Reflections

By Sniffles

There are days when we cats believe that the country will get through this awful nightmare it's living.

And then there are days when we don't — when all we can think about is how the Republicans are destroying policies and programs that benefit the American people. And how will we Democrats get back into power to fix things, when we're facing the unholy collusion of Trump, the GOP and Russia to hack and suppress our votes?

So imagine our surprise to find our favorite Democrat sounding quite bullish yesterday. (Or should we say leonine?) Howard Dean says that we'll take the House back next year for sure, and — if the Republicans repeal Obamacare — the Senate, too.

"This is going to kick seniors out of nursing homes in West Virginia and North Dakota, places like that. Everybody is going to know somebody who gets screwed. And when an aunt is told she has to leave the nursing home, suddenly things are going to look different. It's about them personally, or their neighbor's kid who gets kicked off Medicaid. This stuff is toxic. You might as well cut everyone's wages 50 percent."

Bold words that happen to be true. But there are a lot of "ifs" tied up in this take-back-the-Congress scenario, so we can sense the collective eyeroll in Pundit World. Still, we cats don't think there's any harm in putting a marker out there. Too often, we Democrats are timid while the Republicans evince brash, appealing confidence. A positive vibe goes a long way in attracting money, media attention, volunteers — and sometimes, eventually, votes.

Besides, Howard always lifts our spirits and, like the good doctor he is, makes us feel better. So we give him a hearty ankle rub, and we PURR.

UPDATE: More ankle rubs and biscuit-making in the lap of Governor Dean. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has just moved 10 House districts in the Democrats' favor. That's 40 percent of the seats we need to take back control in 2018. And it makes us PURR.