[T]he more pessimistic [Republican] strategists don’t even feign good cheer: They think the Ryan pick is a disaster for the GOP. Many ... are worried that Ryan’s vocal views about overhauling Medicare will be a millstone for other GOP candidates in critical House and Senate races.
That, however, is where Citizens United comes in--a worry on this side that should allay the worry on their side. In the few competitive districts remaining (GOP state legislatures have successfully converted many more two-year seats to at-will appointments) swing voters will be swamped by Koch and Adelson and Rove all bellowing that the GOP candidate just adores Medicare all to pieces. Wouldn't touch its sacred obligations for the world. It's an everlasting monument to a prudent society and adorable grandma, both of which the GOP pants to preserve.
Underfunded Democratic candidates will have difficulty--pardon the understatement--countering the spineless hypocrisy and bloody onslaught. In some cases there won't even be any airtime for Dems to buy; Koch-Adelson-Rove will have gobbled up every minute of it. That leaves the coattail effect and partisan enthusiasm and the ground game--all of which are far more precarious than a shitload of money and oodles of airtime.
I remain confident that a major realignment is on its way, which will compel an equally major GOP transformation; this, however, will take some time. But it will come, beginning with a decisive Obama victory. Only later--again, when, precisely, no one can know--will Congress join Western civilization and discover the 21st century.
For that reason, I pity President Obama and his second term. Imbeciles. He'll have little but imbeciles to play with.
The upside? There's always a good chance I'm dead wrong--that my fears have conquered objective judgment--about the congressional stuff.