As far as I know, John Murtha is the first major democratic official to
predict a takeover of the House and a 40 to 50 seat gain.
He is also predicting that American troops will be out of Iraq by next year, either because of public pressure on because the new Democratic Congress will demand it.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. John Murtha, the hawkish Democrat who stunned Washington last year with his call for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, said Thursday that American forces will come home next year - either because of public pressure or a Democratic-controlled Congress.
The Pennsylvania lawmaker predicted a political tidal wave in November, comparable to the post-Watergate class of 1974 - when he was first elected - or the Republican rout in 1994 that will give the Democrats control of the House.
His estimate: Democrats will win 40-50 House seats - far more than the 15 necessary to take charge from Republicans.
``They're not going to understand how bad it's going to be,'' Murtha said in an interview with The Associated Press. ``They're going to get shocked.''