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Arshad Hasan: Why the House Matters
Posted: 09/25/2012 10:06 am
Arshad Hasan is the Executive Director of Democracy for America
With just over 40 days until Election Day, conventional wisdom about who's leading and who's trailing has been turned upside down. Mitt Romney has truly become his own worst enemy and it looks like even his billionaire buddies might not be able to save him now. The US Senate looks poised to stay in Democratic control because of a crop of unusually strong Democratic challengers.
For those of us working in the trenches, this shift in conventional wisdom isn't surprising. We've been working to get to this place and we won't be quitting any time soon. But we've got one more surprise some of the Washington watchers are only just beginning to see this cycle: The US House.
Just last week, Dylan Matthews wrote in the Washington Post how a new model shows that Democrats have a 74% chance of taking back the House. That's not just some small concern for Republicans who know that they could lose control of all branches of government. Karl Rove's group -- Crossroads GPS plan to spend over $10 million dollars in House races across the country to keep the Republican advantage. This will be the first House ad buy in this cycle for this GOP behemoth. If Karl Rove is paying attention -- shouldn't you be?
Just think of how the last two years have played out. Jobs Bill -- no votes in the House. Affordable Care Act -- the House voted 33 times to repeal an existing, despite the widely agreed upon understanding that such a repeal would get nowhere. While the public views inefficacy in Congress with disdain, the Republican leadership sees it as an accomplishment -- and as a weapon to use against the President's re-election.
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arshad-hasan/why-the-house-matters_b_1911244.html
Arshad Hasan is the Executive Director of Democracy for America
With just over 40 days until Election Day, conventional wisdom about who's leading and who's trailing has been turned upside down. Mitt Romney has truly become his own worst enemy and it looks like even his billionaire buddies might not be able to save him now. The US Senate looks poised to stay in Democratic control because of a crop of unusually strong Democratic challengers.
For those of us working in the trenches, this shift in conventional wisdom isn't surprising. We've been working to get to this place and we won't be quitting any time soon. But we've got one more surprise some of the Washington watchers are only just beginning to see this cycle: The US House.
Just last week, Dylan Matthews wrote in the Washington Post how a new model shows that Democrats have a 74% chance of taking back the House. That's not just some small concern for Republicans who know that they could lose control of all branches of government. Karl Rove's group -- Crossroads GPS plan to spend over $10 million dollars in House races across the country to keep the Republican advantage. This will be the first House ad buy in this cycle for this GOP behemoth. If Karl Rove is paying attention -- shouldn't you be?
Just think of how the last two years have played out. Jobs Bill -- no votes in the House. Affordable Care Act -- the House voted 33 times to repeal an existing, despite the widely agreed upon understanding that such a repeal would get nowhere. While the public views inefficacy in Congress with disdain, the Republican leadership sees it as an accomplishment -- and as a weapon to use against the President's re-election.
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arshad-hasan/why-the-house-matters_b_1911244.html
