New polls dash GOP chances

A week ago, I thought the white supremacist Republican Party had a fighting chance of keeping the U.S. House. But - after seeing new polls - now I think they have no chance. There's just no misreading it.

I know they have a better chance of keeping the House than, say, the Sex Pistols have of appearing on Hee Haw, but that's about it. So let's move on.

They're lucky the Senate situation is better for them. This year may turn out like 1996 - when Republicans actually gained Senate seats despite an overwhelmingly unpopular GOP Congress. But this time, it's not because the Democrats are being dragged down by Bill Clinton mimicking Republican policies. It's because the GOP has the most favorable Senate map that any party has had since direct election of senators began a century ago - and because the Democrats have to defend some of their more conservative senators.

Let this sink in. The Republicans have yet to prevail in a presidential or midterm year in my adult life without cheating. It simply has not happened. Time and time again, America has rejected the party's burgeoning extremism. This time, I expect it to stick. The debate is over, and the GOP's deadly policies don't work. At all.