Democratic control of the House almost assured
The Democrats need a net pickup of 15 seats to gain control of the House. When Tom DeLay went up shit's creek without a paddle in sight a while back, it gave the Dems a gimme seat. And now, Rep. Bob Ney has done the same. According to the AP report, Bob Ney pleaded guilty to taking "tens of thousands of dollars worth of trips, meals, sports tickets and casino chips while trying to win favors for a disgraced Washington lobbyist and a foreign aviation company"
The disgraced lobbyist in question is, of course, Jack Abramoff. Ney will now serve about 27 months in prison -- the recommendation of prosecutors. Also, his House seat is all but guaranteed to be a Democratic pickup. That means the Dems need just 13 more, and are predicted by most political oddsmakers to pick up between 13 and 18.
Good luck in prison, congressman
So, now, as long as the Democrats don't go all to pieces in the next couple of months -- a distinct possibility, given their history of doing so -- they should be swept into a majority in at least one house of Congress. Hell, they could control both -- the Senate's a little more iffy, but it's there. The Dems. need six pickups, and Penn., Ohio, Montana and Rhode Island are all likely, with tossups in Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia, all of which would represent Dem. gains. The Democrats face their own battles to retain seats in Michigan and New Jersey, but neither of these look as nasty as any of the seven races in which the GOP could lose a Senate seat.
If the Dems win one of the two houses in November, I imagine a stalemate for the next two years as the other house and the White House bury and/or veto Dem. bills. But if the Dems win both houses, all bets are off. I especially hope for a House victory, though -- with all the gasping and moaning that people like Sean Hannity have been doing over the possibility of Nancy Pelosi being "third in line to the presidency," it'll be fun just to see them squeal like pigs the day after the election.
Get ready to have that smirk wiped off your face, Sean