| Before the elections in 2006, Republicans held 232 seats in the House of Representatives, a 29-seat majority. Now just a little more than 2 years and 2
elections removed from then, Republicans will hold somewhere around 175 to 177 seats come January. The blue waves we've seen course over this nation in 2006 and again this year
have wiped out at least 55 GOP congressional districts. From that high-flying majority in 2006, the Republicans have been relegated to significant minority status heading into the
111th Congress. As things stand now, pending a handful of undecided races still being resolved, Nancy Pelosi will command at least an 80-seat majority in the lower chamber.
The main reason for the Democrats continued gains this year is not hard to pinpoint. The fact that they were able to recruit excellent candidates in many of their first and
second tier targets certainly helped, but, more importantly, the gains they realized all come back to the difficulty the GOP has had getting the electorate to differentiate the Republican
brand from a bad case of indigestion. A political party just cannot hope to perform well when people's perception of it is so poor.
Talk has been constant and widespread in
conservative circles since the election about how to recreate the Republican Party. How well Republicans diminish the dominating blue waves of the recent past will be largely
determined by how they improve their reputation over the next 24 months. On the positive side, impressions do tend to improve for the party out of control. The spotlight tends
to shine less brightly on those not controlling the agenda. With George W. Bush no longer in the White House and decreased influence on Capitol Hill, the GOP will have the
opportunity to rebuild itself outside the expectant glare of public scrutiny.
Thursday 11/13:
The Battle for Capitol Hill, part one - the Senate
Wednesday 11/12:
Election 2008 - the turning points
Tuesday 11/11:
Obama's victory, an in-depth look
Monday 11/10:
Grading Election Projection
|
