We must get Bush out of the WH but what about Congress?

[Cascadian]

I know we all have the common goal to get Bush out of DC, but there is still the problem of a Republican controlled Congress. The next president if it is a Democrat, then he may have some problems with the neocons at the Capitol. What could happen?


John

[EstimatedProphet]

1. If we do win

we could take back some Congressional seats too-the "coattail" effect. Congress right now is just over the dominant number for Rethugs, so if we take seats we may get a majority too.
Something to hope for...

[dansolo]

8. Kerry will not have coattails

He is running on ABB. People may very well vote out Bush, but still keep their Reps. Kerry hasn't even addressed Congressional races. He will lose most, if not all, of the open Senate seats in the South, and his own seat as well.

[blm]

2. When we win we will sweep both houses, too. The BFEE machine will be

exposed in the general election. The Republican chickenhawks will be exposed along with them.

[MilDem]

3. It'll be tough

Congress will be a major obstacle, and the odds are against us in reclaiming it. 5 incumbent Democrat southern senators are retiring, and the Republicans did very well in the last redistricting. I hope the next Democratic President can work with the opposition, because he's probably going to have to.

[aldian159]

4. The House is gonna be GOP for a while, sorry.

The way house elections work, over 90% of incumbents get re-elected, with about 60% of senatorial incumbents getting re-elected. It takes a long time for the house to shift. In the period after WWI to the 1930 midterm of Hoover, it was GOP. From 1930 to the 1946 postwar elections, it was Dem. The GOP got it for one term, but lost in in 1948. They won it again in 1954 with the Ike landslide, but lost it the following term. The dems had it from 1956 to 1994.

The way the dems lost the house: the GOP, using the presidency of Reagan (and Nixon, to a less extent) tapped into the growing conservative feelings of the south. The religious right made a cameo in the 1980 election, but got stronger as Reagan did. Tip O'Neill outburst as speaker didn't help, and finally the first two years of Clinton were the last straw, leading to Newt's Contract with America.

[Old and In the Way]

13. I'm not ready to write off the Congressional races.

National polling shows Kerry beating Bush 53-46 or thereabouts. Why wouldn't those same % be in play for the Congressional races? I don't think we give people enough credit that they are able to know that the Republican Party is enabling Dimson's agenda.

It's only February and there are still lots of negative press that will come out with the Plame investigation, WMD, and 9/11. People know that his majority Party is covering up for him and I think they'll reward his enablers with a vote for a Democrat. Kerry (or whoever the nominee is) will symbolize the Party's values that are closer to what the vast majority Americans identify with. I really think that numbers for Bush will continue to erode and that will impact on the voter's choices for the Congressional races as well.

DUer's are way ahead of the curve with regards to the political issues in this country. But I think by November of 04, the American voter is going to demand change and the results will not be close enough to freep.

[JailForBush]

5. If I could be dictator for a day, I'd have almost every member of Congress

Republican and Democrat alike - whisked away to several months in solitary confinement, with no access to the outside world as they pondered their fate. And it would not be a very pleasant fate.

These creeps are among the greatest traitors in American history. Literally.

[poskonig]

6. We can gain seats, but be realistic.

The Congress will likely be GOP after this year no matter who wins. A Democratic sweep is possible, just not probable, regardless of who we run. We are in play for the Senate in a few states like Illinois, Oklahoma, and Alaska, but other states such as Georgia look inauspicious.

[GabysPoppy]

7. They are next

One disaster at a time.

[leyton]

9. I think with a Democratic WH, Congress will bend a little.

Let's say Edwards appeals to a lot of true conservatives as well as Democrats and wins the election by a fair margin (say, 40 electoral votes). He's got the popular mandate and also support from crossover conservatives, just like Reagan had the Reagan Democrats. Congress will have to bend a little to him because America will have just said, "Hey, we're sick of a Republican agenda. We want bipartisanship."

And then we can focus on retaking the Senate in 2006.

As for the House, we probably won't regain control in the next few years, but we can cut our losses. There are more Republicans than Democrats retiring, so we can perhaps hope to make a few gains in the House.

[arewethereyet]

10. Rome wasn't built in a day

neither will Congress tilt left quickly. Same as it ever was.

[citizen snips]

11. It is going to be hard.

Especially in my state where that repuke idiot Mrs. Dole has been elected into a senate seat. It is going to be a long time before we retain the house or the Senate.

[Festivito]

12. We'd be better off winning Congress than president.

Then investigate him into impeachment. Then on to a real election with real information.

[Old and In the Way]

14. I'd agree, but the WH controls the SCOTUS nominees

And that may be more important, longterm, to the health of our democracy.