'Vote the Idiots Out': Union Construction Workers Against Obama!

At LAT, "Democrats Face Uphill Climb in Midterm Elections":

With just over six months to campaign, Democrats face a substantial risk of losing the House and surrendering much of their advantage in the Senate, as Republicans capitalize on strong discontent with President Obama and continued voter concern over jobs and the economy.

The trend marks an erosion for Democrats since the beginning of the year, after the retirement of several senior lawmakers and the polarizing healthcare debate. Even recent signs of an economic rebound — the first glimmers of job creation, the stock market surge, a big rise in consumer spending — may not help Democrats, unless it translates into a significant drop in the unemployment rate by fall.

The good news for Obama and fellow Democrats is that, unlike the Republican landslide of 1994, strategists are well aware of the peril the party faces — Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown saw to that — and have much more time to fight back.

"Democrats got a heads-up," said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster with dozens of clients in the midterm election. "They can raise more money, do opposition research against opponents, do focus-group testing on how to beat these guys. ... In 1994, they had very little notice a wave was coming" ....

Still, several trends are running strongly in Republicans' favor, after two dismal elections that first cost them control of Congress, then the White House.

The party holding the White House almost always loses congressional seats at the midpoint of a president's first term; since World War II, the average is 16 House seats. However, the losses have been much greater when a president's approval rating is below 50%, where Obama has been hovering of late ....

"The question is not whether we have an uphill climb," said Maryland Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, head of the party's House campaign committee. "The question is the steepness of the hill."

It's going to be tougher in the Senate (the GOP must win all 10 closely contested states), but it's not like it's getting any easier for the Dems (see, "Distrust, Discontent, Anger And Partisan Rancor").

Photo Credit: A union construction worker tea partier at the Ivine Tax Day Tea Party.