Former Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Chuck Schumer (D. NY), and current Vice Chairman for Finance of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rob Portman (R. OH), both appeared on "Meet the Press" this morning to predict the outcome of the 2014 midterms:
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER: I think we will hold the Senate. You know, I know all the pundits are saying Republicans will take the Senate. Democrats are going to prove the pundits wrong on election day when we keep the Senate, three reasons. … Economic issues, better ground game, better candidates will put us over the top November.
CHUCK TODD: Senator Portman, why is he wrong?
SEN. ROB PORTMAN: Well, but you believe he's right. You know, it's not the pundits who are saying the Republicans are going to get the majority, it's the voters. And your polls show it. It's tight, but the voter intensity is on our side. … We get the enthusiasm on our side. And look, people are looking for a change, Chuck. They don't want the status quo. And a change is changing the side.
They also predicted who would be each other's party leader in the next congress:
CHUCK TODD: I've met nearly a dozen Democrats, Senator Schumer, a dozen Democrats who are saying, "You know what? I don't know, I'd like somebody else different than Harry Reid." Is Harry Reid bigger than the majority? Greg Orman, of Kansas, says he will not be with the Democrats if Harry Reid is the Senate majority leader. What say you?
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER: I say then Harry Reid will run for majority leader and he will win with an overwhelming, probably very close to a majority vote.
CHUCK TODD: Senator McConnell, I'm hearing the same thing from other Republicans. "Look, he's not out of the woods, he can't put his race away." But Greg Orman says he will not sit with the Republicans if Mitch McConnell's in charge. Is one man bigger than the potential majority Republicans?
SEN. ROB PORTMAN: No, but I think Mitch is going to win in Kentucky. … I think Mitch is going to win, I think he'll be the leader.
Schumer also gave this warning to Democratic voters:
If Republicans take control of the Senate in the November elections, the repercussions for the Supreme Court could thwart Democratic Party policy priorities for decades, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told NBC on Sunday.
"Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd asked Schumer why voters should care about the prospect of the Democrats losing their current Senate majority.
"You asked one reason: Supreme Court. The money that's cascading into our system," Schumer said in a reference to the 2010 Citizens United decision that legalized Super PACs. "If the Supreme Court continues to be the way it is and there's a vacancy and they buttress that, we will be subject to these few people just dominating the elections for decades to come. The Supreme Court on voting rights makes a huge difference. The Supreme Court on women's issues makes a huge difference."
Sounds like a damn good reason to get out the vote indeed.
