Locked, cocked, and all that other stuff.

Good news on the fundraising front from Bloomberg News:

Democrats, seeking to regain control of the U.S. Congress this November, are narrowing their fund- raising gap with the Republicans.

Democratic Party election committees raised $143 million in 2005, up from $128 million four years earlier, led by a record amount collected by the Senate campaign organization. Republican committees raised $206 million, down from $234 million in 2001, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The Democrats also reported $47 million in the bank at the start of 2006, $18 million less than the Republicans. That compares with a $37 million difference at the start of 2002, the last year congressional elections were held when there was no presidential race.

How'dya like them beans? It's also welcome news for those of us who really pushed to have Dean running the show. Coupled with my post on Charlie Cook's latest analysis of what we stand to gain in this year's election, it could be a good year.

One final note: on today's Al Franken show, he and a guest predicted that the Bushies' worst fear is losing control of the House, which would give Dems subpoena power over the White House. At last we could see what it is they're so desperate to hide about Katrina, Abramoff, and the Plame leak.