In the past few weeks, GOP lawmakers in districts narrowly divided along party lines -- Reps. Deborah Pryce (Ohio), Rick Renzi (Ariz.), Jim Ramstad (Minn.) and Jerry Weller (Ill.) come to mind -- have all taken a pass on another term, creating grumbles that a full-scale retreat is underway. And, according to financial reports filed late last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had $22 million in the bank at the end of August, compared with less than $2 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

That money differential is key because the GOP has always had the money advantage.  And that allows them to demonize our candidates even though they represent the more popular ideas.  Thus, we have a 19 point generic advantage, but it starts to disappear when specific candidates are named and slimed.  

Hillary's high negatives have already been paid for.  Everyone else will require a new investment.

Some people say (YOUR DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT) is a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama and will support her liberal agenda of big government and higher taxes if she becomes President. If we re-elect (YOUR DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT) they will be a rubber stamp for Clinton/Obama  and will forget the values of our district.
After hearing this if the election for U.S. Congress were held today, would you vote for [ROTATE] _the Republican candidate OR _(the Democratic incumbent), or are you undecided?

Then it's easy to understand why the Dems come out looking bad. Also, Lake is doing work for Biden. Go figure.

howieinseattle

to wit: mike melanson, long time dem operative, and mark udall's campaign manager in the upcoming senate race, had this comment in august:

CC: The convention political wisdom of coattails can have  a huge impact on down ticket races in an important presidential election year. As a key senate race, do you feel you have a role in that or not?

MM:  My number one job is to get Mark Udall elected. Let's be honest, everyone's got coattails. The question is whether you want to ride them or not. We make that decision at the presidential level and, I think, the house and senate folks in the state legislature will have to make that decision with regards to us. Of course, we know they're going to base that off of their research and how they see the campaign above them developing.

Earlier today I was on a call with the Generation Blue PAC folks and they asked a similar question. And they said, of course, we're not looking for an endorsement or anything but if you were to pick a presidential candidate which one would you pick? And they were mainly focusing on the top three frontrunners. But my view of that was 'Well those three I think they all have plusses and minuses in Colorado. And I'm not sure any of them helps or harms our candidacy. But I do believe that Bill Richardson [the Democratic governor of neighboring New Mexico], while certainly a long shot -- and this is no endorsement of his campaign -- that if he were the nominee I do think that the fact that he is Hispanic and a Westerner, I think it would truly change the presidential landscape. Now, of course, Bill Richardson is a long shot, so the same thing that if one of those [top three] candidates were to bring a Westerner in as a VP I think that might temper some of the things that are problematic with the three frontrunners. But again, we'll have to see how this shapes up between now and November. It's still a long ways away now.

interview text here

there is an interesting comment there also regarding the, so called, "western strategy":

All I say with that is there is a little bit of, for folks back East, look out here and they see the demographic change and they see the results that we've had and I think they're not looking carefully at why those came about. It's not just simply a shift in the electorate but it's a shift in the message in what it means to be a Westerner and everyone of these candidates that won out here on a statewide basis are a very unique almost libertarian -- with a small 'l' -- type democrat.

interpret his comments as you will, but l believe they are pretty indicative of the current political situation here.  one has to search no further than sen salazar and his brother john in the house to see the results we can expect.

as an aside, this is true as well for the annointed d candidate for allard's seat, mark udall.  from his first town hall, public meeting in 1 1/2 years...no that is not a typo...he had this to say about his support for the war in iraq:

Congressman Udall repeated his position, which is that he intends to vote for funding because he wants to support the troops and end the violence in Iraq

link

so don't expect any support for that issue from marky...who, along with sen salazar has had anti-war protesters evicted from his office and prosecuted, convicted and jailed.

lTMF'sA

the revolution will not be televised...