I honestly think the GOP is actively destroying its "momentum" for the mid-terms

[Godhumor]

I'm thrilled the GOP politicians don't seem to remember how badly shutting down the government and stone-walling under the leadership of The Newt failed. Somehow, I think they are currently turning off the vast majority of independents and moderates with their increasingly childish behavior and violent rhetoric.

Tying themselves to the increasingly unhinged (Which is saying something since it was never hinged in the first place) Tea Party movement is just the icing on a massive fail cake.

I have not only regained a lot of my confidence for the mid-terms, disregarding the statistically normal attrition for the controlling party, but my resolve to volunteer and contribute, which had been steadily waning in the past months, has also returned. I will now do everything in my power to keep the GOP miscreants from regaining power.

[601Liberal]

1. I will be very happy

November is my birth month and more Republican losses this year will make a great month-long celebration. BTW, Obama was elected on my birthday!

[WhiteTara]

13. well I hope you have the best birthday month

of your life! Welcome to DU :hi:

[wryter2000]

18. November is also my birth month

Although, I'm so old, I'm not sure they had months back then. :evilgrin:

Welcome to DU :hi:

[nenagh]

2. I am wondering whether some GOP amendments in the Senate

are crafted to provide sound bites to use against the Dems in the fall...

[Richardo]

5. They all are: "Senator [Dem] voted NO to prohibit pedophiles from getting Viagra."

{doom music}

On second thought, the voice over would probably say: "Senator <Dem> voted FOR giving Viagra to pedophiles."

[nenagh]

7. Thanks...

That makes my heart sink... :(

[Blue Meany]

10. They always do this but the Democrats rarely do...

If they did, they could be saying: "Your Senator voted to give contracts to gang-rapists; spoke out against prosecuting terrorists; favors hiking the cost of health-care; voted to give your tax money for Wall-Street bonuses; wants to legalize hard drugs and prostitution (he favors a free-market); wants to abolish medicare and social secuirty; voted to allow your employer to steal your pension; and wants to abolish public highways, libraries, parks, and schools (he's against socialism). Whose side is the maniac on? Yours or.... could it be, satan??????"

[nenagh]

Thanks again..

[wryter2000]

19. I think so

They're so ludicrous I'm not sure they'll be of much use, though.

Welcome to DU :hi:

[barbiegeek]

3. Could they actually be sick of being Corporate stooges?

I doubt it, but a wonderful world it would be.

[Bucky]

12. How can they get sick of hearing something they never get exposed to?

Trust me, the sound of our voices does not penetrate the castle walls.

[existentialist]

4. I kind of sense the same thing.

And I certainly hope that we are sensing correctly rather than just exercising wishful thinking.

The thread this morning on the apology by the man who threw the one dollar bills at the Parkinson's sufferer was a good sign.

I'd need to see a lot more good signs before I could feel certain, but I do feel hope--much more hope than I did one week ago.

[Godhumor]

6. One of the big things expected this mid-term is the enthusiasm gap

Between Republicans and Democrats. Even if independents still follow the normal split, I just do not see how the current behavior of the GOP does anything but resolve wavering Democrats to come out and vote. Maybe some wishful thinking in the amount the gap decreases, but, my God, the Republicans are demonstrating for the world to see why they should not be given any kind of majority power.

[existentialist]

14. Indeed, they are demonstrating to anyone who can make

a reasonably sane and independent assessment, why almost every one of them should be voted out of office.

[wryter2000]

20. Good point n/t

n/t

[tjwash]

8. The repug momentum crashed and burned when health care passed.

They went all in against health care reform, pulling every dirty trick and smear tactic in their bag that they could think of, to push it in to not passing, and betting every bit of political clout that they had, that if they stood firm against it, that this would be an exact repeat of 1994. Now they have failed miserably, and look like a vindictive, petty, party of assholes, instead of the "saviors of democracy" that they wanted to push themselves as in the Novembers, coasting to an easy majority if it would have failed.

They pretty much sealed their own fate, and alienated moderates and some conservative dems, and are left with a small fringe group of nutbags as their base now. They may grab a seat or 2 in November, but the Dem majority is pretty safe now.

[stubtoe]

21. Not only did their momentum crash, it became painfully obvious

how much they overplayed their hand. Plus also the 'bagger antics got extreme, and all the ugly was on display at last.

[TlalocW]

9. There's some looong months before the election

Anything could happen, but I agree that the republicans are currently grinding any momentum it had (real or imagined). For all the bluster (protests, conservative pundits, etc.) currently in the news, the Teabaggers belong to the insane 26% to 28% of the population, and even though they make up a larger percentage of republican voters, the GOP genuflecting to them while ignoring the rest of the country isn't going to help with votes. While we need to encourage this self-destruction, we also need to work on getting out the vote and overcoming any enthusiasm gap common in non-presidential election years.

TlalocW

[Bucky]

11. Actually, I think passing the law is what killed GOP momentum.

The opposition rhetoric was fueled by a fear of the unknown. Six months from now there will be less fear and more "Is that what we were worried about?"

[cbdo2007]

15. I agree with you. This bill itself was a big boost to Obama and the Dems...

and not even as much for the language and rules of the bill as much as just that it is a significant bill that everyone is supposed to be scared of but then it's really not that bad. Sure it isn't perfect for either side but Obama played the ball perfectly here - in October when Repubes complain about Obama and the health bill, the Dems will just point to all of the things in the Bill that were Republican ideas and show them as flip-flopping.

The election rhetoric will get even more desperate and it will show. They're just digging themselves a deeper hole because the moderate Repubes I know actually like this bill. So do the moderate Dems, it's the far right and far left who have problems with it due to it not being "perfect" for exactly what they want.

[wryter2000]

16. I think you're right

I may be an optimist, but it seems to me they have to be hurting them badly with this latest gimmick to slow things down. It's probably too early to see a swing in the polls, but I'll bet we get better numbers as we get closer to November.

I imagine we'll still lose some seats -- you can't maintain tidal waves like we saw in 2006 and 2008 -- but I think we'll still be in good shape after 2010.

[joeybee12]

17. That's the good thing about HCR...it's a crappy bill, and no

cheerleading changes that, but the good thing is that it's making Repuke heads explode.