Democratic takeover of Congress not a sure thing - especially the Senate
Be optimistic, but realistic too:
That means doorbelling, phonebanking, leafleting. Volunteering. Blogging. Contributing money, if you can afford it. Registering your friends and family to vote. Everyone can do something.
Hope to be pleasantly surprised but expect to be disappointed. Expect we won't get control of either house of Congress, but hope for a blue tidal wave and a fresh breeze to clean out the District of Columbia. Don't expect Darcy or Peter to win but work incredibly hard to help them win.
It's easy to sit in front of a computer screen and pontificate. It's harder to muster up the energy to go out and make a difference. But if we want to win, then that's exactly what we need to do - be active offline as well as online.
While things look great for us right now, the election isn't right now. And if Republicans can do anything, it's close the deal. And quite frankly, we're not a sure thing anywhere.It's easy to look at signs, like the USAToday/Gallup poll, and start feeling more comfortable. That's a mistake. We can't live inside of a bubble. If we want control of the Congress - both houses - then we need to work for it. Hard.
We've got to pick up six seats for a majority, seven if we want to avoid a potential Lieberman blackmail situation (if he wins his race). We have to hold all of our own endangered seats (looking solid in MN, okay in MD, and iffy in NJ). Then, in the Republican-held competitive races left -- MO, MT, OH, PA, RI, TN, and VA -- all but one feature incumbents, always the hardest races to win. Incumbents rarely, rarely lose.
That means doorbelling, phonebanking, leafleting. Volunteering. Blogging. Contributing money, if you can afford it. Registering your friends and family to vote. Everyone can do something.
Hope to be pleasantly surprised but expect to be disappointed. Expect we won't get control of either house of Congress, but hope for a blue tidal wave and a fresh breeze to clean out the District of Columbia. Don't expect Darcy or Peter to win but work incredibly hard to help them win.
It's easy to sit in front of a computer screen and pontificate. It's harder to muster up the energy to go out and make a difference. But if we want to win, then that's exactly what we need to do - be active offline as well as online.
