Dems' chances of winning a majority of the House are improving rapidly

[Douglas Carpenter]

First I must STRONGLY recommend the website Donkey Rising. It is the website of Ruy Teixeira author of The Emerging Democratic Majority. It's an excellent resource to find out about changes in voting patterns and competitiveness of various races.

I must warn by fellow left-leaning Democrats that Mr. Teixeira is definitely a "centrist" type. But he is NON-demagogic about it and has come out very strongly against those who are:

link:

http://www.emergingdemocraticmajorityweblog.com/donkeyrising/

"In today's WaPo, the Michael D. Shear and Dan Balz article "Growing Number of GOP Seats In Doubt: Vulnerability Seen In Unusual Places," should gladden the spirits of Dem leaders looking toward November. The authors note:

Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of a political newsletter, now has 42 Republican districts, including Drake's, on his list of competitive races. Last September, he had 26 competitive GOP districts..."That's a pretty significant increase," he said. "The national atmospherics are making long shots suddenly less long."
As Balz and Shear explain, link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/19/AR2006051901921_2.html

"Incumbents' poll numbers have softened. Margins against their Democratic opponents have narrowed. Republican voters appear disenchanted. The Bush effect now amounts to a drag of five percentage points or more in many districts. The changes don't guarantee a Democratic takeover by any means, but they are creating an increasingly asymmetrical battlefield for the fall elections: The number of vulnerable Democratic districts has remained relatively constant while the number of potentially competitive Republican districts continues to climb."

And MyDD's Jonathan Singer reports more good news for the DCCC:
link: http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/5/20/23247/5999
"As of Friday, Cook (.pdf) rates 75 seats as potentially competitive, of which the GOP must defend 55 (or 73 percent, up from 68 percent the previous week). Among the seats that could become competitive this year, Cook sees 46 as already competitive, with Republicans defending 36 (or 78 percent, up from 69 the previous week). Within the races that are today competitive Cook rates 12 as "toss-ups," with the GOP defending 11 (or 92 percent, up from 82 percent the previous week).
Clearly, the Dems' chances of winning a majority of the House are improving rapidly and better than" "

Again the be sure and bookmark the website and check it regularly if you are interested in keeping up on these things:


http://www.emergingdemocraticmajorityweblog.com/donkeyrising/
____________________________

If the Democrats take the House this November

10 members of the Progressive Caucus would become chairmen of committees

John Conyers becomes Chairman of the Judiciary Committee

Even a vote for a conservative Dem is a vote for Conyers and the 10

https://www.democrats.org/page/contribute

[billybob537]

1. How many congress people will LOSE

becouse they're under investigation or Indictment?

[Skink]

2. Starting in Nov. they can start blaming us for stuff.

Yipee!

[Douglas Carpenter]

3. considering the alternative...it's still something to be exited about

[sutz12]

4. Complacency and overconfidence are our biggest enemy.

No matter how good it looks, we need to keep working.

:kick:

[Scoody Boo]

5. That is what I keep saying...

The largest force behind Bush's freefalling numbers is that to a lot of Republicans HE IS NOT CONSERVATIVE ENOUGH. The Democrats will be making a huge mistake if they assume that those voters are automatically going to jump on the Democratic side. Never assume anything. In 2004 we assumed more Republicans hated Bush than actually did.

[calimary]

6. K & R!

And we absolutely MUST keep this drumbeat going.

Thoughts are things.

This can become self-fulfilling.

Remember what Nancy Reagan said - in warning to then-White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan, whom she disliked for not giving good service to her darling Ronnie: "People are talking."

THAT'S what we need, though. We need people to be talking. This needs to be said, read, and SPREAD!

The more likely we will make it true.

That's how public opinion is influenced, and turned.

That's how the tipping point is reached.

That's how we actualize and realize our vision.

Besides, the more the bad guys hear it, and the more of them start wavering, the more of them will be discouraged and stay home on election day. Nobody likes to side with a loser. That makes THEM feel like losers, themselves. It makes them seem wrong. And nobody likes to be proven wrong.

Further, this may well add to the demoralization factor of the enemy. They're spoiled by now, accustomed to living, and running things, and calling the shots, a certain way. Now that way isn't working anymore and the wind isn't at their backs anymore. Neither is Lady Luck. And we should aim for this. Because the more demoralized they are, the greater the setback, and the longer it'll take them to recover. The goal should be to beat the snot out of them to such an extent that they're set back for a generation or more. And we'll need every minute of that time. Because that's how long it's gonna take to fix what they've broken and restore what they've stolen and healed everything they've wounded. The farther they're set back, the better for our poor, battered nation, AND its utterly desecrated Constitution.