Thursday, September 22, 2005

Even with fallen leader, GOP reigns

Time for the on-the-ground political (good) news. Things are in great shape, Cindy Sheehan & Evil-Republican hurricanes notwithstanding!............T
"Looking ahead to 2006, Barone sees good news for Republicans. He notes that Bush carried 31 states last year, compared to Kerry's 19. That means that if the trend toward polarization continues - 'red' states getting redder, 'blue' states getting bluer - the GOP has little reason to fear losing the Senate.

A similar GOP geography advantage holds true in the House. Barone counts 20 congressional districts that Kerry won with 80 percent of the vote, compared to zero for Bush. What that means is that Bush's vote was more evenly spread out; indeed, W. won 255 congressional districts last year, to Kerry's 180. So again, if Republicans can merely hang on to the Bush base, they can hang on to control.

For his part, the conservative Barone would like to see the GOP stay on top, Bush or no Bush. But he earned his reputation as an analyst, not as an advocate. Indeed, the data he has assembled in his new book speak louder than any partisan could."

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