Travis is a violent bully. On 11/1/10, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > I can think of 533 PoS's that I would like to help join the unemployment > line. I have a 2X4 handy too. > > On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 3:53 AM, Cold Water <[email protected]> wrote: > >> *Grim Dems await huge House losses* >> By: Alex Isenstadt >> October 31, 2010 04:53 PM EDT >> >> The last TV ads have been cut. The final polls have been conducted. The >> end-of-campaign expenditures are being made. >> >> Now, for Democratic consultants and campaign officials who have plotted >> and >> strategized for months to preserve the embattled House majority, there’s >> nothing left to do but sit and wait for the expected horrors of Election >> Day >> to unfold. >> >> There is nearly uniform consensus among Democratic campaign professionals >> that the House is gone — the only question, it seems, is how many seats >> they >> will lose. >> >> While few will say so on the record for fear of alienating party officials >> or depressing turnout, every one of nearly a dozen Democratic House >> consultants and political strategists surveyed expect a GOP majority to be >> elected Tuesday — the consensus was that Democrats would lose somewhere >> between 50 and 60 seats. >> >> A senior party consultant who was on the low end with his predictions said >> the party would lose between 40 and 50 seats. On the high end, one >> Democratic consultant said losses could number around 70 seats. >> >> All spoke to the grimness of the mood. >> >> “It sucks,” said Dave Beattie, a Florida-based Democratic pollster who is >> working on a slate of competitive House races and who acknowledges that >> the >> lower congressional chamber is lost. “I’m resigned to the fact that it >> sucks.” >> >> While there was optimistic talk within party circles early this month that >> the electoral environment was improving for the party, the operatives said >> those conversations don’t take place anymore. >> >> “If some Democratic consultant told you they are feeling better, they must >> have dropped some heavy drugs,” said a senior pollster who is working for >> candidates in competitive races. “It’s hard.” >> >> The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this week launched >> something of a last-ditch offensive to save some of its incumbents, >> purchasing airtime to defend endangered members like Iowa Rep. Dave >> Loebsack, Illinois Rep. Bill Foster and New Jersey Rep. John Adler — all >> of >> whom are highly vulnerable but whom party officials believe could >> ultimately >> prevail. >> >> The committee also sought to shore up incumbents who until recently were >> not thought to be in electoral peril: Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, Iowa >> Rep. >> Bruce Braley and North Carolina Rep. Mike McIntyre. >> >> Still, among those in the Democratic consulting class, there’s a gloomy >> acknowledgment that many of the incumbents the DCCC has spent millions of >> dollars to protect won’t be coming back to Congress. >> >> “Everybody that is tied will lose, and everyone that is ahead by a few >> points will lose because of the GOP wave,” said one party media consultant >> who is involved in a wide array of House races. “There are going to be >> some >> surprises.” >> >> Some strategists have resigned themselves to an election night that will >> bring an early end to the promising careers of Democrats they shepherded >> to >> victories in 2006 and 2008. >> >> “In a wave election, part of the problem is that you feel powerless. >> Everything I feel I know how to do, that I’m trained to do, I can’t do. >> And >> that feeling is pervasive,” said the pollster. “There’s a sense that >> there’s >> nothing you can do about it. When you know your friends are on the >> chopping >> block, it’s hard.” >> >> “There’s nothing worse than talking to an incumbent member of Congress >> who’s been cut off by the DCCC and who has no money,” said another >> Democratic consultant who has worked on crafting some of the party’s TV >> ads >> this cycle. “It’s like talking to a dead man walking.” >> >> But Nov. 2 will also bring a welcome end to a rough final stretch that >> left >> many party strategists frustrated. Some talked about having to switch >> campaign strategies multiple times in hapless attempts to raise >> rock-bottom >> poll numbers. >> >> “It’s a 24-hour labor,” said John Anzalone, an Alabama-based pollster who >> works closely with the DCCC. “In 2006 and 2008, everything was going your >> way. This is brutal.” >> >> There is ongoing debate within Democratic circles about when, exactly, the >> party lost its handle on the electoral environment. Some consultants say >> they realized they lost the House in early October, when it finally became >> apparent that incumbents couldn’t move their poll numbers. >> >> But others say the electoral map hardened this spring, after the House >> passed a health care bill that remains deeply unpopular among voters. >> Democratic campaign officials say it is no accident that there are few >> Democrats in moderate-to-conservative districts who have promoted their >> support for the health care measure on the campaign trail, and most don’t >> even acknowledge it. >> >> “To a lot of folks, it was a symbol of government,” said Beattie, the >> Florida-based pollster. “It’s not about the content for most voters.” >> >> Already, the finger-pointing is beginning. With outside conservative >> groups >> pouring millions of dollars into races across the country, some operatives >> singled out liberal interest groups for not engaging in the election. >> >> “If there’s one person to blame, it’s the liberal groups who said they >> would get involved early but they didn’t,” said the media consultant. “I >> think they’ve been totally unhelpful.” >> >> But, most of the consultants said, much of the post-election scrutiny >> would >> surround President Barack Obama and a White House political operation that >> over the past two years struggled to sell an ambitious agenda that turned >> out to be radioactive to a wide swath of the electorate. >> >> “Here’s the part of this that bothers me the most: This is not an >> embracing >> of Republicans. It’s a rejection of Democrats,” said Andrew Myers, a >> veteran >> Democratic pollster who worked on several House campaigns. >> >> http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=03A44CBF-0C07-448A-99CB09FC8163E166 >> >> -- >> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. >> For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >> >> * Visit our other community at >> http://www.PoliticalForum.com/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> >> * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. >> * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
-- Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. Have a great day, Tommy -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
