On the Defensive
By Charlie Cook, National Journal
Republican Party apparatchiks have dutifully maintained a stiff upper lip in recent weeks, arguing that nothing was really wrong, that next year's election won't be too bad, and that their party will suffer only a few random losses in the House and Senate.
They took solace in the relatively large number of seats (six) needed by Democrats to secure control of the Senate. And in the House, they were comforted by the fact that the playing field has shrunk considerably because of redistricting, and that the enhanced protection of incumbency would provide the necessary cushion needed if 2006 turned out to be a bad year.
But that has all changed now, and the question being asked in party circles is "Just how bad do you think it will be?"
The GOP's growing fear was most ably recorded by First Read, the daily political newsletter published by NBC's talented political unit. It quoted an unnamed "longtime GOP strategist with strong Bush credentials" as saying that Republican operatives have had "both arms around the toilet bowl" in recent days, a rather vivid image that is consistent with my recent conversations with GOP consultants and strategists.
http://www.govexec.com/...
Comments: this short article is literally short on specifics and long on generalities. Cook is deservedly shit listed on this site (see that August column which is anything but august) and is, despite claims to nonpartisanship, a Republican leaner. But that is what makes his sense of Republican erosion in seemingly safe states and districts poignant- until a week or two ago his columns kept on saying that too many states and House districts were out of reach for Democrats. Which was technically true but assumed that moderate Republicans would tolerate another year of the sort their side has had.
This column is an admission that Republicans are considering holding onto seats in Blue States as a lost cause already and are now sensing swing state seats (and with it, majority) drifting away.