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Obama Spokesman Says Democrats Could Lose Control of the House

By Jeff Mays on Jul 12th 2010 12:01PM
Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama

Comments (7)



Democrats are sounding the alarm regarding upcoming midterm elections, warning that Democrats could lose control of the House.

It's likely that the move is an effort to rile up Democratic voters, some of whom are not completely happy with President Obama's first 18 months in office.

"I think there's no doubt there are enough seats in play that could cause Republicans to gain control. There's no doubt about that," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.'

The AP writes:

Democrats now hold a 255-178 edge in the House, with two vacancies in the 435-member chamber. Anywhere from 40 to perhaps 60 House seats could be competitive by the fall. Republicans would need to take back about 40 seats to slip into the majority, placing the current GOP leader, Ohio Rep. John Boehner, in line to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as speaker.

Those House Democrats who won election for the first time in 2008 in conservative-leaning districts as part of the Obama wave are particularly vulnerable this fall, given that the president is not on the ballot. ...The White House also could be working to lower expectations in case Democrats do lose the House majority.

Gibbs has taken to citing recent Republican comments as an example of the type of policies the country will face if the GP gains control of the House and Senate. Comments from Republican Rep. Joe Barton, who apologized to BP for being forced to set up a $20 billion fund, and Boehner's criticism of Wall Street regulations, were two examples.



"I think that's a perfect window not into what people are thinking but the way they would govern," Gibbs said.

David Bositis, senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that studies public policy issues affecting African Americans, said it's not likely that Democrats will lose control of the House. At worst, they could end up with a 50-50 split.

The fickle nature of the American voter never ceases to amaze me. We've just come from a disastrous eight-year Republican administration, after which we voted to give the other party a chance. The country was on the verge of financial ruin yet just 18 months in, even some Democrats are whining.





The mere fact that we are considering returning power to a party that thinks Wall Street is being regulated too harshly after overly lenient policies almost helped collapse our economy is shocking.

A true third, and even fourth, party in this country would be great. That could force Democrats and Republicans to take other agendas and ideas into account the way some moderate Republicans and Democrats work to win Independent voters.



Instead, we just bounce back and forth from one party to the next, choosing the lesser of two evils at times, too impatient to give anyone a real chance at making significant change.



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