Hard work puts GOP in line to win

As unemployment hovered near 10 percent and the long-term outlook declined, Democrats sent a message to the American people that the majority party was both unwilling and incapable of governing in a manner that will put the country on the path to economic recovery.

With Thursday marking the first day of autumn, the Recovery Summer has finally drawn to a close. The implications of its failures, however, will reverberate through November and beyond.

A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll reported numbers that any Democrat on the ballot should find downright terrifying. President Barack Obama’s approval rating is at 41 percent, and only 26 percent believe that the economy will improve in the next year. Republicans hold a 9-point advantage in the generic ballot.

In individual congressional districts, the numbers are equally daunting for Democrats, as Republican candidates in critical swing districts have opened up considerable leads. Even in districts that most observers thought were out of reach, GOP candidates look competitive, and some are even front-runners.

These numbers are no mistake. They are the result of a governing majority that looks, at best, hopelessly out of touch with the American people.

This gross neglect by Washington Democrats, combined with the hard work of House Republicans and candidates, has created a highly favorable political environment for the GOP.

An important measure is the size of the House playing field. At least 80 seats are now in play, and new races continue to come on the board as the national tide catches up to ill-prepared incumbents. Stuart Rothenberg, of the Rothenberg Political Report, now projects net Republican gains of between 37 and 43 seats.

With 39 seats likely needed to swing the House to Republicans, Rothenberg’s projection means that the majority now sits on a knife’s edge. District by district across the country, rank-and-file Democrats are feeling the political consequences of supporting an agenda that seems as reckless as it is unpopular.

This is no accident. While it was impossible in January 2009 to predict how the political environment would shape up by September — and most observers at the time scoffed at the idea of a Republican majority — it is now clear that our hard work over the past 20 months has put us in a position to win in November.

Republican candidates have been contrasting their pro-growth positions with the failed policies of their Democratic opponents, which have led to higher unemployment and record spending. Democrats have responded with what appears to be their only message: They have more campaign money.

Unfortunately for them, that cash advantage has subsided to the point where they can no longer rely on financial superiority in the race for the House. Less than a year ago, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee enjoyed a 6-1 cash-on-hand advantage over the National Republican Campaign Committee. The GOP closed that gap to 2-1 over the summer.

Now, after outraising the DCCC for four straight months, we narrowed the gap to only 1.6-1 — an alarmingly small margin for a majority party that has pinned its hopes in November on its financial resources.

We have the pieces in place to accomplish our goal: retiring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Now, we must use the next several weeks to execute it.

But assuming that the majority is already within our grasp would be a fatal mistake. The campaign’s final weeks could be the difference between a Republican majority that could stop the Obama-Pelosi agenda and start putting Americans back to work and just more of the same policies that have led the country down the road of economic and fiscal peril.

The sun has finally set on Recovery Summer. Welcome to the fall.

Texas Rep. Pete Sessions is chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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