It's mid-October, so cue the craziness: if you believed every one of the hundreds of new polls or ad buys floating around, you might think Rep. Bill Keating (MA-09) is losing reelection in a heavily Democratic seat while liberal professor Larry Lessig's MayDay PAC is on its way to ousting Energy & Commerce Chair Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06). At times like these, it's best to take a deep breath and look at the big picture.

Democrats' decisions in recent days to reallocate resources from targeting GOP-held seats to shoring up their own vulnerable members has led to a "sky is falling" mentality in some quarters of the press. In reality, the House landscape hasn't shifted that much. But Democrats' spending decisions do speak volumes about the nature of 2014 and their strategy for minimizing their losses.

The first priority of any party committee must be incumbent protection. After all, it's easier to hold a seat you already have than go after the other side. So, it makes sense that the DCCC has "doubled down," axing funding in all but five

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