Boston Globe: Missteps threaten House GOP rule

[Eugene]

Missteps threaten House GOP rule

Polls indicate grass-roots anger

By Susan Milligan and Rick Klein, Globe Staff | April 9, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Iraq war, gas prices, scandals, and now simple ineffectiveness --
most recently the failure to reach an immigration deal and budget accord -- have put
the Republican Party in serious danger of losing its majority status in the House
of Representatives this year and ending the one-party rule President Bush has enjoyed
for most of his presidency, according to independent pollsters and officials in both
parties.

Results of an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Friday indicated that Americans would
prefer a Democrat-led House by the largest margin in recent history, 49 percent to 33 percent.
And state chairmen of both parties say they are detecting the kind of grass-roots anger
that flares only once every decade or two.

The Democrats' opportunities are limited by carefully drawn congressional district lines
that favor sitting congressmen, but both Democrats and Republicans agree that the minority
party has its best chance to flip control of the House, which has a 29-seat Republican majority,
since the GOP surged to power in 1994.

A "cacophony" of bad news -- from the failure of Social Security reform to the war in Iraq
to the botched response to Hurricane Katrina -- imperils the GOP's chances, said Tony Fabrizio,
a Republican pollster.

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Full article: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/04/09/missteps_threaten_house_gop_rule
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[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Too bad it took 5 1/2 years for America to come to it's senses.

Look at the damage already done, and how long it will take to repair it.

[ktlyon]

2. yup

so true

[yellowcanine]

5. I remain unconvinced that enough have come to their senses yet.

Color me skeptical. Meanwhile I await the results of November 2006 and 2008 before I celebrate.

[saltpoint]

3. I hope voters will continue the trend toward a much, much bluer

Congress.

Both chambers if possible, but the House does look within reach.

Encouraging news.

[Jim Lane]

4. They mention the gerrymandering only in passing

Nationwide poll numbers are an interesting distraction. What counts is the result on a district-by-district basis. The unpleasant fact is that there are many fewer swing districts now than there were going into the 1994 election (the last change of control in the House).

For a Democratic majority, we'll need to win almost all the genuinely contested districts. That's not at all impossible, especially with the capable help we're getting from the White House, but let's not kid ourselves that it will be a slam dunk, either.