Gephardt Eyes Massive Gains: Party Could Pick up 40 House Seats

Roll Call ^ | 7/18/02 | Ethan Wallison

[hopespringseternal]

Do a little investiation on how incumbents have been dong in the primaries and then get back to us about whether or not Gephardt has reason to expect some major congressional shifts....

Do enlighten us.

I expect the dems will eventually retake congress, if not this election then the next. I think republicans are too timid to present any message other than "We aren't as bad as the democrats say we are." The one bright spot is that Gephardt and Daschle seem to have a gift for shooting themselves in the foot, but republicans have not capitalized on D&G mistakes either.

[LarryLied]

Remember in 1998 when Dick Morris and others were predicting a 30 to 50 seat gain for the GOP? I bought the idea we would pick up, maybe not that many, but some seats.

Republicans lost seats and almost lost the House.

Counting on a scandal to win didn't work in 1998 when we had real scandals and it won't work in 2002 under a war time president with the highest approval ratings in polling history.

[hchutch]

Not quite. These orders came before a battle where we were outnumbered, outgunned, and as a result, probably had to right to even think of winning the battle as big as we did. Furthermore, after we scored big points, the commander in charge of our forces WITHDREW, and ultimately let the other side get away.

It might sound wimpy on the surface, but it is a VERY good plan for dealing with a situation where we are outgunned in a crucial aspect. We need to fight where we have the advantage in a media fight, and in areas where they are vulnerable, but we should not risk valuable political assets in the process.

Right now, people are paying more attention to Men in Black II, backyard barbeques, and that sort of thing as opposed to politics. We ought to get it out that four SEC members have nominations pending, plus we have a lot of obstructionism going on in the Senate. We need to get some comments about the obstructionism out, and we need to pass something about corporate crooks - but keep it to a minimum. The Dems have always used this, and it will fire up their base. We need to defuse that ticking time bomb, and then go after Corzine and McAuliffe.

[cmak9]

Republicans = logic only

Democrats = emotion only

Generally speaking anyway. I don't know why it is this way, but I really think it is. That is why Republicans are usually preferred to prosecute a war.

[justshutupandtakeit]

One can never overestimate the stupidity of the American electorate which wants it yesterday and more of it. The continued existence of the DemocRATic party after 200 yrs of fraud, corruption, treachery and criminal conspiracy brings into serious doubt the continued existence of the Republic.

How many parties of Virtue has the party of Vice laid in their graves?

[EternalVigilance]

Right now, people are paying more attention to Men in Black II, backyard barbeques, and that sort of thing as opposed to politics.

Call it one of those paradoxes of life. On the one hand, 111 days is forever in politics...alot can and will happen in that time period. On the other hand, it is no time at all.

We have to fight the fight day by day, no matter who may or may not be paying attention...every vote counts; but just as importantly, we have to have strategies in place that prepare us to hit them with evey thing we have in September and October. Any bullet that isn't expended on November 6th has been wasted.

[GraniteStateConservative]

The following congressman have lost primaries this year:

Gary Condit (D-Calif.), 54, 10 terms
Tom Sawyer (D-Ohio.), 62, 8 terms
Brian Kerns (R-Ind.), 44, 1 term
Frank Mascara (D-Pa.), 72, 4 terms
Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.), 60, 5 terms

[SerpentDove]

>>I agree. That's another reason it's so sad that the GOP leadership has hammered the base in so many areas for the last two years. <<

Agreed. I have voted in EVERY major election (for Republicans) since I was of age. I am weighing very seriously whether I will vote in this one. As I am feeling right now, George W. Bush can kiss my *** and can go straight to HELL (politically speaking of course.) I really don't see me voting this time (and I don't say that lightly...)

(Everyone may begin shrieking hysterically now...)

[SerpentDove]

BTW --- REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ALIKE would like to slap that stupid smirk off GWB's FACE!!!

[GraniteStateConservative]

And another was Gary Condit (D-CA). And how many GOP incumbents lost to other Republicans? I simply don't see how this equates to a shift agains the Pubbies.

By defintion of what a primary is, any GOP incumbent who loses in a primary loses to another Republican.

[dodger]

The Republicans should also be hammering Senator Chris Dodd EVERY DAY UNTIL THE ELECTION. He personally led the moves that gutted accountancy standards at the height (depths, truly ...) of the Clinton years while milking the industry for humongo $$$. Also, where is any scrutiny of CORPORATE LAWYERS who conspired on all this???

[cousair]

Gephardt should be exposed himself and the GOP better get on the jabs in the press soon, or they will be booted out. Gephardt almost got dumped himself the last election in Missouri, where he doesn't even live, I might add. He keeps an address there where his mother used to live. She is now elsewhere in a nursing home. Gephardt keeps Mo. as his state, because he has the dummy Demorats there who keep JUST putting him in office. He uses anything he can to stay in office, legal or not. His last election saw his numbers WAY down. He is un American and has hurt this country in a million ways.

[EternalVigilance]

I won't shriek hysterically...but I will urge you to find some conservative candidates around the country to support...there are some good ones out there.

Anything else is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Regards,
EV

[Coop]

Thanks. Then I guess McKinney (D-GA) will be number six if/when she goes down. So Demidog's calculations were just ever-so-slightly off.

[Coop]

(Everyone may begin shrieking hysterically now...)

Why should we? You beat us to the punch.

[CPT Clay]

I disagree, Kirk's close ties with the Clintons don't sit well with Bubba.

[Coop]

By definition of what a primary is, any GOP incumbent who loses in a primary loses to another Republican.

Umm, that was a joke. A poor one, obviously. I was trying to say that folks knocking off one another, in both parties' primaries, does not translate (in my mind) to a Dem advantage. Guess I was typing too quickly. :-)

[pepsionice]

OK boys...its time to bring Newt back. Let's admit it, he knew how to get the public interested in the party and he knew how to use the media to their advantage.

[StriperSniper]

Yesterday (late morning I think) during one of C-SPAN's breaks in floor coverage little dickie was giving a press conference where he accused the pubbies of using a technicality to delay action on some bill. He kept saying "They do this all the time".

The 'technicality' he was talking about was the CONSTITUTION!

[EternalVigilance]

We have a deep bench...no need to bring back Newt.

There are thousands of great new voices and faces waiting in the wings, if we have the will to get them out there, by every means at our disposal.