It's an uphill climb, to retake the House from the Tea Party yahoos.
It's not an impossible climb though. It will just take some work.
25 seats worth of work ... (out of 435 House of Representative seats).
Hoyer: House majority relies on Obama victory
by Susan Davis, USA TODAY -- Jun 21, 2012
The House's number two Democrat said he believes the party will win control of the U.S. House this November, but President Obama must win re-election for it to happen.
"In order for us to win back the House, the president will have to win this election," Hoyer said today. "And I think he will win this election."
Democrats need to net 25 seats to win control of the U.S. House. Republicans currently control the majority 242-191 and independent election forecasters expect the GOP to maintain control but lose five to 15 seats.
[...]
"There isn't any doubt they vilified Nancy Pelosi -- unfairly," Hoyer said, adding that the electoral mood and the House leadership is different this time. "People are going to want to see the policies" between the two parties, he said, "I think they are going to be the focus of the election."
[...]
Pelosi compared to Boehner and it's hardly a contest.
Pelosi can get stuff done; Boehner can't.
Pelosi knows how to compromise; Boehner can't.
Pelosi knows how to help the People; Boehner can only do what the Tea Party says.
Nancy Pelosi is a real Leader; John Boehner is a real __________ . (fill-in-the-blank)
Getting America moving again boils down to getting Pelosi back into a leadership position.
Here are a few of those "uphill" obstacles blocking that urgently needed "progressive" reality:
Working-Class Whites a Barrier to a Dem House
Analysis: Unlike Obama, House Democrats will have trouble forging a majority without that demographic.
by Josh Kraushaar, NationalJournal.com -- June 20, 2012
[...]
Democrats are well positioned to pick up seats in the Chicago suburbs (Reps. Joe Walsh/Robert Dold), Denver (Rep. Mike Coffman), and around Las Vegas (Rep. Joe Heck), but could give nearly as many seats back in areas spanning from working-class southwest Pennsylvania (Rep. Mark Critz), coal-producing southern Illinois (retiring Rep. Jerry Costello), rural Little Dixie (retiring Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma) and the expansive countryside of upstate and western New York (Reps. Bill Owens/Kathy Hochul).
This isn’t a trivial matter. If Democrats struggle to broaden their brand, they will need to thoroughly dominate in the Democratic-trending suburbs to win back control. In 2010, the National Republican Congressional Committee focused on largely white, conservative districts held by veteran Democrats as the gateway to a majority, and succeeded beyond their expectations. A GOP-dominated redistricting process and untimely retirements from Blue Dog members, such as Boren and Rep. Heath Shuler, have offered up fresh opportunities to go on the offensive.
[...]
That reality is making things difficult for Democrats to gain a net of 25 seats to regain the majority. On the top of Democratic target lists are vulnerable Republicans representing white working-class districts, such as Rust Belt freshmen Reps. Bill Johnson and Jim Renacci (Ohio), Sean Duffy (Wisconsin), andDan Benishek (Michigan). Democrats believe the members’ votes for Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget give their opponents a potent line of attack on entitlements. But complicating their prospects are Obama’s weak approval numbers, which in those districts are considerably worse than his middling national approval ratings.
Meanwhile, in the redistricting process, Republicans paid careful attention to shoring up the districts of vulnerable suburban Republicans, who regularly faced tough reelection campaigns. Members such as Reps.Steve Stivers (Columbus, Ohio), Steve Chabot (Cincinnati), Jim Gerlach (Philadelphia), Pat Meehan(Philadelphia), Daniel Webster (Orlando), and Kevin Yoder (Kansas City, Kan.) are now favored to win another term. The gains have largely offset the new opportunities Democrats have in California and Illinois.
[...]
That is the landscape we need to tread.
People, we should each focus on the Tea Party contests in our own neighborhoods.
And then get involved. THEY MATTER. It's time to throw the bums zealots out!
Just 25 House seats need to be tipped from camp-clueless back to reality-based.
Let's give Speaker Boehner something to really cry about, in this next "Let the People Speak" election: