"Independent is code for left wing leaning Dem."
No, it is not.
Just do the math.
35% Republican registration.
35% Democrat registration.
The other 30% are Independents.
If what you said were true, Republicans would be in a hopeless minority everywhere, every election.
But they are not.
They aren't because Independents are independent.
They don't like either party enough to join.
They vote the way they think is best.
Tonight, they voted against the Republicans.
In 2004, 2002 and 2000, they voted with them.
If they were left wing leaning Dem, the Republicans would never have any hope.
Republicans cannot win relying on just Republicans. They have to have broader appeal.
Oh please...these are morons that call themselves the oxymoronic "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" label.
Your statistics are a broad view and totally ignore the district by district and state by state logistics.
You have posted some of the best common sense on here tonite.
We live in a democratic republic folks, and the people have given control to the other party. They want some offsetting of the president, and I would be willing to bet it wasn't about immigration, or gas prices, or anything else like that. It's been about what has been dominating everything they have seen since 2003. It's ALL ABOUT IRAQ. I don't agree with them, and we could complain about Bush not doing this, or the media doing a lot of that, but the fact is that we have historically been an isolationist country. We find it hard to sustain an internationalist attitude for very long.
Bush is smart enough to know this. The majority of the troops will have to be home in 12 months. The problem for the Democrats is two-fold: who will you run in 08, and what will be your issues?
The economy is good, and both parties get the raspberry from the public on things like immigration and such...
Meanwhile, the image of the conservative has been of inflexible and judgmental people. That's why Foley, Weldon, the adulterous preachers, etc. hits a note with the INDEPENDENTS. The Dems turned out...but the close races were lost because the Indies went against us.
I know this isn't probably the right time to say this, but it's why we need to take a second look at Rudy in 08...
All liberal MSM is where a lot of people get their news and information. What people read, see and hear all the time affects them, it's a law of nature.