Democrats Want to Defy Odds and Win the House

The usual rule is that the President’s party loses House seats during last midterm election. Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats want to beat the odds and win back the House.

Bill Clinton was the only president in recent years to win House seats in his last midterm election. Democrats managed to do that in spite of (or possibly because of) the pending Monica Lewinsky impeachment proceeding. The main casualty of that election was Newt Gingrich, who surrendered his speakership.

Democrats need 18 seats. Their strategy is to work with the newly energized President Obama to keep the Republicans on the defensive on a host of issues making them appear to be intransigent, outside the mainstream and captured by a radical right.

One month into the new year, it appears to be working, but the election is still two years away and the odds remain long.