For Democrats, Wave Is Building

Washington Post ^ | 7/16/06 | Thomas E. Mann

[Coop]

There's probably no way congressional Republicans can lose this fall, no matter how unpopular President Bush is or how unhappy the voters are with the war in Iraq. That's the prevailing view in Washington today.

But it's wrong.

If history is any guide, we're heading into a major political storm. And that means we could see a national tide in November that will sweep the Democrats back into the majority.

Virtually every public opinion measure points to a Category 4 or 5 hurricane gathering...

But many analysts have noted the absence of strategic behavior on the part of the Democrats, who have failed to recruit good candidates and have allowed the Republicans to maintain a fundraising advantage...

Over the past year, the Cook Political Report has increased the number of Republican seats it considers highly vulnerable from two to 10, and those it considers somewhat vulnerable from 16 to 25. Eighteen others are potentially vulnerable. That's a total of 53 GOP seats at risk, double the number of a year ago. During the same period, the number of competitive Democratic seats declined from 14 to 10;, while the total number of Democratic seats at risk remained at 21...

[Prodn2000]

You are so dang funny! I can, however, spell the state in which I reside.

[nopardons]

LOL

[nopardons]

It was a typo.

Okay, WHAT state do YOU live in? Come on, don't lie, where DO you live?

[Prodn2000]

For the Connecticut democrat primary, Ned Lamont is polling pretty close to even with Joe Lieberman. Lieberman has angered both democrats in his state and nationally because of his close working relationship regarding WOT issues with the president and Congress. Joe Lieberman is very liberal on most issues, and has been for a very long time.

[Prodn2000]

Is Iraq not a central front on the war on terror?

[nopardons]

And you CCPed THAT wee tidbit from where, exactly? :-)

WHICH STATE DO YOU LIVE IN?

Come on, don't be shy and please, don't lie. We all want to know...so fess up

WHAT STATE DO YOU LIVE IN?

[mrsmith]

Thomas E Mann

2006: "we could see a national tide in November that will sweep the Democrats back into the majority. "

2002: "that tide might produce a tipping effect all moving in one direction that could leave us with one party gaining seats in the House, the Senate, and the governorships. Obviously if that ripple develops I believe it will be generated by economic anxieties and work to the advantage of Democrats. If that happened that means a larger Democratic majority in the Senate. It means the pickup of potentially five to seven or eight Democratic governorships including some large Midwestern states. And it even means the potential of a Democratic majority in the House."

[Prodn2000]

My job keeps me in Texas, some of my family resides in Bridgeport. I am very familiar with Connecticut.

[nopardons]

Bridgeport? ICK!

Oh gee, a Texan, who assumes that he knows all about Conn. politics, just because some part of his family lives there. They're Dems, I suppose and you just CCPed a bit of the KOOK part of the Dem talking points.

That's all I need to know about you!

[Prodn2000]

They are not dems, and I am not a Texan.

[Just A Nobody]

Not so sure about Hastert these days.

[John Lenin]

The Long Dark Night of the Democrats

Would that it were so, but the Democrats are nonpareil at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Against historical odds, they managed to lose seats in the last midterm election; in the middle of an unpopular war, holding to positions that most American voters disapproved of, embarrassed in all three Presidential debates, Bush nonetheless outpolled the doleful Kerry in 2004. Can the Democrats pull off an encore, and once again make Karl Rove look like a genius?

You bet they can, for any number of reasons.

To start with, all the levers of power are in the hands of the GOP. The White House. The Senate. The House. The chairmanships of each and every Congressional committee. So that Republicans, day in and day out, exercise total control of the controllable political agenda. No legislation can even be considered unless Republicans allow it to be considered. No legislation has the remotest chance of passing without GOP support. For all intents and purposes, every Democrat in the Congress wakes up powerless every day.

For one, consider the no-win dilemma that Iraq presents for Democrats. As loyal Americans, as decent human beings, recognizing the hugeness of the stakes, Democrats have to hope as fervently as anyone else for an end to sectarian violence and the restoration of stability in the country. And if these good and desirable results come to be, who stands to gain politically? It gives new meaning to the phrase "between a rock and a hard place".

Next up, who speaks for the Democrats? Is it the defeated candidates Gore and Kerry, the former reborn and the latter a reborn wannabe? Is it lightning-rod Hillary, whose nomination would split this country like nothing since the Civil War? Is it Murtha, the latest war hero to have his patriotism impugned by flag-waving chicken hawks? Is it the rising star Obama, or Warner or Richardson or Bayh or Biden?

The hard truth is that nobody speaks for the Democrats: there is no acknowledged party leader, no person to whom deference must be paid, no person around whom Democrats can be counted upon to rally.

[Coop]

So you just contradicted yourself. Fascinating!

[Coop]

Is Iraq not a central front on the war on terror?

You tell me.

[Coop]

embarrassed in all three Presidential debates, Bush nonetheless

I don't know who the heck wrote this or what debates they were watching, but Kerry got his arse kicked in two of three. The only reason he "won" the first is because Bush did a lousy job on delivery.

[lentulusgracchus]

[Maelstorm] Yes they had better.

Yeah, yeah, yeah -- conservatives can't do anything but gratefully settle for crumbs from the groaning board of the Business Wing of the GOP, while the feast roars on at Manor Bush.

Dog, come here and nibble this biscuit. Then lick my hand, and acknowledge my mastery.

Give me a break.

[Coop]

Oh, Princess, you're breaking my heart! Woe is you!!

[John Lenin]

I agree, Bush lost the first one but stood even or won the last two.

[MrEdd]

First you beat the other team. Then you work on improving your own.

Nope.
Before the season (during the primaries) you work on improving your team.
During the season (November elections) you beat the other teams.

[jazusamo]

Yeah, I know what you mean. That flap over Jefferson's office search was a shocker to me. Looks like the courts have and will continue to shoot them down, thank goodness.