Carville: GOP Could Come Back Big in 2010

Thursday, June 25, 2009 3:02 PM

Democratic strategist James Carville has sent out an e-mail for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee warning Democrats that the GOP could rebound in 2010 and take over the Senate just as they did in 1994.

In 1994, Carville writes, "things were a lot like they are today. A young, exciting president. Big majorities in Congress. We figured we'd have plenty of time to build the America we wanted.

"You know what happened next. Fifty-four new Republicans elected in the House. Eight new Republicans elected in the Senate. Our moment of opportunity had passed.

"Republicans are hoping 2010 is the new 1994. But heck, they don't need eight new senators. If they gain just one or two, it's going to be that much easier for them to scuttle vital legislation."

Democrats who receive the e-mail can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past by supporting the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which must raise $184,852 in the next six days "to keep the Senate safe from Republican obstruction and help pass President Obama's agenda," said Carville, a former Bill Clinton aide.

Contributors of $5 or more, he said, will receive a free "Change Starts With Me" car magnet.

Democrats are eying Senate seats currently held by Republicans in North Carolina and Missouri, but history is on the side of the GOP because "in every midterm election since the Civil War - save three - the president's party has lost seats in Congress. We can make it four," Carville states.

"We've got a fighting chance to do the unthinkable - expand our majority. The best way to do that is to give the DSCC the support it needs to send Republicans packing."

Carville's concerns about 2010 would seem to belie the title of his new book, “40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation.â€