Those who read my comments relative to the upcoming 2014 midterm election know that I am a self-admitted pessimist. I think this pessimism is often misunderstood as "concern trolling", when in reality it is my attempt to sound the alarm due to the dynamics I am seeing with the contested races.
The latest poll out of Arkansas is another such alarm. It shows Cotton beating Pryor by 7 points with a little over a month left in the contest
And before anyone starts...YES, I know this is RASMUSSEN...who many here dismiss, even though Rasmussen Reports has given President Obama his highest job-approval ratings for the past year or so. But the fact is, Pryor has only been shown to be leading this race in ONE poll during the last month...and according to the RCP polling averages, he is losing by an average of nearly four points
And, according to the RCP polling averages, we now stand to lose the senate if the election was held today
That's the bad news.
The GREAT news? These races aren't over yet...and we still have time to turn them around.
I work on the ground in many states in and around the Midwest. What bothers me most is not the work that people working on our side are putting in. They are all working their hearts out day after day across the nation.
What bothers me most is the fact that we need many, many more people working in the trenches if we are to save the senate.
Folks, we can point and laugh at the GOP all we want. God knows we love to revel in the glow of their idiocy.
But I am seeing and hearing with my own eyes and ears the swell of support they are generating in states like Kentucky (where the turtle is pulling away), Iowa (where Braley has not led a poll in over 3 weeks), and even Colorado (where Udall has not led a poll for the same 3 week span). The former state may have been difficult due to its ideological nature, but the latter 2 should have been solid keeps for us. Now, we stand to lose them unless things change...and FAST.
Bottom-line: WE NEED TO DOUBLE/TRIPLE OUR EFFORTS. Losing the senate means stalled judicial appointments, a dead legislative agenda, and budget cuts beyond our wildest nightmares. The president's final 2 years in office will reflect a country governed in darkness.
We cannot allow this to happen. Please know that this is my motivation when posting "gloom and doom" comments. We should assume that we are losing every race and work like it's our last to win. There is too much a stake to be high-fiving and pointing and laughing when the GOP says something stupid or a single poll tells us what we need to hear.
The enemy is doing their work. How will WE respond?