Some things become wake up calls. The election of DJT to the WH and the subsequent nonsense with the EC in three states has finally caused the Dems to open their eyes and realize, you fight for what is yours. You also keep fighting to gain advantage.
Iâve long lamented that PAâs Dem party was as lazy as they come, relying on wishes, hopes and prayers. NO, you get up and do the hard work and reap the rewards. The messages will take care of themselves. Donât try and convert people who have already tasted the Kool-aid. Itâs too late. Go after the ones who are going to be affected by the BS Trump and crew are throwing around. Keep it honest, and youâll have these folks for a generation or two.
I wish the WI Democratic party would have the same kind of wake up call. Instead of being the party of ânot that guyâ, they should run on progressive PRINCIPLES and for the PEOPLE of the state.
When reading of Dem advantages in this district or that in PA, be aware that there are areas where a lot of the registered Dems have been voting GOP for years. I think the information about how a district actually voted in 2016 is a much more solid indicator of Dem chances there.
And also areas where Republicans have been voting Democratic for a long time.
I have 112 targets for the House of Representatives. If the Dems get the right candidate and funding levels the they can win over 60 of them.
This year is shaping up to be like 1994 but with the Democrats having the advantage. In 1994, there were a lot of conservative and moderate Democrats sitting in districts which had politically and demographically drifted from the party. Our Speaker of the House was in rural East Washington State. So when Bill Clinton came in and did things like raise taxes, push gun control, abortion rights and gay rights (yesâŚthe awkward and clumsy âdonât ask donât tellâ policy started out as an initiative intending to push equality on the basis of sexual orientation), these districts became more vulnerable with demographics that were already tipping in the GOPâs favor. That led to the larger than expected wipe out. I believe we have similar trends this year as there are a lot of Republicans sitting in districts with large suburban sections (e.g., PA-18) and/or areas where the demographics have changed towards more diversity. The unpopularity of Trump agenda across the board + these demographic trends make more Republicans vulnerable than one would ordinarily expect. In addition, I believe gerrymandering has left the GOP exposed because their vote is spread out over too many districts with thinner margins that can be overcome in a wave.
Oh how glad I am that Ryan didnât retire after all. Humiliation of one sort or another is in his short-term time horizon. Defeated at the polls at home, or just knocked out of the speakership - but reelected back into obscurity. The last two times that was the case for the GOP, when the Speaker was reelected but the party lost control of the House, the Speaker resigned (Gingrich and on-house-arrest (as in recently released from prison) Hastert). It is started to feel inevitable that much of the country will be able to join together in a âBye Feleciaâ moment for Paul Ryan.