Democrats increase their House Majority

In another portent of doom for republicans seeking office this fall, another republican seat has been lost in a house special election.

First they lost Hastert's seat in the Illinois 14. Then they lost the Louisiana 06 in a special election just a couple of weeks ago. Now they have lost the Mississippi 01.

The victory marks the Democrats’ third straight special election pickup in three months. It will be a serious blow to the Republican Party’s already-flagging morale and will surely prompt a new round of finger-pointing among the already fractured GOP caucus. "This loss is going to prompt serious introspection by our conference to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it," said a GOP leadership aide. "We have time to do that, and we will if we learn our lessons leading into November. But the next couple of days are not going to be pretty."

The special election was held to fill the seat of former Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who was appointed to serve out the remainder of Sen. Trent Lott’s term last December. Wicker had never faced a competitive race since first elected in 1994, and the district gave President Bush 62 percent of the vote in 2004.

The results amount to a rebuke of the Republican strategy of trying nationalize the race by tying Childers to Sen. Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Obama held low approval ratings in the district, but the nearly $2 million that GOP groups poured into northern Mississippi failed to make the race a referendum on the national political landscape.

Republicans dispatched a lineup of heavy hitters in the campaign’s final week, including a pre-election stop Monday by Vice President Dick Cheney. President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and First Lady Laura Bush recorded automated calls urging voters to support Davis.

A GOP House leadership aide told Politico last week that “if we don’t win in Mississippi, I think you are going to see a lot of people running around here looking for windows to jump out of.”

The seat was seen as a must-hold for republicans, indeed, the NRCC spent over $1.25 million dollars in their desperate retention bid - over 20% of the cash they had on hand heading into an election where every member of the House has to stand again in November.

The opposition party only thought 2006 was a bad year - 2008 is going to be a bloodbath that makes them look back fondly, wistfully, longingly even. As for me, I am loving every minute of their misery, but perhaps I should start brushing up on the New Testament, since I have agreed to be baptized by immersion, once enough genuine John Boehner tears have been collected.