GOP insiders predict Repubs could easily lose 20 more Congressional seats - Political Forum

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 05-15-2008, 12:17 AM

GOP cancer: Party could lose 20 more seats - John F. Harris and Josh Kraushaar - Politico.com

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GOP cancer: Party could lose 20 more seats
By JOHN F. HARRIS & JOSH KRAUSHAAR | 5/14/08 8:09 PM EST

For the past 18 months, ever since the 2006 elections, congressional Republicans have been like a hospital patient trying to convince visitors that he is not really all that sick: a bit under the weather; actually feel better than I sound; should be up and about any day; thanks for asking.

Suddenly — belatedly — all pretense is gone.

The Republican defeat in Tuesday’s special election in Mississippi, in a deeply conservative district where, in an average year, Democrats cannot even compete, was a clear sign that the GOP has the political equivalent of cancer that has spread throughout the body. Many House GOP operatives are privately predicting that the party could easily lose up to 20 seats this fall.

Combined with the 30 seats that the GOP lost in 2006, that would leave the party facing a 70-vote deficit against Democrats in the House — a state of powerlessness reminiscent of Republicans’ long wilderness years in the 1960s and ’70s.

Things are not particularly more hopeful on the Senate side, where most analysts say Democrats have a strong chance of adding five or more seats to their current majority.

Panic and blame-casting for the dire condition were flowing in equal measures Wednesday inside the House Republican Conference and among party elders and operatives outside.

In the crossfire, there was a bracing new spirit of candor that has largely been missing since 2006, when many Republicans tried to convince the public — and perhaps themselves — that the defeat was the result of temporary setbacks, such as the House page scandal or bad headlines for Tom DeLay, rather than something more fundamental.

“The political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than the fall of 2006, when we lost 30 seats (and our majority) and came within a couple of percentage points of losing another 15 seats,” Rep. Tom Davis, a moderate Northern Virginia Republican who previously headed the National Republican Congressional Committee, wrote in a 20-page memo to colleagues.

Former Rep. Mickey Edwards, an Oklahoma Republican, said: “I don’t know that I have seen a year like this, ever. The general attitude toward Republicans is so bad nationally.”

By coincidence, the current NRCC chairman — Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the target of much finger-pointing for his strategy — got his start in politics as a young aide to Edwards. Like many in his party, Edwards said the GOP’s main hope for avoiding a blowout this fall rests in having candidates liberate themselves from their national party label and run on local issues.
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The only question now is: can Obama deliver the coup de grace on the Republican Party? If he fails, it will be pretty demoralizing for the Dems. I wonder if people would even want to be Democrat if working class white folks stay home and give the election to McCain. Perhaps liberals and blacks just won't show up in later elections for the Democrats.

GlobalSmiles · 05-15-2008, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W.E.B. Du Bois

GOP cancer: Party could lose 20 more seats - John F. Harris and Josh Kraushaar - Politico.com

The only question now is: can Obama deliver the coup de grace on the Republican Party? If he fails, it will be pretty demoralizing for the Dems. I wonder if people would even want to be Democrat if working class white folks stay home and give the election to McCain. Perhaps liberals and blacks just won't show up in later elections for the Democrats.

I think if he failed and the repubs held anything after all this it would be the biggest surprise since Truman over Dewey.

Largest national debt in history, unpopular war, and total lack of following the smaller government model of conservatives after 6 years of power? Yea, forget independents, I think many conservatives will be staying home.

colourislast · 05-15-2008, 01:28 PM

The “Republicans” in congress need to be shown the door for the piss poor performance since gaining the majority in the Senate. They should be sued for breech of contract for failing to uphold their end of “Contract With America.”

I believe that this will be one of the lowest turn out percentage and highest cross over percentage. Maybe the highest vote percentage for 3rd party candidates too. I predict McCain will win the presidency with less than 45% of the popular vote.