DCCC chair lays out 'hyper-aggressive' strategy for Dems to take back House

By Josh Lederman - 11/04/11 02:58 PM ET

Key barometers of the political climate are leading House Democrats to predict better days ahead, but with one year to go until the 2012 elections, they aren’t sitting back and waiting.

Successful recruitment efforts and fundraising, better-than-feared redistricting results and generic polling that shows Democrats on top give the minority hopes of retaking control of the House, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said Friday in a briefing with reporters.

To make that happen, he said, Democrats will continue to be hyper-aggressive, pro-active and energetic.

“We’re going to keep them on the ropes. We’re going to tie them to the ropes. We’re going to encase the ties with cement,” Israel said.

Israel joined a chorus of Democrats pushing the message that they stand a solid chance to flip the 25 seats they need to boot Republicans from the majority in 2012. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that Democrats “had definitely put the House in play.” And the DCCC announced that starting on Monday, it will air radio ads targeting incumbent Republicans in 25 districts across the country.

“We have gone for gale-force winds against us to a breeze at our backs,” Israel said.

While Democrats point to a series of recent polls that all show Democrats beating Republicans in generic ballot polling for congressional races, there are a host of other factors working in Republicans’ favor.

With the unemployment rate likely to continue to hover around 9 percent as the election draws nearer, it is unclear whether voters will fault House Republicans — who have been in control of the lower chamber since 2010 — or blame Democrats, who control the Senate and the White House. And President Obama’s on the ballot could be a major drag in many districts for Democrats whose names appear under Obama’s.

“The president's numbers need to improve, but the House Republicans’ numbers are toxic. Radioactive,” Israel said.

Israel also pointed the finger at conservative outside spending groups such as Americans for Prosperity and American Crossroads, both of which bankrolled many attacks on Democrats in 2010.

“We did not lose the 2010 election to Republicans. We lost it to the Koch brothers and Karl Rove,” he said.

That line of attack could play directly into the hands of Republicans, who argue that Obama and congressional Democrats were oblivious to the message voters sent them in 2010 about the direction they were taking the country. It also creates an opportunity for Republicans to accuse Democrats of being hypocritical, because Democratic PACs and outside groups are stepping up their game for 2012 after being heavily outspent in 2010.

Summing up his advice to Democratic House contenders for this cycle, Israel said candidates need to “run like a mayor," focusing on how they would solve voters’ problems instead of ideological issues.

“There is a strong anti-incumbent mood in this country. People want problem-solvers,” he said.

Israel also called Friday for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) to be impeached over her move to unseat the independent chairwoman of Arizona’s redistricting panel.