Thomas Langhorn has an article in the Evansville Courier Press about GOP hopes to capture a seat which seem to be pinned on Dr. Larry Bucshon who opposes a public insurance option as a means of fixing our health care system. I suppose the way you combat a candidate like that is to point out that, of course he opposes any real fix to the health care problem — after all, he’s doing well enough under the current system. (Assuming, of course, that Dr. Bucshon has been prospering under the current system — I don’t actually know anything about him.)
The Courier Press article mentions that no opponent has anything like a campaign organization comparable to what Ellsworth had at a similar point in the election cycle when he unseated John Hostetler. The article mentions the common wisdom that 2010 will be a bad year for Democrats – and you would expect that based on the fact that governing is always harder than campaigning – but, as of yet, there is not much in the way of polling data that suggests Republicans are convincing people they have a better idea for fixing what ails us. That might change in the next few months, but memories of the last 10 years are still pretty fresh in people’s minds.
AND.. as we saw with Mitch Daniels and Jill Long Thompson – regardless of a politician’s poll numbers the two keys to look at are how much money do they have to spread around and who is their opponent. If they haven’t got someone raising money like heck 12 months before the next election, they are toast. And even with money, you have to have the right candidate to beat Ellsworth. Frankly, Ellsworth won’t be beat, unless he suddenly votes against his district in dramatic ways. He’s way too smart for that.
I look for him to run later for US Senate or Governor. His solid Conservadem record will suit him well for either.