**My take...their polls were showing that they were slipping to the CONSERVATIVES and their seats (ie., jobs) were/are in jeopardy**
Your analysis seems totally coherent to me. The dims are in trouble and they know it!
In SwPa. the biggest voting block is the elderly...most are Roman Catholic. They used to just automatically vote Dem. But now, thanks to cable, talk radio, and the inherent intelligence of these voters, they are actully paying attention and realizing that they have been voting for people who support partial birth abortion and gay marriage, etc., and that they (the voters) oppose such based on their faith. The Dems are running scared...here even in the local state level seats. They can't run from their voting records...so the have to try to justify them.