the lesson of the 2010 districts is that you have to realize what districts you need to win to get a majority. In my opinion, I think the democrats in 06 and 08 should have withheld funding from incumbents in reactionary districts (think someone like Lincoln Davis) and made sure the can capture what I call the ancestrally republican "silk stocking districts" such as CA 50 or WA 8. At least in the silk stocking districts there is a brighter future as opposed to TN 4.
Davis was one of my favorites...sigh. In his defense, most polls showed the outcome of his race would be closer than it actually was, so I can see why the DSCC spent money there. But I agree with you that districts like TN-04, OK-02, AR-04, etc. is moving aggressively towards the GOP.
I do think most of the House races last year were intensely nationalized. Republicans like Steve Palazzo and Vicki Hartzler were running against Nancy Pelosi, not Gene Taylor or Ike Skelton.
