limb and buck the Dial-A-Riot that the activists have constructed because it makes for poor posing in front of the Beltway cameras, but if the Republicans don't do something about this they're ceding the issue to the shriekers, and the Dems are better shriekers.

[Redmen4ever]

It is, of course, early to put a whole lot of emphasis on the polls.

But, for what they are worth, it looks like we're ahead in NJ Senate race by about the same amount that they're ahead in the PA Senate race.

With or without poll numbers, we cannot be too confident about the RI Senate race.

They have possible pick-up opportunities in MO and OH, and we have possible pick-up opportunities in MD, MN and - if Tommy Thompson jumps into the race - WI.

I think this makes us just about even-up at this point.

There are, of course, other possibilities in the Senate races, but I have restricted myself to the most obvious. In the interest of time, I'll say the same thing is true for the Governor races, and that it too early to say anything about the House.

Assuming, as I do, good news on the economic front, and not terrible news on the war front, from here to election day, and I'd say I like our chances.