FOR THE OPTIMISTIC AT HEART – AT 7:51 A.M. ET:  There is some guarded discussion about the possibility that the GOP can take the Senate in November.  I think it's a stretch, but we report it.  The Senate, in my view, is more important than the House because the Senate confirms Supreme Court justices, and thus can influence their selection.  So far, Obama has given us two card-carrying liberals.  The libs need one more vote on the Court to start a legal revolution...in the wrong direction.  From Fox:

WASHINGTON—Democrats for the first time are acknowledging that Republicans could retake the Senate this November if everything falls into place for the GOP, less than two years after Democrats held a daunting 60-seat majority.

Leaders of both parties have believed for months that Republicans could win the House, where every lawmaker faces re-election. But a change of party control in the Senate, where only a third of the members are running and Republicans must capture 10 seats, seemed out of the question.

That's no longer the case. The emergence of competitive Republican candidates in Wisconsin, Washington and California—Democratic-leaning states where polls now show tight races—bring the number of seats that Republicans could seize from the Democrats to 11.

Democrats now control the Senate 59-41—after the death of Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was replaced by Republican Sen. Scott Brown—including two independents who usually vote with them. That means Republicans need 10 seats to take a 51-49 advantage.

COMMENT:  We really have to be careful about this.  Yes, some new possibilities for Republicans have opened up, but some earlier possibilities may be closing.  Sharron Angle, the borderline nutty candidate the GOP nominated for the Senate in Nevada, is now behind Harry Reid, who was considered dead meat just months ago.  Marco Rubio is having a tough time against newly independent Governor Charlie Crist in Florida.  And Rand Paul, no favorite of mine, is starting to slide in Kentucky, a state that should be a sure thing for sane Republican candidates...which is where the problem lies. 

I still don't see the fight in Republicans that I'd like to see, and I certainly don't see an alternative platform that they can claim as their own.  The election is three and a half months away.  The Dems are turning up the heat, and the hate, and they can be effective.

Be optimistic, but let's back that optimism by real action and solid candidates.  I'm not interested in being "close" on election day.  "Close" is for people who retire and write their memoirs.

July 19, 2010