Damn! I wish the elections were next week!
Of course, the dems keep sinking. A few additional months worth of sinking could be a good thing, but eventually they won’t be able to get any lower. At the same time, the republicans have some serious work to do. I don’t yet believe the electorate is in a place where the general angst among the voters and disapproval with the dems instantly translate to votes for republicans.
The republicans as a whole have yet to craft a unified, resonating positive message. The republicans badly need a leader that holds an elected office, who can rally people. I’m afraid the republicans could fall into the trap the dems were in during a large part of Bush’s presidency, trying to politically gain with negativity, rather than substance.
They won’t be able to win with a message of “Vote for me because those guys suck worse than I do”. There needs to be a leader and a positive message before the elections can truly be ‘nationalized’ and won if we are to have another ‘1994’. I have no idea who that could be. At this point, just about every ‘national’ republican “leader” I can think of inspires me to find a toilet and flush it. Seems like Cheney is the only one that can really go out there and kick some ass. The left, and 0bama are terrified of him.
Maybe not, but it certainly translates to votes against the Dems, so the GOP stands to be the beneficiary where third party candidates aren't a factor. Strong third party candidates could inadvertently be a life saver for the 'Rats. That should be a motivator for the GOP to nominate candidates who can attract Tea Party types and make it counterproductive for third party candidates to enter particular races.
I don't see any need for one particular GOP "leader" to emerge. This is not a presidential election. It's more dependent on issues than on personalities.