Boy, all the polls are unanimous in predicting bigtime victories for the Republicans in the national mid-term elections to be held on November 2nd. Some are predicting gains in the House of Representatives of as much as 80 or 90 seats, which would dwarf the Republican landslide of 1994 - the so-called "Gingrich Revolution" when 52 House seats were taken from the Democrats.
But the Republicans better be careful. No matter what the polls say now, no one can actually cast their vote in September. What counts is what people are feeling on Election Day! Back in 1948, all the polls were predicting that Republican presidential nominee Thomas Dewey was a shoo-in. However the effect of those polls was to cause Republican voters to become complacent, so that many stayed home on Election Day because they felt certain they would win. On the other hand the Democrats, frightened by the constant warnings of their impending doom, flocked to the polls. That was how Harry Truman got a second term that no one thought he could win.
Personally, I think a greater threat to the Republican's chances than complacency is the recent shift in their message away from the economy, where they have commonsense solutions for economic recovery, to social issues, where they come across as mean and hypocritical and just plain loony. The Republican Party can never be taken completely seriously until they jettison the Christian Right.
In other words, it is time for the libertarians to take over the Republican Party.
Have you seen the new advertisement for south-Valley Congressman Richard Neal? It looks like Richie has got himself a new hair stylist!
However, he'll need more than a new haircut to favorably introduce himself to an electorate that hardly knows him anymore after year after year of automatic re-election. You gotta believe that there is no way that Neal would be hitting the airwaves this early unless he's bought some polling data that shows he's in trouble.
The Student Prince launched its always popular Oktoberfest festivities this week. A great time was had by all despite the attendance of certain undesirables, as captured in this photo by Richard Bulda of Springfield Mayor Dom Sarno and the controversial dealmaker Heriberto Flores.
Meanwhile, here are some Jill Stein for Governor supporters last week at UMass.
A poster on display the same day by the campus conservatives.
Tea Party recruitment even in Northampton.
Me at the monument for Dominic Daley and James Halligan, who were executed unjustly during a wave of anti-Irish hostility that swept Northampton in 1806.
I stumbled upon this graffiti about Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins on the bike path through downtown. I'm not sure if it is intended to be a complement or an insult.
A mud party at UMass.
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