The race to control the House hasn't been getting much attention, but it just got a little hotter. Until recently, Democrats didn't seem to have much of a shot of retaking the chamber, which they lost in the 2010 midterm elections. Now, however, polls suggest it's a real possibility. And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi agrees.
Appearing on The Rachel Maddow Show Wednesday night, Pelosi said Mitt Romney's selection of Rep. Paul Ryan—who has made turning Medicare into a voucher program a centerpiece of his political identity—was a game-changer for Democrats.
"August 11 is when the race changed," the party leader said, referring to the day Romney announced Ryan as his running mate. "That's when the election became all about "Medicare, Medicare, Medicare—the three most important issues in the campaign in alphabetical order."
If Romney-Ryan win, "we'll be putting seniors at the mercy of the insurance companies by giving them a voucher, not a guarantee," Pelosi explained..
Democrats lead Republicans by an average of 5 points in generic polling, which is enough to pick up the 25 seats they need to secure a majority, according to Pelosi. She said they are focusing efforts all around the country, both in states where President Obama is competitive and where he isn't.
Pelosi and Maddow discussed another underplayed issue during this presidential campaign:-the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pelosi praised President Obama's timetable for withdrawal, though she said "it may not be as fast as we would all like."
It's "taking us to a place where war as a resolution of conflict is an obsolete idea," she said.