For Congressional Democrats it's Time to Panic

It has been obvious for some time now that the American people are NOT particularly thrilled with the way the Dem's are running Congress these days.
However, they didn't think that they would do anything desperate and take them out of power. "We'll fight through this" they said. Indeed.
It would appear now however, that that which they feared the most is about to happen. Many prominent Dem's can see the storm clouds gathering in the distance.
As reported in Politico this week:
Charlie Cook, one of the best political handicappers in the business, sent out a special update to Cook Political Report subscribers Thursday that should send shivers down Democratic spines.
Reviewing recent polling and the 2010 election landscape, Cook can envision a scenario in which Democratic House losses could exceed 20 seats.
"These data confirm anecdotal evidence, and our own view, that the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and Congressional Democrats. Today, The Cook Political Report’s Congressional election model, based on individual races, is pointing toward a net Democratic loss of between six and 12 seats, but our sense, factoring in macro-political dynamics is that this is far too low," he wrote.
"Many veteran Congressional election watchers, including Democratic ones, report an eerie sense of déjà vu, with a consensus forming that the chances of Democratic losses going higher than 20 seats is just as good as the chances of Democratic losses going lower than 20 seats."
Cook scrupulously avoided any mention that Democratic control of the House is in jeopardy but, noting a new Gallup poll showing Congress’ job disapproval at 70 percent among independents, concluded that the post-recess environment could feel considerably different than when Congress left in August.
"We believe it would be a mistake to underestimate the impact that this mood will have on Members of Congress of both parties when they return to Washington in September, if it persists through the end of the Congressional recess."
And then there are the anti-Obama Administration columns that are beginning to be written by .....once Obama supporters:
Obama's Enforcer: Not Really Tough Enough, Joe Conason
U.S. Economy: Time for a Real Jobs Stimulus?, Kevin O'Leary Time
Mixed Signals on the Public Option, Paul Krugman NYT
Rasmussen Reports from Thursday, August 18th reported:
Republican candidates have now matched their biggest lead over Democrats of the past several years on the Generic Congressional Ballot.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 43% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 38% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.
Democrats held a six- or seven-point lead on the ballot for the first few weeks of 2009. That began to slip in early February, and from mid-April through June the two parties were roughly even. Republicans have held a lead on the ballot since the last week in June, the first time they'd been on top in well over a year.
For the second time in three weeks, women favor Republicans slightly more than Democrats, 41% to 39%. Men prefer the GOP by a 45% to 36% margin this week.
And finally this:
When asked the qustion if the country was headed in the right direction or was on the wrong track the respondents overwhelmingly felt that we were headed on the wrong track:
Poll Date Right Direction Wrong Track
ABC News/WP 8/13-8/17 44 55
Pew 8/11-8/17 28 65
Rasmussen 8/10-8/16 34 61
DailyKos/R20008/10-8/13 42 53
All of this data taken together does not bode well for the Democrats.
If they plan to stay in power it would behoove them to listen to these numbers, who represent LIKELY voters, and do as they wish.
Otherwise, come November of 2010 we'll all be talking about how the GOP won back control of Congress and how badly the Dem's were beaten.