NE-02

Blue America loves a good primary battle against a stinking incumbent-- and we've been involved with them when other Democrat groups were still looking askance at them... as though incumbents somehow "owned" the seats they were representing and and primary was an affront.

Thursday, I listed 50 House seats that the Democrats should be working towards flipping in 2020. I listed them in order, based on how badly the Republican winner had done.

One of the funniest moments in the election debate this cycle-- at least for me-- came when Arizona congresswoman, Martha McSally, a garden variety Trump rubber-stamp who had voted to repeal protections for pre-existing conditions several times, was cornered by a reporter asking her to square her consistent record against healthcare with her promise now-- as she runs for U.S. Senate-- to protect people with pre-existing conditions from the greed of insurance companies.

Democratic strategists couldn't be happier. Trump-- imagining that the national electorate is a reflecting of one of his hate rallies in red states-- is doing everything he can to turn next month's midterms into a referendum on him. Every poll shows most Americans-- a majority, not a plurality-- feels his unfit for the job.

This morning we took a look at the lay of the land nationally (and in two bellweather Midwestern states, Minnesota and Iowa). Unless they're the kind of worthless polls the NY Times is doing now, I prefer district polling to get a better idea of what's going to happen in November.

The more people who remember this on election day-- or understand it-- the betterNate Silver at FiveThirtyEight looks at the numbers and senses that a wave may be headed this way.

Lately the Republican Party has been slamming Democratic candidates for having been in bands in high school and college. Let's face it, the arts have never been a conservative thing.

Early in the cycle, the DCCC identified NE-02, basically the Omama Metro, including all of Douglas County and some rural areas in Sarpy County, as "must win" district. Obama won it in 2008, Romney won it in 2012 and Hillary beat Trump 48.2% to 46.0% in 2016. It's a very swingy district with a miscalculated R+4 PVI (should be R+2).

Normally, I don't buy into "lesser-of-two-evils" politics. If Democrats nominate a corrupt reactionary Blue Dog, I'm at least as incensed as I am over a Republican. That's not going to change either. And, I'm still saying that "normally" no longer applies, not with Trump and his Congress-ful of enablers and rubber stamps.

That tweet from the wee hours of Friday morning will be the GOP midterm campaign platform. I don't think Democrats are shaking in their boots. It's a single-minded Trump-base strategy-- something to appeal to the low-IQ people who go to his rallies for a night of entertainment and meaning. He must have been all worked up after his exhilarating rally in Great Falls, Montana.