MN Sen Recount (UPDATE: Stuart Smalley certified winner, lawsuit forthcoming)

[Iosif]

What a mess.

I don't care either who wins, but I hope if comes down to a single vote.

[Iosif]

I've changed my mind. I really want Franken to win now.

It would be hilarious.

[Iosif]

I think people should stop being mean to Phil.

[Iosif]

If Franken wins I'm going to become a Republican because he may or may not have groped my aunt in the New York subway 3 decades ago.

[Iosif]

CO is the only real GOP hope for a pick up depending on how this new boy Bennett is. Other than that all the Dems are varying degrees of safe. Nevada is shifting hard to the left, the GOP doesn't exist in Arkansas, Kirk can't knock off anybody who makes it through the Dem primary statewide and Schwarzenegger has pathetic approvals.

Whereas the GOP have to defend Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania if Specter gets primaried and even maybe if he doesn't, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio and maybe even Alaska.

Dems will make 60 easy, Republicans will just have to close there eyes, bend over and hope its gentle. 2012 is there best bet, but with Obama coatails...

It'll be a good while before the GOP takes back congress.

[Iosif]

If the Republicans picked up two seats in 2010 it'd be a major upset.  Three would be a revolution

Dude, come on. Wait and see how things go nationally.

Am I being unreasonable?  Outline the reasonable scenario where the Republicans gain 3+X or more and the Democrats gain less than X.

I'm not saying that you're being totally unreasonable. We don't have the "right" seats up in 2010. That being said, give Obama has bad first half of his first term and then the fact that midterms are typically bad for the party in power, we may see the GOP get quite a few seats. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't rule it out. You guys are getting way too cocky. Look at Iosif's post above mine. He's already saying that Obama will have coattails in 2012.

Crossing your fingers and hoping Obama screws up isn't really the best policy for the Republican party.

You've been rejected, emphatically, in two consecutive elections. The party can't just stand still and hope for things to change, it needs to reinvent itself. Much likes the Tories it'll take more than 2 years.

And if you look at a map it's near on impossible for the GOP to pick up "quite a few seats".