Save this one for future gloating:
These may be dark days for the Republican Party, but a top GOP congressional leader predicted today that Republicans would trounce Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections and could take back control of the House of Representatives.
"I really believe we've got a shot at taking back this House because you see what's gone on here with the unfettered ability of this administration and Nancy Pelosi to run this Congress," Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the No. 2 Republican in the House, told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "The American people see that this agenda is way far out of the mainstream. They want a check and a balance on this power. And I think at the end of the day that's what rules come November 2010."
There's no way the GOP picks up 40 House seats to take back the House majority, absent a major Democratic scandal of epic proportions. At this point, Republicans would be hard pressed to simply avoid losing additional seats.
Being optimistic about reversing the trend of the last two elections could be reasonable. Predicting a pro-Republican "landslide" when the party, it's message, its leaders, and its reputation are in shambles is an entirely different thing.