Pelosi: "August 11th, mark that date on your calendar... onward to victory!"

[Mikeg]

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi [[D-CA) appeared on the Rachel Maddow show on Sept. 26, 2012, during which she made the following comments about how the Democrats would regain control of the House of Representatives on Nov. 6th:

"But when August 11th [2012], mark that date on your calendar, when [Paul] Ryan was chosen [as Romney's running mate], that made a very big difference, because Medicare, Medicare, Medicare, the three most important issues in the campaign, in alphabetical order, that issue was clarified, focus was on it, and we could not lose the debate about Medicare, because if we do, forget Democrats, forget Republicans, Medicare is gone.

....And we expect to win about 20 seats in the states I just named. Then we go where the president is, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, states like that, to take us, oh, I want to go beyond 25. I`d like to have 35.

....So, onward to victory, don`t agonize, organize. Drive for 25!"

Well, apparently there has been - and continues to be - more agonizing than organizing:

Medicare fades as ‘majority-maker’ issue for House Dems
The Hill
By Sam Baker - 11/03/12 06:00 AM ET

Attacking Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan — once seen as the most potent weapon in House Democrats’ campaign arsenal — is turning out to be a dud.

Democratic leaders have hit Medicare harder than any other issue for more than a year, even calling Ryan’s plan a “majority-maker.” But with Election Day just around the corner, Democrats are looking at pickups in the single digits — far short of the 25 seats they would need to retake the House.

Medicare simply hasn’t become the powerful tool that Democrats — and even many Republicans — expected.

.....Some GOP operatives fretted that adding Ryan to the ticket would elevate his controversial Medicare plan and threaten down-ballot candidates even more than Mitt Romney.

Instead, Republicans now have a better chance of keeping the House than of winning the White House.

[firstandten]

I tend to agree Dems taking the House back was going to be tough even without trying to use Medicare as a trump card.

[Mikeg]

Dems' drive to retake House falters
Politico
By ALEX ISENSTADT | 11/4/12 6:29 PM EST

Nancy Pelosi has spent much of the past two years proclaiming that Democrats had a great shot at reclaiming the House and returning the speaker’s gavel to her hands.

But her drive to regain the majority for Democrats is on the verge of a complete collapse. Democrats are expected to pick up five seats at best — a fraction of the 25 they need. On the eve of the election, some party officials are privately worried that Democrats might even lose ground and drop one or two seats to the Republican majority.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz2BLmS0pXo

How can this be happening? Doesn't Obama have any "coattails"? Nate Silver has him as an 85% lock for re-election tomorrow - you'd think his impending victory would provide evidence of a spill-over effect that would help Democrats pick up more than a few seats in the House. Instead, it looks like the Democrats could possibly lose a few seats, giving the House Republicans a greater edge in the next Congress.

[firstandten]

How can this be happening? Doesn't Obama have any "coattails"? Nate Silver has him as an 85% lock for re-election tomorrow - you'd think his impending victory would provide evidence of a spill-over effect that would help Democrats pick up more than a few seats in the House. Instead, it looks like the Democrats could possibly lose a few seats, giving the House Republicans a greater edge in the next Congress.

Its pretty straightforward you have almost a 50-50 split in the electorate and in many states such as Michigan you have a re-districting map that favors Reps. So in that respect I see the Reps keeping control of the house. Hopefully the next Congress will be a little more bi-partisan in their approach. to workiing with the President