Democrats Better Prepared, Says Republican Tom DeLay

A Politico report today cited Republican Tom Delay, a former House Majority Leader for the GOP, as saying the organizational skills of Democrats have been honed over the past several years, and the result could be longstanding gains for the left.

In the November 2006 elections, Democrats swept races across the country and retook control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as many state governorships. The Politico quotes DeLay as saying that prior to those elections, "the left and the Democrats had spent seven years putting together one of the most powerful political coalitions that had ever been built."

DeLay's comments were made at a breakfast panel at the Republican National Convention. Also at the breakfast were Virginia Representative Eric Cantor, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and National Review editor Rich Lowry. The breakfast was hosted by the Politico, Yahoo News, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The Politico's report also stated that the breakfast panel addressed the issue of middle class working voters, with some panelists arguing that Senator McCain needed to make a stronger case for that demographic. The report quoted Representative Cantor as saying, "We need to do a better job of advocating for the middle class in this country." Mr. Lowry noted that Senator Obama's tax plan was more targeted at the middle class than was Senator McCain's.

If Republicans are going to be competitive in House and Senate races this Fall, they will need to improve their organizational skills and grass roots mobilization efforts. Otherwise, the elections this November could turn out to be a repeat of the ones two years ago.

Some Republicans are expressing hope that McCain's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will help with ordinary Americans. The mother of five and self-described hockey mom is wildly popular with the conservative base. The McCain campaign reported that new donations began to pour in just hours after the announcement of Governor Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee was made.

While the prospects for Republicans in the House and Senate look grim, the race for the White House is shaping up to be much more competitive than originally anticipated. Polls vary from slight McCain leads to Obama-McCain ties to Obama leads just outside the margin of error. What concerns many Democrats is that there was an expectation that this year would be a landslide, and that John McCain wouldn't stand a chance.

But with just about two months to go, the race remains too close to call. The continually unfolding drama should make for a very interesting election night.