AP Story link

Charlie's amassed as much personal graft as he's ever likely to get, so why not bail out while the going is good? It's not like we're pulling back troops before the '06 election, and every serious political handicapper from Charlie Cook to Real Clear Politics, and dozens more, all say the House will stay in GOP hands---barely.

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Delivering tasty bite-sized Clues to liberals since 1965.

Perhaps it looks to him like the Crats are gonna win (c-o-c-k-iness has always been a major flaw with the Crats)...
or maybe he's just looking for a way to retire with a splash. The guy is old.

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That information is classified and to be given only on a need-to-know basis...

And I do not need to know.

they are dead as a party. I hope they lose though just because there will be one less extremist in office.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.

"Win" or "lose" all depends on where you set the bar. The Dems are gunning for control. But if they win only 14 of the 15 seats, did they "lose"? That'll be an odd thing for the Reps to claim victory on -- "we only got stomped, not destroyed!"

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Man up.

14 seats isn't a high number, especially when there are nearly three times more open repub than dem seats. Out of 435 seats 14 is about 3%, not particularly significant. If they can't get that many now they never will. The repubs got it in 1994 after all.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.

You leave out the effects of incumbency and gerrymandering. Every analysis I've read says Dems would have to practically run the table on "competitive" seats in order to retake the House. Now, maybe the GOP's troubles are creating more "competitive" seats than the analysts are seeing. But the raw numbers stopped mattering years ago once the politicians figured out how to draw safe districts.

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Man up.

I disagree they're dead as a party. Tantalyzingly cl.ose, to be sure, but nothing here is a given until the GOP holds veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate, and at least two more conservatives are on the Supreme Court.

They'll do reasonably well in '06 and by '08 when the bloodbath begins over Shrillery, we could see a fine chasm open up between the libs and the Dems' languishing-but-not-forgotten moderate wing. If this gap can be kept open until 2012, then yes, I'd say the Dems are then a dying party. Not before.

Losing people like Rangel and Cynthia McKinney---another pride and joy of the "Racially Tolerant Democrats (TM)"---will help not harm the Dems. They need another ouster like that slimy fool Tiny Tommy Daschle, the midget whom John Thune whipped like a rented dog when Tommy forgot where his home residence was.

Pelosi, Boxer, Reid, any one of them could use the boot. If it happens, the wedge will be there that the GOP can ride hard and long, well past 2012.

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Delivering tasty bite-sized Clues to liberals since 1965.

gerrymandering affected the dems positively in 1998 so I see why it would impact them negatively this election. That said, the repubs still have far more empty seats. If they can't win half of those, which is what they need to get control, in a time when dislike of what the repubs have done in the house is at an all time high then it will never happen. Repubs did it in a time when there was no war, no immigration bills and no high deficits.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.

The REAL question is what will he do if the Democrats gain say 5 seat?
Retire?..I bet not.


Does anyone really believe the Democrats are going to take control of either the House or the Senate?

Its August 2nd ..Besides some of the most moronic "plans" ever seen by mankind for Wars and the usual Bush Hate.....what are they running on??? what do they stand for??? WHAT is their purpose???

They have none....Ironically thats one thing the Far Left has achieved. They have made the Democrats as empty as them.

Well-said, though you're underestimating the news media, which is solidly against the GOP. They'll let the Dems lose Iraq and make it look like it was entirely Mr. Bush's fault.

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Delivering tasty bite-sized Clues to liberals since 1965.