Rahm Emanuel told the Washington Times that he's "nervous" about his party's prospects in the House on Election Day, following the final round of polls. The expectations have been built up too big, and whatever gains the Dems do make after today will seem like a disappointment. … [Read more...]

Democrats may be kicking themselves - or John Kerry, or a good economy, or the common sense of the American people - on Wednesday for squandering a big chance. All hopes for a massive electoral "wipeout" (a la Chris Matthews) to take over Congress, seem to be fading as Republicans have the momentum going into tomorrow's national elections. I stand by my earlier predictions. … [Read more...]

Apparently, John Kerry has grown jealous of Howard Dean's record-setting propensity to say stupid things that help Republicans. I was going to write a detailed post about the stuffed shirt Massachusetts Senator's comments, but then I read Jonah Goldberg's column on the topic: Kerry insists he was making a joke about President Bush, not a joke about students who aren't smart enough to do better than the military. While there's virtually nothing in the text or video of his remarks to lend support for this, save for a wan smile he offered to the mute audience, it's possible that was his intent. After all, Kerry is an awful politician, a human toothache with the charisma of a 19th-century Oxford Latin tutor. One can't rule out the … [Read more...]

Two stories in today's Washington Times (free log-in required) highlight fascinating potential trends in this year's midterm election, one to cause concern for each political party's leadership. "Former Republicans Campaign as Democrats" shows upstart candidates in selected GOP-held districts are running to the right of the party incumbents, showing that uncontrolled government spending and uncontrolled immigration have harmed the party of Lincoln & Reagan. While the GOP has started to turn it around on these fronts, it will be interesting to see whether they acted in time and whether they will stay in shape starting in 2007. Otherwise, it will be a long and wasted road in the political wilderness. My prediction for the House is that … [Read more...]

Not much needs to be said on this topic, but I decided to address it anyway. Michelle Malkin has the right message: "Deal with it." So here's how I see the players in a nutshell ... 1. Mark Foley - sick, depraved, abusive, only beginning to face the consequences of his sin, unable to make right what he did to his victims, greatly in need of redemption and God's mercy 2. The victims - should be left alone and out of the spotlight to allow them and their families to seek the healing they need 3. Republican Congressional leadership - culpable for every day they knew this vile behavior had occurred (as exhibited in the infamous IMs) ... there is honest disagreement concerning whether Speaker Hastert and others knew about this … [Read more...]

As many pundits have pointed out, the Congressional race in Colorado's 7th District (in which I happen to live) figures to be one of the competitive campaigns of the 2006 season. Republican Rick O'Donnell and Democrat Ed Perlmutter are squaring off to replace the open seat left by Congressman Bob Beauprez, who is running for governor While I have often been too busy of late to comment on this race, I have enjoyed the email press releases coming from the O'Donnell campaign. The most recent release is clever, generating a nickname for the opponent that deserves to catch on - "Empty Eddie." Why? The message of the release is spot on, bringing up a point that ought not to be ignored: O'Donnell's Web site contains a series of detailed … [Read more...]