Clyburn: Democrats Will Expand Their Majority In The Fall

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Despite woeful approval ratings for the Congress as a whole, one Democratic leader in the House is predicting big wins for the majority party in November.

"We'll expand our majority significantly in the House of Representatives," Majority Whip James Clyburn declared from the Democrats' annual "issues conference" to discuss the agenda for the coming year.

The South Carolina Democrat predicted work on a package of tax rebates and business investment incentives, coupled with the majority's work over the last year and their agenda for the next, will translate to more seats in the fall.

Republicans have endured a series of retirements already this year that continue to cloud their prospects in the fall. And the party has predictably surrendered its tradition fundraising advantage, making it harder to protect those open seats — much less target new ones.

However, the Democrat's campaign chief, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, was reluctant to make a similar prediction during a press briefing Thursday. Instead he warned members to stay focused — and keep raising money — in their drive to preserve the majority, warning colleagues to keep a particularly close eye on outside organizations affiliated with the Republican Party that are prepared to spend millions to unseat the current majority.

Whatever their prospects in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), responding to the Democrats' presidential debate Thursday night, was assured her party would regain the White House next fall. And the Democrats' massive edge in turnout during the early primaries lends quite a bit of credibility to her claim.