Democrats, with growth and momentum, recast U.S. political landscape

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Democrats recast U.S. political landscape
By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON -- The rolling realignment of U.S. politics accelerated Tuesday, as Democrats strengthened their hold over the Northeast and opened new beachheads in the Midwest and Mountain West that could prove critical to their hopes of winning the White House two years from now.

These and other political changes, illuminated by the 2006 election like a late-night flash of lightning, could signal a new stage in the competition between the two major parties.

For Democrats, the watchword Tuesday was growth: the party expanded its reach with key groups of swing voters as it made notable advancements on previously GOP-leaning terrain.

The results sent Republicans a message of retrenchment: the Democratic surge reversed President Bush's gains in the 2004 vote among women and Hispanic voters and saw the GOP virtually obliterated across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

In all, the election dealt a powerful blow to Republican hopes that Bush's re-election in 2004 had established a narrow but lasting political majority for the party. Instead, the U.S. appears to have reverted back toward a 50-50 political nation, with Democrats, if anything, claiming the momentum....

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-assess9nov09,0,825662.story?coll=la-home-headlines