My advice for the Tea Party

Train your fire on Democrats, not the GOP establishment

Mitch McConnell
(Image credit: (Alex Wong/Getty Images))

The new year brings with it high expectations for Republicans in the midterm elections. Historically, second-term incumbent presidents see their party lose a significant number of seats in both the House and Senate. On George W. Bush's watch in 2006, the GOP lost control of both chambers, dropping 30 House seats and six Senate seats. Bill Clinton fared a little better in 1998, thanks to the popular backlash against Republicans for the impeachment push the prior year, with Democrats actually picking up five seats in the House and getting a draw in the Senate. Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular presidents in history, lost eight seats in the Senate in 1986. Dwight D. Eisenhower, another popular Republican, lost 12 Senate seats in the 1958 midterms.

Now, no one in the GOP thinks that they can pull off a '58-style shellacking in November. But they don't need to. All Republicans need to flip the Senate is six seats, a replay of the 2006 election, which took place as Bush's approval ratings cratered. The floundering federal response to Hurricane Katrina, spreading chaos in Iraq, and scandals involving Republicans on Capitol Hill combined to create a poisonous political climate that stripped Bush of his legislative support. In retrospect, it's remarkable that Republicans managed to keep the losses from being even worse.

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.