G.O.P. Seeks to Widen Field of Play in Fall Elections

[TomCADem]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — Republicans are luring new candidates into House and Senate races, and the number of seats up for grabs in November appears to be growing, setting up a midterm election likely to be harder fought than anyone anticipated before the party’s big victory in Massachusetts last week.

Republicans still face many obstacles, not least a number of potentially divisive primaries in coming months that will highlight the deep ideological rifts within the party. But in the days since Republicans claimed the Senate seat that Edward M. Kennedy had held for decades, upending assumptions in both parties about the political landscape for 2010, they have seen not just a jolt of energy and optimism but also more concrete opportunities to take on Democrats.

Just since Tuesday, half a dozen Republicans have expressed interest in challenging Democrats in House races in New York, Pennsylvania and potentially Massachusetts, party officials said.

“I think it was inspiring and gave voice to a lot of people,” said Mike Fitzpatrick, a former one-term Republican congressman from the Philadelphia suburbs who announced on Saturday that he would try to reclaim his old seat from Representative Patrick J. Murphy, a Democrat.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/us/politics/25elect.html?hp

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With the corporate media exploiting every bit of daylight between liberals and progressives, and the Supreme Court decision, it will be very tough to retain control of either the Senate or the House.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. Most times, politics is local.

It isn't easy to upend incumbents. What may happen is that certain constituencies will have low turnouts that will in turn put undesirables in office.

[mac56]

2. The party in the White House traditionally loses some seats in the midterm election.

I don't think it'll be the bloodbath that many are predicting.

[AlinPA]

3. IMO, the post-SCOTUS ruling will have the corporations spending billions for republicans just on

the house races. On senate races, probably in the hundreds of millions per seat where required. Without that ruling I would agree with you.

[No Elephants]

4. Daylight between liberals and progressives? What the hell does that even mean?

Give me a break. There's daylight between liberals/progressives, on the one hand, and center right Democrats and Purple Snakes, on the other hand.

What I see the media exploring these days, especially since Brown won in Massachusetts, is the gap between what most Americans want from their government and how D.C. has been behaving.

But, go ahead, blame liberals for how out of touch the corporatist ruling class has been. Brown's victory seems to have woken some of them up to the fact that people are noticing what they've been doing and not doing. I hope Brown's victory will continue to be a wake up call.