For Democrats, Even a Gain May Feel Like a Failure

NYSLIMES ^ | Nov.7, 2006 | ADAM NAGOURNEY

[txroadkill]

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 — In most midterm elections, an out-of-power party picking up, say, 14 seats in the House and five seats in the Senate could call it a pretty good night.

But for Democrats in 2006, that showing would mean coming up one seat shy of taking control of both the Senate and the House. And it would probably be branded a loss — in the case of the House, a big one.

For a combination of reasons — increasingly bullish prognostications by independent handicappers, galloping optimism by Democratic leaders and bloggers, and polls that promise a Democratic blowout — expectations for the party have soared into the stratosphere. Democrats are widely expected to take the House, and by a significant margin, and perhaps the Senate as well, while capturing a majority of governorships and legislatures.

These expectations may well be overheated. Polls over the weekend suggested that the contest was tightening, and some prognosticators on Monday were scaling back their predictions, if ever so slightly. (Charlie Cook, the analyst who is one of Washington’s chief setters of expectations, said in an e-mail message on Monday that he was dropping the words “possibly more” from his House prediction of “20-35, possibly more.”)

[txroadkill]

Dems preparing for a let down--

Some Democrats worry that those forecasts, accurate or not, may be setting the stage for a demoralizing election night, and one with lasting ramifications, sapping the party’s spirit and energy heading into the 2008 presidential election cycle.

[onyx]

bump

[Steven W.]

that's because even if they win Bush is still POTUS and will introduce them to the veto pen.

[EagleUSA]

The Dems have already sealed their fate by virture of WHAT AND WHO THEY ARE -- which the world can CLEARLY see now. Even if they do take a chamber by a narrow margin, they are still going down, IMHO. They will be taken down by patriotic, American conservatives and by virtue of their own being...

[Paleo Conservative]

They just need to drink more Koolaid.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Dems started setting this up two weeks ago when Mark Maxi Shields said regardless of the outcome the Bush Era is over because the Republicans who win will realize they did so by distancing themselves from the President.

[bfree]

Democrats love failure. They know everything about it.

[VOA]

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...

I hope that's the take home message for the performance of the
Democratic Party by early Wednesday morning.

[txroadkill]

Best quote ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Cook put it more succinctly. “I think you’d see a Jim Jones situation — it would be a mass suicide,” he said.

 

[ShakinItUpHereBoss]

here is a list of some of the biggest garbage:
chris matthews
chris matthews
chris matthews

[gaijin]

anything less than complete victory is failure to them because they naturally think everything about government BELONGS to them.,P> Same thing with OUR money --they think they're sort of LENDING IT BACK to us.

Same thing with tax cuts; "the government can't 'AFFORD' it.."

[goldstategop]

The Drive Bys and the pollsters are backpeddling already. Meanwhile, Mark Steyn still hasn't changed his mind about tomorrow's verdict.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[Alberta's Child]

I saw an interesting comment on a news show tonight. I don't know if this is true or not, but one of the election "experts" pointed out that not only does the party out of power tend to pick up a lot of seats in the 6th year of a presidency -- but a scenario in which the party out of power only gained control of ONE house of Congress has never occurred before.

If the Democrats are already writing off their chances of winning the Senate (see Schumer's comments this afternoon), then their odds of winning the House might be less than most of us think, too.

[gaijin]

George Bush VETO something? To date he has vetoed exactly ONE thing. Just one.

[RichInOC]

For Democrats, Even a Gain May Feel Like a Failure

You know, win or lose tomorrow, I don't feel the least bit bad for them. Anybody else?

[KoRn]

I'd give anything to see the reaction of all of the rabid dems in the office on the morning after if they come up short. Those people have been living for this election all year. They are more emotionally invested in this than they were in 2004. In a way I feel sorry for them on some levels. I can't imagine what life must be like for someone when what politicians that are in office dictates the mood of my personal and social life.

Having said that, I'm hoping for lots of PEST tomorrow on their side hehe.

[kittymyrib]

One thing we can depend on. If the libs take the House by even one seat, the NYSlimes will be screaming that the Republicans have to let the Democrats have everything on their agenda "in the spirit of bipartisanship" because they have a "mandate" from the voters. Gag.

[RasterMaster]

Since they've been campaigning against GWB, it will be a let-down for the DUmmies (besides losing congress again) that he will still be President.

[bigbob]

Democrat Pre-election Toolkit:

1. Suicide Watch
2. MSNBC channel-lock
3. Wingnut buddies
4. Political hacksaw
5. Hari Kerry knife
6. Expectation deflator
7. Hanging chad remover
8. Bush-whacking hammer
9. DNC burial shovel
10. And a great big bottle of WHINE

[ShakinItUpHereBoss]

Mark Levin is GOD!