Sabato’s Crystal Ball: House Schemes And Pipe Dreams

Isaac Wood: HOUSE SCHEMES AND PIPE DREAMS – The GOP’s list of 70 House targets debunked

It’s a game both parties play: pretend that this will be the year you go on the offensive in places where your candidate is, in reality, as likely to win American Idol as the November general election. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dutifully played their part on July 31, sending an e-mail to friendly political action committees outlining 70 purported U.S. House “targets” for 2010 (see table here). Last week, NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions even suggested that as many as 80 Democratic districts could be in play this cycle. Perhaps the NRCC was trying to live up to that proclamation when it released this overly optimistic (and overly lengthy) list. More likely is that the list is something of a charade; a calculated gambit which the GOP hopes will lead to two major benefits.

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