John Nichols: Democrats Win Another GOP House Seat

[marmar]

from The Nation:



Democrats Win Another GOP House Seat
posted by John Nichols on 05/04/2008 @ 10:44am




Democrats took another Republican-held U.S. House seat in a special election Saturday, suggesting that the party remains on track for significant expansion of its congressional majorities in 2008.

Louisiana Democrat Don Cazayoux, a young moderate with state legislative experience, snatched a seat that Republicans had held since the 1970s by a 49-46 margin over a well-funded campaign by veteran Republican legislator Woody Jenkins.

The win extends the Democratic majority in the House to 235-198 and it continues a pattern of special-election wins for the party in seats that have traditionally been thought of as Republican strongholds -- including the Illinois turf of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

But it does something far more significant.

Republicans and their allied special-interest groups had sought to save the seat by "nationalizing" -- or, to be more precise, racializing -- the contest with a campaign that sought to tie Cazayoux to Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama. Hoping to capitalize on concerns about Obama's former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in order to exploit racial divisions in the south and other regions of recent Republican strength, GOP operatives have developed advertising schemes that feature images of Obama, Wright and local Democratic candidates.

The strategy was implemented in Louisiana and is also being used in an upcoming Mississippi special election. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/317755

[ThomWV]

1. This will be repeated all across the nation in November - we are goning to kick the shit out of them

We are going to take the Presidency in a landside and we are going to gain an overwhelming majority in the House. We're going to pick up seats in the Senate too, hopefully enough to wipe away Republican influnece in that soiled body.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "...unless somebody changes the rules. Smirk." - Commander AWOL & Homelander Cabal

[burythehatchet]

3. It is highly encouraging. Only Dieblod stands in the way.

[mac2]

7. Right.

When an election is stolen the media and even the party leaders/members keep asking why did they vote this or that way? Is that not a mute point?

[KharmaTrain]

4. And What's The Corporate Media Saying?

"Wright, Wright, Wright...be scared of the angry black men"
"Huggy Bear McLame is a "regular guy"...even if he flies in a private jet and surrounds himself with DC's sleeziest lobbyists"
"Dirty Fuckin' Hippies are gonna make us all marry gays, have abortions and burn our bibles..."

Not a single word about what was a very, very big win and a real indicator of things to come in November. This is the second election in a predominately RED district that Democrats won and did so despite millions spent by the GOOPers and that none of their attacks (Obama, Pelosi) worked. It's results like these that tell me a lot more than all the Chuck Todd numbers or Tweety's "common man" bullshit.

[Juche]

5. sweet

Louisiana's 6th has a Cook PVI index of R+7. So this bodes well for the future of the dem party, at least for the next few years. But if the public starts forgetting the endless crimes and incompetence of today's GOP they may go back to voting for them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Partisan_Voting_Index

[lonestarnot]

6. Fine as long as he's a real democrat. I always get nervous when

mentions Louisiana and democrats.

[mac2]

8. Or call them a "Moderate or New Democrat".

It's like jogging backwards toward our goal to move forward in our democracy.

[Breeze54]

9. great news!

Kick out all the rethugs this year! Take over the Senate completely too!

:kick: & Recommended