Republican leaders can’t stop talking about taking over the House, savoring the prospect of Nancy Pelosi’s handing over her gavel to John Boehner.
But all the talk of “Speaker Boehner” and winning 40, 50 or even 60 House seats has many GOP rank and file wishing their leaders would tone it down a bit.
“I agree [that Republicans could win the House], but I don’t know I’d say that,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). “I don’t think you say that publicly.”
Republicans can’t get “fat, sassy and cocky,” warned a junior House Republican, who cautioned party leaders and his colleagues against assuming a huge victory just because pundits and the polls are on their side six months before the elections.
“My message every time I travel around the country is, it’s halftime in the locker room. We’re ahead on the scoreboard, but there’s a lot of time left on the clock,” said Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Conference.