Cornyn Still Stumbling Around Blindly, Groping For Beltway Relevance As He Prepares To Watch Ohio Turn Bluer

Peek-a-boo

John Cornyn has been taking time out from his job as one of the Senate's slimiest obstructionists and from his mighty efforts on turning the recession into a full blown Depression, to play the Inside-the-Beltway p.r. game in his role as head of the NRSC. And he had an eye-popping success today in The Hill: Republicans staking early claim in 2010 Senate cycle. I wondered what it meant and actually decided to read it, it being a slight re-write of an NRSC press release The Hill was kind enough to reprint for them.

Following two cycles in which the party found itself perpetually on defense, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is giving early indications it intends to lambaste Democrats in a much more aggressive fashion in the 2010 cycle.

Observers say the NRSC is taking an early stand against several incumbent Democrats much earlier than it has in 2006 and 2008, following a model set by their Democratic counterparts that aims to create a constant refrain to hammer opponents.

The committee, headed by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), has already taken an aggressive line against three newly appointed senators and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). And they promise more Democrats will find their way into the crosshairs.

Hold the presses! Why isn't this on the front page of the NY Times? (Or even on the front page of The Hill?) Maybe because the writer, Reid Wilson, was also reporting some real Senate-related news: that early polls show Ohio voters are going to reward Cornyn's ridiculous p.r. efforts with a Democratic win in Ohio, replacing George Voinovich not with NRSC top recruit Rob "George Bush's guy" Portman, but with a Democrat, any Democrat.

And, reflecting how voters feel about GOP obstructionism led by reactionaries like Cornyn, DeMint, McConnell, McCain, Coburn, and Vitter, is isn't even close.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) sport early leads over ex-Rep. Rob Portman (R) and state Auditor Mary Taylor (R), according to the survey conducted by Quinnipiac University.

Fisher, a former attorney general and unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1998, bests Portman, the former director of President Bush’s Office of Management and Budget, by a 42 percent to 27 percent margin. Fisher leads Taylor by a 41 percent to 27 percent margin, in both cases sporting early leads among independent voters.

Brunner, who held the spotlight as secretary of state in the run-up to the 2008 election, leads Portman by a smaller 38 percent to 28 percent margin, and leads Taylor with 38 percent to the Republican's 26 percent.

Those margins should spell trouble for Republicans, says Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown.

"If Ohio is the indicator of what's going on in America, this is a very Democratic country," Brown said. "If Republicans can't get back into the game in Ohio, then they can't get back into the game nationally."

Can't get back in the game? With shills like Broder and Kudlow and Hannity pumping the GOP cause 24/7. With the "new look" of the NRC? You put on CNN and you get the idea that the Republicans are the dominant party; they're certainly the dominant party on that network, on Fox and on that subversive morning show MSNBC broadcasts-- not to mention all over Hate Talk Radio. Could it be that the American people have wised up about what's really in their best interests? Even with the all out attack from the GOP and their media shills Obama's disapproval rating (19%) is about the same as Bush's final approval rating! And Obama's job approval this week: still 66%.

So Senator Cornyn can stomp around making bizarre claims with Michael Steele about how they're going to win seats all over the country, but the fact is, the GOP is likely to lose red-held seats not just in Ohio, but in Missouri, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Florida, and will be fighting for their lives in rightist Deep South bastions like North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana and possibly even in places like South Carolina, Arizona, Iowa and Alaska.