THE DEMS DON'T SLEEP – AT 8:24 P.M. ET:  The Democrats are starting to form their strategy for the 2010 midterms.  This should serve as a wakeup call for those in the GOP who think this will be a cakewalk, and that the Dems will just turn over and play dead:

Senate Democrats, seeking to breathe new life into their 2010 electoral prospects after their shocking loss in Massachusetts last week, are unveiling a new war strategy: divide and conquer the GOP.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee passed out a memo Tuesday advising Democratic campaign managers to define their Republican opponents early and to highlight the differences between moderate voters and tea party-style conservatives.

"Given the pressure Republican candidates feel from the extreme right in their party, there is a critical -- yet time-sensitive -- opportunity for Democratic candidates," the DSCC wrote in the memo, which was obtained by FoxNews.com. "We have a finite window when Republican candidates will feel susceptible to the extremists in their party. Given the urgent nature of this dynamic, we suggest an aggressive effort to get your opponents on the record."

The memo encourages Democratic candidates to compel their opponents to answer a series of questions on issues that have helped boost the tea party movement and reveal cracks in GOP unity, including health care, taxes and President Obama's citizenship and ideology.

COMMENT: It seems to me that the Dems have the start of a good strategy.  You want to put your opponent on the defensive.  We've urged here before that readers not underestimate the political abilities of the Obama team.  I've seen too many examples, in the last week, of Republicans already counting the fruits of victory.  That's what President Dewey did in 1948. 

The Dems are assessing the opposition correctly.  There are fissures in the Republican Party, some caused by strains between the party establishment at the Tea Partiers.  If those fissures can be made greater by shrewd Democratic strategy, a certain number of conservative voters might just stay home on election day.

We have to work every day as if we're ten points behind.

January 26, 2010