MyDD :: What's Going to Happen in 2006?

What's Going to Happen in 2006?

by Jonathan Singer, Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 09:44:19 AM EST

Looking towards 2006, there is quite a bit of optimism on the Democratic side of the aisle, which is a result of a number of factors, including an overwhelming Republican defeat over Social Security privatization; significant GOP electoral losses in 2005; President Bush's still unimpressive approval numbers; the convictions of OH GOV Bob Taft and former Bush campaign advisor James Tobin; the indictments of White House officials Scooter Libby and David Safavian, GOP Congressmen Tom DeLay and Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and major GOP donors Jack Abramoff and Tom Noe; the investigations into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, KY GOV Ernie Fletcher, and additional GOP donors such as Brent Wilkes; and, most importantly, the fact that the Democrats are right on more issues than are Republicans.

But Democrats and progressives are not the only ones bullish about 2006. This week, the folks over at the National Review Online polled some of the more popular voices on the right to ask them for their outlooks for next year. Below are a few choice predictions.

"Tom Kean Jr. becomes the first Republican to win statewide office in New Jersey since 1997, and the first conservative in decades." -- Kellyanne Conway
"By Christmas 2006, George W. Bush's approval ratings will be 57 percent." -- Jonah Goldberg
"Howard Dean will not finish 2006 as chairman of the DNC." -- Jonah Goldberg
"Howard Dean will leave the DNC chairmanship." -- Victor Davis Hanson
"Republicans will pick up seats in the House." -- Carrie Lukas
"Howard Dean will not remain chairman of the DNC." -- Clifford D. May
"Arnold Schwarzenegger wins reelection. Phil Angelides, his Democratic opponent, goes on to a successful career as a character actor, mainly playing sleazy developers." -- John J. Pitney Jr.
"Despite the many obvious defects of congressional Republicans, Democrats will fail to make any gains in November's elections." -- Mark Steyn

To all of the cautious Democrats and campaign-watchers, which side is overly optimistic going into 2006?

Reading through this list, I truly wonder how some of these people are able to make a living in politics. Does anyone seriously believe that Republicans are going to make gains in next year's elections, especially given the fact that geographics and candidate recruitment offer the Democrats a tangible advantage ten months out (in addition to the many intangibles listed above, such as the many indictments of highly placed Republicans)? Also, given the many snide remarks about Howard Dean, I wonder just how worried Republicans are about his ability to restore the Democratic Party to parity with -- or advantage over -- the GOP (would they so strongly push the meme that his ouster is imminent if they were not concerned about his successes as DNC chair?).

What do you forsee occurring next year? Will President Bush's approval rating stand at 57 percent? Will Howard Dean be out at the DNC? Will the GOP extend its majorities in Congress? Will the folks at NRO continue to be paid to spout such unrealistic ramblings?

Tags: Pulse (all tags)

Permalink :: 34 Comments :: Post a Comment

my predictions (none / 0)

*Howard Dean remains Chair.
*Dems pick up 3 net seats in the Senate.
*Dems pick up 7 net seats in the House.
*Bush's approval rating will go up, but nowhere near 57 percent.
*Menendez wins reelection over Tom, Jr.
*Ahnold loses to Angelides. Ahnold goes back to making shitty-ass movies.
*Right-wing blogs continue peddling lies for fun and profit, except moreso than ever before.

Rudy Giuliani hates firefighters. And puppies.

by Fran for Dean on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 10:02:37 AM EST

redstate (none / 0)

Did you see Redstate's predictions?

by Matt Stoller on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 10:43:02 AM EST

Re: redstate (none / 0)

Ya think that if we save those predictions and bring them up in a year, anyone will lose their jobs? Yeah, I don't think so either.

by Lucas O'Connor on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:25:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: redstate (none / 0)

I could only read a few. I have decided that they are on powerful hullacingins.

"Once in a while you get shown the light In the strangest of places if you look at it right"

by molly bloom on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:25:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: redstate (none / 0)

The first one caught my attention: The Bears win the Super Bowl.

This one is why I'm certain they're nuts and I'm a life long Bears fan. Don't get me wrong. I'd love for that to happen. But we just didn't play difficult enough opponents this year to hold up through the playoffs. I'm hoping for one win in post-season.

Witty comment goes here...

by michael in chicago on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 01:37:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: redstate (none / 0)

Oh, how cute. They're trying to be funny.

by dwbh on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 01:46:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

No optimism until the day after election (none / 0)

Election after election since 2000 we have seen the GOP perform better than the pre-election polls and the exit polls. Despite all of the factors that would seem to favor Democrats, I have no reason to expect that they will be sufficient for a Democratic victory in 2006. I will not be optimistic until the day after the election when the numbers show the Democrats picking up seats, and then it will be "guarded optimism".

by TrainWreck on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:05:19 AM EST

Re: No optimism until the day after election (none / 0)

I find it too suspicious that they ALWAYS do better in vote counts than on the polls--but that is becaus e I grew up in Mexico during the 1980s.

by Hugo Estrada on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:17:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: No optimism until the day after election (none / 0)

Election after election since 2000....

I agree with your sentiment, but let's keep in mind the phrase above covers a grand total of two Congressional elections and one Presidential election. That's not much of a trend, and Democrats did rather well in this year's (few) elections, though not as well as the hype - Bloomberg is still mayor of NY, all recognition of same-sex couples was banned in Texas, and we got our asses handed to us in Ohio (another example of doing markedly worse than the polls suggested, by the way).

Don't be overconfident, sure. But don't be overly pessimistic either.

If you're always playing the fear card, it's a pretty good sign you're not playing with a full deck!

by Mathwiz on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 05:41:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Psychics Agree! (3.00 / 1)

Rightwing pundits will continue to lie out their asses about the past, present and future. (Yes, it takes a special talent to lie about the future, since it hasn't happened yet. That's why they're highly-paid pundits!)

The "liberal media" will continue to treat them like Olympian Gods.

The DLC will do everything possible to prevent the GOP from losing control of both houses of Congress.

The GOP will lose control of both houses of Congress, if we keep our eyes on the ball, and refuse to let the DLC bamboozle us.

by Paul Rosenberg on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:10:21 AM EST

Re: Psychics Agree! (none / 0)

The GOP will lose control of both houses of Congress, if we keep our eyes on the ball, and refuse to let the DLC bamboozle us.

If by "we" and "us" you mean "Democrats in general," that's a bit optimistic but certainly plausible. But if by "we" and "us" you mean "MyDD readers" or even "the left blogosphere," don't kid yourself.

The blogosphere will continue to grow in influence. It's far from clear, however, that "we" can turn around the Democratic Party's losing ways yet (though we did get Dean into the Chairman's slot, and that was a good start). Remember, most Democrats still consider weather-vane HRC our leading candidate for '08.

If you're always playing the fear card, it's a pretty good sign you're not playing with a full deck!

by Mathwiz on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 05:50:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Wish list, not predictions (none / 0)

The National Review is practicing an old trick: repeat something until it is held to be true.
These are not predictions: they are their wish list.

They want to see a Republican New Jersey governor
They want to believe that Bush will have a good approval rating
They want to see Arnold winning reelection
They want to see Congress becoming more Republican

I am the most intrigued by two of these predictions: Congress and Bush's numbers. Congress is hard to take back because our congressional districts give a huge advantage to the incumbent. I expect to see some gains, but I am not betting the farm that we will have a Democratic Congress by this time next year. We still have to put the best fight that we can, anyway.

On Bush's numbers, Republicans are counting on three things: first, that people will forget Katrina and the Republican culture of corruption, that Bush will launch another winning PR campaign, and that no further bad news will happen around September.

They may be also counting on Bush bringing back some troops by this time, taking away an important issue from the Democrats.

This is why the campaigning for 2006 should start now, persuading voters to work for Democratic cause now that they are the most willing to do so, so that we can capitalize in the current low ratings.

Once independents or moderate Republicans begin campaigning for Democrats, we will have increased our chances of locking their vote for our party.

Finally, Republicans are no good, and they will give us plenty of bad news throughout the next year. Just watch and see.

by Hugo Estrada on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:15:11 AM EST

Dr. Howard (none / 0)

Apparently the wingers really, really want Dean out as DNC chair. He must be doing something right.

by drlimerick on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:46:16 AM EST

Re: Dr. Howard (none / 0)

drlimerick hits the nail on the head:

Howard Dean scares the hell out of the wingnutosphere; he can only continue to be right for so long before someone notices.

Dr. Dean is their worst nightmare, of course they want to (pretend to) marginalize him.

by sixteenwords on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 12:05:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Dr. Howard (none / 0)

Ya, but he's not electable remember?

Witty comment goes here...

by michael in chicago on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 01:32:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Cherry-picking (none / 0)

Aren't you engaging in kind of a silly exercise in cherry-picking?

If you actually go look at the NRO predictions, there are far more people predicting that the GOP will lose seats in one or both houses, or that the GOP will retain control, but it will be "close."

by floater on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:54:40 AM EST

Well ... (none / 0)

Never underestimate our party's proclivity to massively screw things up. I don't want to hear stuff like 'the incumbent rule' and all that nonsense (and neither does President Kerry), and 'better recruitment' and all the rest. This country is politically retarded and when the Bushites start yanking troops out of Iraq, we'll be left on the sidelines looking stupid, yakking about deficits and education bills and people named Abramoff, of whom about ten percent of the voters know or care about. Sorry ... the Cornerites are assholes but until WE get to laugh at THEM -- by actually winning on election day and not in polls a year out -- color me doubtful.

by tuffie on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:56:28 AM EST

Re: Well ... (none / 0)

... we'll be left on the sidelines looking stupid, yakking about deficits and education bills and people named Abramoff....

As with TrainWreck, I agree with the general sentiment. Our party has shown a quite uncanny knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

But don't underestimate the power of the corruption issue. Almost every GOP Congressman has ties to DeLay and "Rip 'em off." If they go down, Democratic challengers nationwide will have a perfect election issue handed to them on a silver platter, if they're smart enough to use it! Even though the national media will undoubtedly remain in the tank for the GOP, local media will give corruption the play it needs.

As for Bush pulling troops out before the election (presumably just to send them back in afterwards), I'd certainly expect it from Karl Rove. But I can't help but think that Bush himself is too stubborn to go for it. On this one, the fact that Bush thinks he's listening to God may keep him from listening to his "brain."

November's still a long way off, and there's certainly no shortage of time for the Democrats to FUBAR yet another Congressional election. But right now, things really don't look that bad.

If you're always playing the fear card, it's a pretty good sign you're not playing with a full deck!

by Mathwiz on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 06:09:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Governors (none / 0)

What's under-reported so far is Republican vulnerability in governor's races. They hold 22 of the 36 up in 2006, and they stand an excellent chance of losing California, New York, Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, Minnesota, and Arkansas. We could come out of the election with three-quarters of the population living in states with Democratic governors.

by Ron Thompson on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 12:10:42 PM EST

First Off (none / 0)

I changed my name for Matt's sake : )
but didn't realize there was a space...for just a moment I thought I had been kicked off for saying we won't beat Kyl.
Predictions:

Democrats will pick up 14 seats in the House, including three in North Carolina.
Democrats will pick up 4 seats in the Senate (PA, OH, RI, MT).
Howard Dean will not be DNC chair by the end of 2006 as he will be running for some other, perhaps HIGHER office.
John Edwards will lead the Presidential pack heading into the New Year followed by Hillary Clinton.
A total of four Republicans will be forced to resign from their posts (not including Libby; Rove, DeLay, Frist, ???)

BlueNC - Progressive NC Politics

by Robert P on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 12:42:42 PM EST

My prediction: peak or chasm (3.00 / 2)

I don't know what will happen. No one does. But here is the one thing I predict:

We will not make incremental gains, picking up a few seats in each house.

We will either make a big, big gain in a sea change that results in at least one of the Congressional Houses going Dem ...

Or we will screw up and lose a few seats in both houses. And democracy will pretty much end.

Most predictions tend to project a modest trend from the surrent status quo. Well, that's generally a good idea.

But not right now. This moment in American history is a fork in the road.

Either the Republican machine will consolidate its hold on the nation through only marginally democratic means, ...

Or it will shatter and lose its ability to maintain its democratically precarious coalition.

And a lot of THAT depends on fair election issues. These people don't fight fair. If their crooked election practices are not dealt with effectively, we won't pick up ANY seats in the houses.

American politics has changed so drastically that business as usual predictions about trends just do not reflect reality. I call it the Ruy Texeira syndrome. In 2004, Texeira kept posting all those polls and analyses based on standard, traditional election dynamics.

And none of it mattered because Rove wasn't playing the old game. He was cheating his brains out.

Now, resistance to Bush Co has tripled, threatening the heart of the GOP coalition. I can see deep Red States turning blue--insofar as it's a matter of voting trends.

But Rove & Co. are at work, trying to rig even more elections.

And meanwhile the investigations into Delay, Abramoff, the Plame affair, and wiretapping threaten to just blow up the GOP politariat.

None of this is predictable, IMO.

But the forces rumbling towards a seismic shock are NOT the sort of modest trends that will result in incremental evolution.

We either shatter that GOP machine in the next 11 months ...

Or they gain an Executive Branch hegemony that will dismantle our democracy.

The choice is that stark. Peak or chasm. Nothing in between.

by Thresholder on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 12:44:31 PM EST

Esprit d'escaliers--addendum (none / 0)

I also predict that the 2006 election will be primarily decided by events rather than by traditional politicking.

Oh, we need to organize and fight.

But simple politicking won't be enough to break the machine.

On the other hand, if enough machine bosses, like Delay, Rove, and others, are actually busted by investigators, the machine will reak down in all sorts of key ways.

The Alito nomination is another huge issue. If we lose on him, then the GOP will be lifted above the possibility of meaningful investigations. They will be tough to touch.

Principled Republicans, conservatives, and liberatarians will be crucial. Take a guy like Bob Barr. The more he goes around questioning Bush, the more Republicans will begin to think critically in a way that will quickly lead to profound doubts. The GOP coalition is built on an absolute rejection of critical thinking. If people like Barr and Hegel lead conservatives to think critically about conservative principles, that will free people to consider other approaches. Paradoxically, honest performance by some Republicans will, I think, lead to a weakening of the GOP coalition.

Then there are the election reform batles going on in various states. If we don't win enough of those, we will have no chance. Votes simply won;t count.

Then there are macro-level realities such as the US economy, Iraq, oil prices, health care costs, etc. will continue to beat on Americans' sensibilities. Many of these issues are reaching tipping points which the GOP spin meisters will be increasingly be unable to manipulate.

There are a million variables here. Far more to predict. But the thicket of them adds up to pair of political locomotives heading towards each other on the same track:

The GOP machine reaching past democracy toward true imperialism.
The protest of a people beginning to realize its mortal danger.

It's a recipe for an earthquake, not a modest erosion.

by Thresholder on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 02:15:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Price of gas (none / 0)

It's possible that Bush can get his approval to 57% by one year from now... if gas prices have dropped to $1 per gallon. Anyone noticed that the uptick in his poll numbers have coincided with the drop in gas prices from $3 to $2? I'm sure Professor Pollkatz has.

by Crazy Vaclav on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 12:48:18 PM EST

prediction (none / 0)

al-Qaida will attack sometime in September or October. WAIT! I'm not accusing Bush of anything. It's just that Bush's policies and ineptitude have been good for bin Laden, and as a rational megalomaniac he'll do his part to keep the bon temps rouling. No damage necessary -- he'd be wise to telegraph his punch so Bush can be the Hero Who Saved Us All From A Fate Worse Than Death. Damage or not, the GOP will pull out the fear card -- hell, the whole fear deck -- and we'll have two more years of pseudo-non-Fascism.

by drlimerick on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 12:57:36 PM EST

Predict this (none / 0)

House: Dems gain control, most seats coming form the northeast (Pennsylvania, North Carolina) and my rep gets replaced (Lampson beats DeLay 55-45)

Senate: gains, but no control, anywhere form 3-5 depending on fundraising. Also if the senate is 50-50 at then end but we did not win in RI, Chaffee will defect.

Governors: NY, MA, CA, Maryland all flip for sure. A few others flip as well leading to a dem majority of governorships. Texas becomes anybody's game between Ind, R, and D.

Bush: Approval will be somewhere about the same, low 40s.

Dean: Remain head of DNC going into the 2008 presidential election. A drop out afterwards would lead to calls of he was a loser.

Iraq: a minor, mostly symbolic pull out begins in August-October. This keeps Dems from gaining even more seats. Should Hackett be Ohio Nominee, he rips Bush hard as cut and run, makes him a lock for the win.

by Trowaman on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 02:15:31 PM EST

2006 Predictions (none / 0)

Dems win seats, but come short of control. Dems pick up the following seats...

Senate:

Pennsylvania-
Casey- 57%
Santorum- 41%

Rhode Island-
Whitehouse- 58%
Laffey- 40% (Laffey defeats Chafee in primary by slim margin)

Ohio-
Brown- 52%
DeWine- 48%

Missouri-
McCaskill- 51%
Talent- 49%

Montana-
Tester- 51%
Burns- 49%

Dems run Republicans to close races in three other seats...

Tennessee-
Hilleary- 52%
Ford- 48%

Arizona-
Kyl- 52%
Pederson- 47%

Nevada-
Ensign- 54%
Carter- 46%

Democrats hold on to their three seats in jeopardy...

Minnesota-
Klobuchar- 53%
Kennedy- 47%

Maryland-
Cardin- 55%
Steele- 45%

New Jersey-
Menendez- 52%
Kean Jr- 47%

The Senate is 50 Republicans, 49 Democrats and I independent (Sanders), and as thus is really 50/50, but Republicans have control.

In the House, Democrats pick up
Colorado 7
Pennsylvania 6
Illinois 6
Indiana 8
North Carolina 11
Connecticut 2
Connecticut 4
Texas 22
Iowa 1

In Illinois, Bean will narrowly win reelection, but in Georgia, Jim Marshall looses his seat, leading to a Democratic gain of 8 seats. Republicans keep control 224-211. (Democrats also gain Vermont from the independents, which is a gain in name only.

Democrats will win a whole slew of governorships, winning the open seats in New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Arkansas and Colorado and defeating incumbents Elrich in Maryland, Pawlenty in Minnesota, and Schwarzeneggar in California. They will not loose any seats because Culver defeats Nussle in Iowa, leading to a Democratic gain of 7 seats. (I do however see Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Maine be fairly close) For the Republicans, Alaska, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Rhode Island and Nevada will be close

Bush's approval rating will hover around 50%, but the situation in Iraq will not get better and Bush will be forced to begin to withdraw troops. He will also be torn to shreds because of the domestic spying announcement early in the year causing him to struggle to recover. He will, but too little, too late.

Of course all this depends on what the Democrats do. If they unite behind a platform and campaign strongly, this could be more, if they act like they've been acting in past years, they win less. I don't feel, unless some extreme circumstace befalls the Democrats, that they will loose seats in Congress. The Republicans have basically gained all they can right now.

The American people; they were for the war before they were against it.

by nrafter530 on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 03:55:40 PM EST

Re: 2006 Predictions (none / 0)

good numbers, I like most of them.

I think Montana might be a bit wider, 53-47 maybe

Tennessee might go our way, we'll see later.

Also, I doubt Laffee will beat Chaffee, but you never know.

Besides that, I still think with the corruption issue the house will swing our way. General referendum on GOP instead of candidate v. candidate.

"Culture of corruption" has legs I say. :-)

by Trowaman on Sat Dec 31, 2005 at 03:36:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 2006 Predictions (none / 0)

Look at the Cook and Larry Sabato Crystal Ball, and Roll Call, MO is still a Republican tilt. But your other predictions are correct.

by mleflo2 on Sun Jan 01, 2006 at 01:29:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

They hate it when Dean isn't on TV (none / 0)

They want him to be out front more. Shit, I remember seeing Terry Mac's face on TV every single time Enron Ed was on. But Howard? Nope.

It truly think they know Howard has been working the trenches, not the pundit circuit. I truly believe that it scares them, makes them tremble a little.

They aren't sure what he's up to, and it bothers them.

by Sam Loomis on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 04:36:23 PM EST

Boldest Prediction (none / 0)

My guess is that everything else will be overshadowed this year by the Ken Lay trial in Houston. I have a feeling that Lay will find himself so encircled as to defend himself by saying that the President and others knew and tacitly approved of his dealings.

In the process of doing this, I think Lay will disclose who was at the energy task force meetings back in 2001. It's my suspicion that the name Ahmed Chalabi will float up the surface. Other names like Abramoff may appear, but it's likely this revelation...that the Bush Administration planned to Iraq before 9-11 to the extent of bring in Chalabi to discuss how these resources would be used that likely will cast a pall over the "trust and honor" meme of the Republicans.

Add in a very weird year economically with lots of deflation and this ought to be good.

by risenmessiah on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 06:48:17 PM EST

Back to Reality (none / 0)

"Will President Bush's approval rating stand at 57 percent?" - No, it'll be in the high 30's at most thanks to the economy, Iraq, several convictions concerning PlameGate (including Cheney), and another scandal (or two).

"Will Howard Dean be out at the DNC?" - Are you freakin' kidding me?

"Will the GOP extend its majorities in Congress?" - See "Bush" above.

"Will the folks at NRO continue to be paid to spout such unrealistic ramblings?" - Of course. No one else wants them (excepting perhaps the New York Times).

by David Berger on Sat Dec 31, 2005 at 08:19:33 AM EST

Of Course!!!!! (none / 0)

Of course they all say this kind of crap. If they didn't continue to peddle this kind of crap then they wouldn't have a job any longer. They all continue to help the right wing agenda by continuing to puch the idea that the liberals are so far out in the lunatic fringe that it is only inevitable that the republicans will make a come back. Their constant peddling of this bull shit helps to make their agenda a sort of self fullfilling prophecy, it makes average people believe that it was inevitable that these things should happen.

Mark

by Mark J. Bowers on Sat Dec 31, 2005 at 10:12:33 AM EST

Predictions... (none / 0)

Moderate and Liberal Democrats will not be able to agree on much except that the Republicans need to go.

Howard Dean will say something that makes liberals cheer, moderates cringe, and Republicans laugh at him.

Democrats will make gains in the Senate and House, but will not take control of either. They will, however, make significant gains in Governors races.

Rick Santorum will lose to Bob Casey, Jr., but the result will be surprisingly close.

Bush's approval rating will be in the mid to upper 40's by the end of the year. His disapproval rating will be about the same.

Another 500 American servicemen and women will die in Iraq.

Democrats who are interested in 2008 will practice their fence riding when it comes to the Iraq war.

Conflicting reports will come out of Iraq. Each side will acuse the other of being too optimistic/pessimistic and outright lying.

There will be another major Al Qaeda attack in the west, probably in Europe.

Several high ranking members of the Bush Administration will be indicted. The American public probably won't care.

DeLay will not be convicted, but will lose re-election.

Large areas of New Orleans will still be a mess. Lawsuits will be rampant.

The housing boom will slow down, but growth in other sectors will offset this.

Samuel Alito will be confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The White House will prevent conservative members of Congress from enacting any serious tax reform. (Bush only believes in tax cuts for likely Republicans.)

Bush will still not veto a bill.

by wayward on Sat Dec 31, 2005 at 09:00:30 PM EST

My 2006 predictions (none / 0)

We will make gains in the House and Senate, but fail to capture either chamber. We will win 6 seats in the House: CT, CO, IA, MN, TX, and VT and capture 3 seats in the Senate winning: OH, PA, and RI. Also, we will win 5 governorships, while losing one. We will win: AR, CA, MA, MN, NY, and OH while losing IA. I'm not overlly optumistic or negative, I know that in the past the way the parties won the House or the Senate back was through redistricting such as in 72, and 82, and '94, and I think, since in '10 that when we have the majority of gov, we will win the redistricting and House back. In '00, redistricting wasn't done in our favor, so we have our backs against the wall here.

by mleflo2 on Sun Jan 01, 2006 at 08:47:08 AM EST

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