Republicans need six seats to win Senate control, a goal that strategists on both sides say is within reach, considering veteran Democratic retirements in GOP-leaning and swing-voting states, including Iowa and Michigan, but also in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. ...AP
But takes a bunch of bucks to win a Senate seat, particularly if you're the party in the deepest dumps. And the money is less available.
The biggest Republican-leaning money machines are spending dramatically less this year to help the party ahead of the 2014 Senate elections, two years after millions of dollars in early advertising by outside groups against Democrats backfired in embarrassing losses in otherwise winnable races. Groups such as American Crossroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce no longer are willing to risk major investments on hard-line conservatives who embarrassed GOP leaders last fall and rattled the confidence of party donors. ...AP h/t PoliticalWire.
And then, quite apart from money, you have to have candidates.
"Republicans are giddy about their chances to retake the Senate on the back of a disaster known as Obamacare. There's just one problem: The GOP doesn't have the right candidates to make it happen." ...NationalJournal
They need some issues, too, as well as a track record. So what are Republicans left with?
Oh right. Their Obamacare mania, and that's about it. They've dropped immigration. They've punted tax reform. They've screwed up on debt and deficit. They've tried to draw attention away from that mess by shutting down the government. So now they've got more than 60% of Americans blaming them for the shutdown.
So is Obamacare a winning issue for Republicans?
As the reports roll in from around the country, it becomes clearer that even people frustrated by the ACA website seem to like the new healthcare options. Most of the hysteria about "glitches" appears to be rooted in Washington, not so much out here in the adult section.
