Aw C'mon, It Can't REALLY Be Over, Right?

Is it over?
Is it really all over?
Well, Speaker Paul Ryan is headed out of town. He won't be running again.
And he's joined by a slew of GOP senators and representatives a who are also packing up.
Locally, these include Meehan, Costello and Lobiondo.
Apparently they're all afraid of the Big Blue Tide -- the Democrat sweep that "experts" say is coming this November.
But, wait!
The election is more than six months away. That's an eternity in politics.

In fact, the midyear election's outcome will likely be determined by events that haven't even yet occurred. Still, renowned pollsters and pundits like Frank Luntz and Charlie Cook say that basically the ballots are already in and they show a Democrat romp. The GOP is toast, they argue.
So, maybe we don't even need an election, huh? Maybe we should just turn the Senate and the House over to Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer now. Get it done with, right?
Why let the facts stand in our way? Facts like this: Two years ago Frank Lutz and his magical focus groups told us that Donald Trump didn't have a chance. Hillary Clinton's election was a done deal. And Charlie Cook basically served up the same scenario. He foresaw a Clinton presidency as well. Larry Sabato (who was one of the few to later admit he was wrong) also saw Clinton ascendant. And nearly all the polls (CNN, NBC, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, etc.) fell into line as well. We chronicled it all right here.
But it never happened!
Of course, the Rasmussen poll saw it differently. It was one of the few to see Trump emerging. And, today Rasumussen says this about the midterms: Yes, the Democrats are ahead but the gap has been steadily narrowing. The generic ballot for November now has the parties separated by single digits and the projected outcome is within the margin of error with nearly 10 percent of likely voters undecided and six percent saying they'd vote for some other party or candidate. That's hardly what we'd call the makings of a landslide.
And has anyone thought of this -- maybe it's good that some more traditional Republicans are leaving. Maybe that's actually a bonus. Because that gets rid of some RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) and opens to door to fresh, vibrant, actual Republican Republicans. We get the feeling voters would welcome some new faces on this side of the aisle.
If there's one thing President Trump's milestone election proved, it's this: People want to throw the old sit-tight-and-do-nothing crew out and replace them with newcomers who say what they'll do and do what they say.
The time for lugubrious, vaguely masochistic country club Republicanism is over.
In fact, those who simply want to run away can do so. And good riddance to 'em.
But let them leave with the words of tunesmith Stephen Sondheim ringing in their ears:
Running away- we'll do it.
Why sit around, resigned? 

Trouble is, son, 

The farther you run, 

The more you feel undefined 

For what you've left undone 

And, more, what you've left behind.*

*With apologies to Stephen Sondheim, "No More" and Into The Woods.