I don’t think the GOP is going to pick up enough to take back Congress next year, which I actually think is a very good thing. It increases the odds of Obama being Carter, not Clinton, and will force the GOP to reconsider whether it has the right leadership in place to win — it does not.
But more stories like this one mean the GOP gains in 2010 are going to be significant.
Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) is reportedly going to announce today that he won’t seek re-election, making him the first Member of Congress this cycle to announce an outright retirement from the House.
The six-term Democrat’s departure, which was reported first by the Kansas City Star Monday morning, will leave his Republican-leaning district up for grabs in 2010.
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
KS-03 wasn't on Cook's list of competitive races.
Moe Lane (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 9:53AM EST (link)http://www.cookpolitical.com/charts/house/competitive_2009-11-12_13-08-48.php
It’s R+3, but Moore had a lock, apparently.
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Well, Charlie Cook Has Been Known To Miss Some, Occasionally... ;) (nt)
IJB Monday, November 23rd at 10:12AM EST (link)It was an Obama district
notreallyrepublican (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:09AM EST (link)O-tard won it in 2008 and has a college town in it, the libtards seem pretty upbeat about keeping it, and the GOP, as usual, annoits as the front runner an idiot touting his ties to the ‘moderate’ wing of the Republicans.
Even in Kansas we won’t run a true blue conservative, it’s pathetic. We deserve to lose seats if we run these RINOs
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I’m a conservative, not a Republican. If the GOP forgets about that, I’d be more then happy to vote third-party. Wouldn’t give me any less representation then I have now, and might give me more.
Lots of districts went for the Won
Richard Mullins (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:28AM EST (link)but that doesn’t make them Democrat districts at all. Lots of college kids had their messiah on the top of ticket and started to vote. This time there is no Won to help Dennis Moore out.
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Joe Biden is like a Decrepit Park owner with a Meth lab that happens to not only be a dealer but a user.
Let’s Bankrupt the Democratic paty. Make spend all the money to defend thier candidates.
Then why are we pandering to
notreallyrepublican (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:38AM EST (link)the moderates? Why does the party think a (god forbid!) actual conservative can’t win this seat? Every news piece i read this morning saying Jordan is the (R) front runner tout him as ‘in touch with’ or ‘beloved by’ the moderate wing of the party? I’m getting sick and tired of the party I’ve belonged to my entire life throwing me and others like me under the bus. F*ck republican, i’m a conservative. This is just another example why.
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I’m a conservative, not a Republican. If the GOP forgets about that, I’d be more then happy to vote third-party. Wouldn’t give me any less representation then I have now, and might give me more.
An Open Seat Is a Whole Different Kettle of Fish
IJB Monday, November 23rd at 11:41AM EST (link)I would assume now, with Moore gone, there will be tons of both moderate and conservative Republicans who will declare for this district.
Let’s let the primary sort all this out…
We'll see
notreallyrepublican (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:45AM EST (link)I just can’t work up as much optimism as you have based on what i’ve seen so far. I hope you’re right though.
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I’m a conservative, not a Republican. If the GOP forgets about that, I’d be more then happy to vote third-party. Wouldn’t give me any less representation then I have now, and might give me more.
They Blew the ObamaCare Vote, So....
farstar99 (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 12:34PM EST (link)they’ll blow this one, too.
It also
Mayhem (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 10:42AM EST (link)increases the likelihood that the Dems continue to overstep. “We WON in 2010, now move aside.”
Erick has mentioned this in the past, and I agree: Winning big in 2010 (35-40 seats), but losing by enough to barely keep the House in Dem control will actually do more to cripple the President’s agenda. In a narrow, narrow House majority (less than 5 seats), it will be extremely hard for Pelosi to get anything passed. In the Senate, we will likely gain 5 or 6 seats, and we will also probably have a more conservative caucus, so we will have a healthy filibuster again.
All this leaves Democrats in charge and accountable for all the woes that are most assuredly coming our way in the next 3 years. However, because they will have such a crippled majority, they won’t be able to get much passed. Basically, they will take the blame for everything and they won’t be able to do a thing about it.
James Madison, Jim DeMint, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan… You get the picture.
The Massive Hole in This Theory...
IJB Monday, November 23rd at 11:37AM EST (link)…Is the assumption that not winning the House in 2010 means we’ll just automatically win it in 2012.
History has shown up that you can’t count on that. And we shouldn’t.
I’d rather pick up 40-80 seats in 2010, and fully knee-cap The “Won’s”(not a typo) agenda then, and concentrate on taking back the Senate in 2012.
(Also, having control of the House, where spending bills originate, may be the only way to prevent ObamaCare from ever being enacted, as it now looks to most of us like it will pass by March of 2010.)
Having The Won still in the White House, and the Dems still in control in the Senate means that plenty of blame can still be assigned to them in 2012. (And don’t forget – foreign policy will get worse and worse for the Obama White House as time goes on, and that will serve to further erode confidence in the Democrats between 2010 and 2012.)
But I’d rather not leave to chance, 1) the Dems actually passing their agenda with only, say, a 5 seat edge in the House (if anything, this year has shown us that the Dems will get all the votes they need, no matter what, even if they only have 1 or 2 votes to spare), and 2) the GOP actually taking back the House after 2010.
In short: When you get the chance to kill the Queen, YOU KILL THE QUEEN.
You don’t sit around going, “Well, maybe things will be better if I wait to kill the Queen next week or something…” It’s too cute by half.
I have to agree.
mikedaire Monday, November 23rd at 12:18PM EST (link)But I don’t think it’s going to happen. I’d love to see a seismic shift in both chambers, but the current GOP leadership continues to hoist the moderate flag, so I doubt we’ll be in a position to win. In the unlikely event that the GOP does take the house, I suspect the current leadership will not go for the jugular to stop Obama’s move to the left.
A GOP Congress (or House)
Mayhem (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 1:44PM EST (link)just means Obama finally has the punching bag he’s always wanted. Without Bush he is 100 percent responsible for everything. He hates that. If he can get a GOP House to block everything he’s doing, he can rile up his liberal base and start throwing darts, instead of just deflecting them. He wants to be on offense, not defense.
And, like I said, giving them narrow majorities in both chambers is the same thing as taking back those chambers–the liberal agenda will come to a standstill. Look how hard it is for them to pass stuff now.
I’m sorry, but I maintain: Making huge gains, but keeping the Dems in charge (barely), is the best set up for us going into 2012.
James Madison, Jim DeMint, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan… You get the picture.
You have a SMALL point, with regards to the House
cwilson (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:06PM EST (link)but in the Senate: Judges. Judges, judges, judges. (Also, treaty ratification. Copenhagen, anyone?)
But in general, I don’t care what race you’re talking about, or which chamber. Elections MATTER. You do not win by losing.
Not that there’s a snowball’s chance in heck of taking back the Senate in 2010…
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! –Samuel Adams
Why should Moore...
harlan Monday, November 23rd at 10:56AM EST (link)…continue to put up with pelosi, when he can go home, (no doubt a wealthier man than he was twelve years ago), and collect his “pension” with its gold-standard health care?
Rats, Sinking Ships...
tsquare (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:21AM EST (link)Same old story…
One closer to a GOP majority.
I'll bet Moore is relieved
cwilson (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 12:11PM EST (link)that he no longer has to pretend to be “conservative” (Moore is one of the “blue dogs”). Now, since he isn’t facing re-election, Moore is free to let his inner leftist run amuck for the next 12 months — which means, he is now a reliable vote for CapNTax, ObamaCare, Amnesty,…
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! –Samuel Adams
Well we blew his cover
Richard Mullins (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 12:16PM EST (link)and now in order to fix it, he needs to not run for re-election. Personally, we should have blown his cover years ago.
Richard Phillip Mullins BlogThe Squash Satire SiteNews on Happy Jet Airlines
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Joe Biden is like a Decrepit Park owner with a Meth lab that happens to not only be a dealer but a user.
Let’s Bankrupt the Democratic paty. Make spend all the money to defend thier candidates.
Moore already voted to pass CapNTax and ObamaCare...
Third Street (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 3:48PM EST (link)…which may explain why he’s not bothering to run again. AFAIK he is the first Dem to out-and-out retire without making a race for a higher office or going for a lucrative appointment; may he be the first of many.
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.” –Wilkins Micawber, “David Copperfield”
Hopefully the first of many alleged Blue Dog, err
redpens (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 3:53PM EST (link)“Lap Dog” Democrats to let themselves out the door before the people show him the door in 2010.
A stupid question, Erick, but when you talk about Congress...
Cheetah772 (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 12:39PM EST (link)Are you referring to Congress in its entirety, or to one of two chambers of Congress?
When you talk about taking back Congress, I assumed that you meant that GOP would be able to take back either the Senate, or the House of Representatives, but not both. Is that what you meant?
I do think we have a decent chance of retaking the House, but not the Senate. Overall, I feel it’s far more important that we take back the Senate for no reason other than to block Obama’s eventual Supreme Court nominations, which will have far more lasting consequences than anything that might have come out of the House.
I’m just trying to think big picture here…so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on all counts. Thanks and looking forward to your reply….
Daniel 2:20 And he [God] changeth the times and seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.
Self Fake-out
tenebrous (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 12:50PM EST (link)I agree. If we have a chance to win, then we go for that. To purposefully try to almost win doesn’t allow us to get our objectives achieved. The American people will say, “Why did we elect Republicans, if you didn’t stop the legislative abuses?” Elections are about winning; everything besides winning is a consolation prize.
5 (nt)
IJB Monday, November 23rd at 5:55PM EST (link)Now that I have been registered long enough ...
qixlqatl (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:27PM EST (link)to post, for the past year I have been wondering what ‘nt’ means. Would someone enlighten me, please. There are other abbreviations I don’t get, too. Oh yes, what’s with the 5′s, while I’m asking?
“Yet, Freedom! yet thy banner, torn, but flying,
Streams like the thunderstorm against the wind.”
George Gordon Noel Byron
Sorry...
discerningconservative (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:36PM EST (link)I responded to your question below… Your answers can be found here in The Official Red State Users Manual.
TYVM
qixlqatl (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:48PM EST (link)I know what that means
And I’d like to say that this site has been and will continue to be a pleasure to read.
“Yet, Freedom! yet thy banner, torn, but flying,
Streams like the thunderstorm against the wind.”
George Gordon Noel Byron
You can find the answers...
discerningconservative (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:34PM EST (link)Right here in the Red State Users Manual.
Kowalski...
discerningconservative (Diary) Monday, November 23rd at 11:35PM EST (link)Response to qixlqatl above… I always seem to have a Reply to This FAIL when responding to the last comment in a thread…