Maybe it has something to do with Diebold machines: “White House Upbeat About GOP Prospects”
Amid widespread panic in the Republican establishment about the coming midterm elections, there are two people whose confidence about GOP prospects strikes even their closest allies as almost inexplicably upbeat: President Bush and his top political adviser, Karl Rove.“Inconceivable” fills me with a kind of humorous dread, like that guy in “The Princess Bride.”
Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are bracing for losses of 25 House seats or more. But party operatives say Rove is predicting that, at worst, Republicans will lose only 8 to 10 seats -- shy of the 15-seat threshold that would cede control to Democrats for the first time since the 1994 elections and probably hobble the balance of Bush's second term.
In the Senate, Rove and associates believe, a Democratic victory would require the opposition to "run the table," as one official put it, to pick up the necessary six seats -- a prospect the White House seems to regard as nearly inconceivable.
Extra – Scott Elliott has updated his Election Projection and it’s looking pretty blue. Can the GOP bounce back? It’s been said in some circles that John Kerry’s bid for the presidency was derailed when people actually thought about him in the White House. Turn back now, America! Speaker Pelosi! Boo!
3 comments:
Presumably the Diebold reference is meant as a joke, but it's a joke that bites both ways. The GOP has defined itself entirely about winning, and therefore if you vote for the winners, you're a winner too.
That act works so long as you, you know, win. Once the GOP absorbed an almost unbroken two-year string of losses, the hollowness of their position was exposed. Don't kid yourself, either. The winner who becomes a loser is a big turn-off to voters. Petards have a funny way of being hoisted.
Yes, the Republicans have damaged themselves by acting not like Republicans but like those determined to hold onto power no matter what.
The Dems, on the other hand, will have to restrain themselves from acting like Dems of the 70s-80s if they get power or people will remember why they became Republicans.
My guess is that the Dems will win, will believe it's because the American public really wants to return to the 70s and be clobbered in 2008. But it's just a guess.
Maybe next month's midterms will be an anomalous butt-shredding for the ages, but don't wager the baby's milk money on it. Neither party has been "clobbered" at the election booth in some time.
Bush originally took office despite losing the popular vote (a very obscure fact, rarely mentioned since). But by parlaying his incremental advantages very skillfully, he turned that into a dominant legislative window for the GOP.
He tried the same sleight of hand again, after yet another not-too-staggering win in 2004 (the hubris-clogged "I intend to spend my political capital" threat). But the second time around, the Dems didn't roll over begging for the king's leniency. And... surprise, surprise... that unstoppable historic 51% mandate sprung a few dozen leaks.
As for your "2008 all-red wipeout" guess... surely you also called the presumptive '06 results dead on two years ago, right?
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