Which 2006 contests will frustrate the national trend?
The bubble of conventional wisdom was burst last week, with the election of Republican Brian Bilbray to succeed disgraced Representative Duke Cunningham in California’s 50th House district. While most reporters and analysts, including this pundit, publicly bet a nickel on Bilbray because of the GOP nature of the district, we may have secretly rooted for Democratic challenger Francine Busby. No, Republican friends, this isn’t proof of partisanship. Rather, it’s that a Busby upset would have opened the floodgates for wild speculation about November 2006. Chaos, not stability, is what prognosticators live for!