The G.O.P.'s Firewall Strategy (Time.com)

[Dulcinea]

With less than four weeks to go until the midterm elections, Republicans and Democrats are shifting focus to a battle for the Senate, as two months of bad news has forced national GOP strategists into an increasingly defensive stance. The Mark Foley scandal alone has tossed anywhere from two to six formerly safe Republican House seats into play and increased the likelihood of a Democratic takeover. That has allowed the Democrats to target Senate races with new funds, and forced Republicans to concentrate on defending their 10-seat majority there. "The Senate's a top priority, and you'll see a tremendous amount of resources garnered to protect the majority there," says one GOP strategist familiar with the party's planning. Says a Democratic strategist, "More attention than ever is being directed to the Senate races."

In what it is privately calling it's "firewall" strategy, the Republican National Committee has recently spent close to $4 million in three crucial Senate races — Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee — in the hope of holding Democratic gains to a maximum of five seats. No new RNC money has gone to House races during that time. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee last week decided to pour an additional $5 million into Senate races, compared with roughly $2 million in new get-out-the-vote funds being funneled through the House-focused Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "There is a real sense that retaking the Senate is within our grasp," says Stacie Paxton, spokeswoman for the DNC.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1545946,00.html?cnn=yes

[aquart]

1. They've conceded the House.

I ought to be jubilant.

But now I want the Senate.

And then I want public hangings but that's negotiable.

First we declare the bastards "enemy combatants."

[janx]

2. I was thinking the same thing!

:hi:

Recent polls are rolling along in favor of Dems taking the House in a big way...but I want them to take the Senate, too. Firewall be damned.

[yellowcanine]

3. If they are pouring money into Missouri and Tennesee.......I think that

means the Republicans are a lot more worried about losing the Senate then they have been letting on. IMO Ohio is wasted money for them. The sinking fortunes of Blackwell and the scandals is pulling everyone down. The only place where more Republican seats get turned over to Democrats is probably New York.