Sunday, November 14, 2004
Why reclaiming the House is so important
Let's face it ... in a world in which small states have a hugely disproportionate influence in the US Senate ... and Washington, D.C., doesn't have any ... the Republicans are almost guaranteed to have a majority in that body for awhile coming. Realignment of the body is a slow process, but victories by bad Republicans over good Democrats in Oklahoma, Alaska, Kentucky, and elsewhere shows what we're up against. In fact, as this article demostrates:
And yet Bush was able to extend his amen corner in the Senate.
The House, however, is a different story. Despite unsightly gerrymandering (perpetrated, unfortunately, by both sides), there is a rough relationship to this "democracy" everyone seems to crazy about in its makeup. However, right now, the GOP is doing an excellent job of consolidating its power in that body.
My feeling is that we absolutely must -- starting now -- work to start the very hard work of capturing open seats (such as Henry Hyde's, who apparently is retiring after this term) and ousting Republicans who represent left-leaning districts in the Northeast. The idea of building coalitions with moderate GOPers seems nice, but frankly they keep helping Tom DeLay and we keep ending up locked out. The only thing that seems to make a difference is ACTUAL power, not just moral authority. 2006 is our best chance. Presidents typically lose congressional seats in midterm elections (of course, we all know that Bush is an atypical president).
Let's start NOW to make it happen.
Democratic Senate candidates received 3,184,943 more votes than Republicans nationally - a victory margin of nearly 4% in the popular vote.
And yet Bush was able to extend his amen corner in the Senate.
The House, however, is a different story. Despite unsightly gerrymandering (perpetrated, unfortunately, by both sides), there is a rough relationship to this "democracy" everyone seems to crazy about in its makeup. However, right now, the GOP is doing an excellent job of consolidating its power in that body.
My feeling is that we absolutely must -- starting now -- work to start the very hard work of capturing open seats (such as Henry Hyde's, who apparently is retiring after this term) and ousting Republicans who represent left-leaning districts in the Northeast. The idea of building coalitions with moderate GOPers seems nice, but frankly they keep helping Tom DeLay and we keep ending up locked out. The only thing that seems to make a difference is ACTUAL power, not just moral authority. 2006 is our best chance. Presidents typically lose congressional seats in midterm elections (of course, we all know that Bush is an atypical president).
Let's start NOW to make it happen.
