While Democrats want to rev up their base to motivate them to vote, reporting in the liberal media is dousing those efforts with some cold hard reality. The news that the scope of the playing field is much smaller than the 40-50 seat pick up the media went all goo-goo over last week is coming from the DNC and the NY Times – which means troubled waters are ahead for the left:

Democrats are pushing into high gear this weekend a sharply expanded campaign to get their voters to the polls, even as some party leaders expressed anxiety that Republicans would again out-organize them in the 20 House and 3 Senate races that both sides agree will determine the outcome of the midterm elections.

…

But in an interview, Mr. Dean said that Republicans continued to have a clear superiority in identifying voters they can persuade to vote for their candidates and then getting them to cast ballots.

“I think we’ve closed the gap, but I don’t think we are there yet,” Mr. Dean said. “It’s going to take some time. I think we could match them in 2008, if everything goes right, in voter turnout.”

…

But Democratic Party leaders acknowledged structural shortcomings that could continue to give Republicans the advantage. Republicans have spent the past three years building a detailed national database of voters, including their voting history and consumer data that the party has used to predict their political leanings and identify the issues that most motivate them. The Democrats’ voter list is not as expansive or comprehensive, though Mr. Dean said he hoped that would be repaired by the next presidential election

And while Republicans have centralized their turnout operation under the Republican National Committee, Democrats have been forced to maneuver within a fractured system involving a series of different committees and private groups, sometimes working at cross purposes, from district to district across the country.

The irrational and premature celebrations form last week must seem pretty strange in light of these comments. Only 20 House seats in play? The left is lathering the lipstick on this election. Tragically for them, if they fail this round even the liberals won’t buy the liberal spin anymore. The only ones left falling for their lines are themselves. This could be the election where the delusions finally died. In fact, the left is already getting tired of the left:

“These other groups are calling: stem cell research, labor unions,” said Charlene Zeni Connolly, 57, a retired teacher who was making calls near here the other night on behalf of Claire McCaskill, the Democratic Senate candidate. “People are getting really irritated. They are saying if you call again, I won’t vote for her.”

As an ex-dem, I know how they feel.