Advice to Democrats: Just run against Kooks

++I've had early morning e-mails from the fans of the Cooch, which trumpet the Quinnipiac poll which only shows the Macker 5 pts ahead of the Cooch. This supporter says that the Cooch always wins from behind in every race he has run. Blue Virginia this morning posts all the recent polls including the reliable Roanoke poll which shows the Macker up 7. Since the Cooch has been behind in every poll since July, it is beginning to look like McCain's bid to win Pennsylvania when he was losing every known poll there. Here, the fear is that the wingnuts will come out while Democrats stay home. 

++James Carville penned a memo in August saying that the GOP may lose its overwhelmingly advantage among seniors and that will influence 2014. Today, the Democracy Corps released its latest Battleground poll of 49 Republican Districts and 24 Democratic congressional seats. In the Republican districts, the senior vote is tied. In the Democratic districts ,Democrats lead by 14 in seniors overall and by 9 among white seniors. In a Women's Voices Women Vote poll, Republicans only lead by 6 among seniors, compared to 21% in 2010 and 12% in 2012. The reasons for the drop are the government shutdown, the support among seniors for what ACA has done for Medicare recipients, and support for infrastructure investment and education--things the GOP are against.

++Over on the conservative side, Arthur Brooks at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) called the social safety net, one of the greatest achievements of our society. He called on the GOP to "declare peace on the social safety net".  However, I believe that is a futile call with food stamps ending on November 1 and the Farm Bill still being stuck in the budget conference.

++Paul Ryan killed the "Grand Bargain" this morning when he said that Social Security and Medicare cuts should be on the table and he was dismissed. Instead, it looks like a mini-bargain may be arranged with none of those items on the table.

++Offhand, it looks strange that Bill de Blasio is sweeping the floor in New York City against former MTA chairman Lhota. But de Blasio only has to show his opponent is a Kook. You no longer have to run against a Republican because the name is meaningless. 

++In Ohio, where John Kasich decided to expand Medicaid coverage, lawn signs are appearing for the elections where Republicans now have to hide their party affiliation. It is a symptom of a larger disease.