Tuesday, November 07, 2006
MASS SUICIDE FORECAST
Democrat expectations have soared into the stratosphere, reports the New York Times. But on election morning ...
Some Democrats worry that those forecasts, accurate or not, may be setting the stage for a demoralizing election night, and one with lasting ramifications, sapping the party’s spirit and energy heading into the 2008 presidential election cycle.
“Two years ago, winning 14 seats in the House would have been a pipe dream,” said Matt Bennett, a founder of Third Way, a moderate Democratic organization. Now, Mr. Bennett said, failure to win the House, even by one seat, would send Democrats diving under their beds (not to mention what it might do to all the pundits).
“It would be crushing,” he said. “It would be extremely difficult.”
[Analyst Charlie] Cook put it more succinctly. “I think you’d see a Jim Jones situation — it would be a mass suicide,” he said.
The nation’s shrinks could be in for another windfall. A Republican win would also bring other problems, as Stanley Kurtz observes. Myself, I’d be curious to see how the left would react to a Democrat victory; since the Age of Blog, they haven’t had much chance to celebrate.
(Via AJ Strata and JMH)