Democrats Predict Win in 2006 Elections

Oh woe is us! Predictions this August abound that the GOP will lose control of Congress; either the House of Representatives, the Senate, or God forbid BOTH!

Even Larry Sabato, a Political Scientist for whom I have the utmost respect, is getting into the act. His site, Sabato's Crystal Ball is a must read for political analysts along with The Cook Political Report which echoes similar forebodings.

And of course the lamestream media is only too happy to trumpet these opinions in the hopes that GOP supporters will stay home, stop contributing and admit defeat.

Examples of lamestream media glee can be found here:

In USA Today: "A battle for control of the most closely divided Congress in 70 years enters its final and decisive phase... But for many voters, the economy appears to have eclipsed terrorism as a top concern. And that has made Democrats more optimistic than they have been in months"

From the Associated Press: "President Bush's vigorous campaigning to elect Republicans in November could make the elections a referendum on his presidency.

Bush has been more active than most presidents in the midterm election cycle. He has personally recruited candidates, raised millions of dollars and traveled to dozens of states in an effort to help the GOP...

'If Republicans lose ground in the House and Senate, it'll be a major embarrassment to him,' said Gilbert St. Clair, political science professor at the University of New Mexico."

Ryan Lizza, of the New Republic: "The danger for Bush is that the more time he spends politicking out in the country, the more the... election results will be interpreted as about him.

[In] states Bush carried or where his candidates enjoy incumbency, he has already lost the expectations game in these races. If Republicans win all of them, it will be a significant victory for him, but losing any one will be considered a giant defeat."

Steve Neal, Chicago Sun-Times, "Fate may smile on Democrats,": "From all indications, this fall's midterm elections should confirm the Judis-Teixeira thesis... They could win back the House on Nov. 5 and are favored to win key governorships. For the Democrats, happy days may be here again. "

There's just one problem. As Jim Geraghty points out, all those expert opinions were in August 2002, just weeks before an unprecedented wave of GOP victories in both the House and the Senate, which were also matched and unexpected in 2004 when President Bush was re-elected with the largest number of votes ever cast for a Presidential candidate. And included in those votes were increasing numbers of women, Hispanics, Black and Jewish voters who previously were thought of as Democrat leaning.

Yes, the conventional wisdom is that after six years of Democrat's unrelenting negativity, that many voters are just tired of it all and can't think beyond the simple solution to let Democrats take control of the House and Senate in the final two years before the 2008 Presidential election.

I'm sure Nancy Pelosi is already secretly looking at fabric swatches for the drapes she wants in the Office of Speaker of the House. That should be enough to scare just about every Republican into electoral overdrive. But here's icing on the cake: Charles Rangel, Democrat Representative from Harlem, NY has said he will resign if Dems fail to take over the House. Rangel is counting on a Dem win to make him Chairman of the all important tax writing House and Ways Committee. Many of us find Charlie an entertaining character, but who wants him deciding our tax policy? Can you say "soak the rich" and that means YOU!