It doesn't seem to change much

With a few differences in timeline, the conservative pundit strategy for the last few eletions has been more or less the following:

First, implant the idea that Democrats might win. "Boy, those Republicans sure are in trouble. Even I might not vote for them this year!" Next, show poll numbers to indicate that the threat of a Democratic victory is real, but mention that "Democrats don't have a message; it's unclear what they actually stand for. Besides, they intend to take away your hard-earned money so that they can destroy our economy." Then, after a few months of this, spin everything the other way: "hey, he really didn't mean to choke his mistress; it's the gay-bashing vicious liberals whose Bush derangement syndrome blinds them to the fact that he was abused by a priest as a child. Besides, he really isn't against stem-cells, just murdering babies for eugenic research, something that Democrats favor."

About three weeks before the election they start showing that the poll numbers are bouncing back in favor of Republicans. This is meant to convince potential non-voters that they might be left out of water-cooler conversations after the election since everyone else went out to vote Republican.

Lastly, and this is the stage we're in now, the motivator comes out. Without this key piece, why bother voting at all? Here's a prime example thereof:

Even so, bin Laden, et. al, know the biggest prize looms just ahead — the chance that the Republican Party will be ousted from one or both houses of Congress. There are many factors contributing to this possibility: the Foley abomination, other corruption cases, the trumped?up "crisis" over First Amendment rights and the administration's ill-informed and ham-fisted handling of the Iraq and Afghan wars. If the Republicans are ousted, pundits on both sides of the aisle will find the causes strictly in America's navel.

But what will bin Laden and his Islamist allies think? Well, if Republican defeat comes to pass, they will first thank the Almighty — "Allahu Akhbar!" or "God is the greatest!" — for tangible proof of approaching victory. In Spain, Thailand, and Britain — where Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered the fate of Messrs. Aznar and Thaksin for the same reason, but is leaving gracefully — al Qaeda and its allies see politicians winning power who argue: "The military option has been tried and it has failed. We must seek other-than-martial means to defuse the Islamists' appeal and power." As in Europe and Thailand, this has been the refrain of Sens. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Charles Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Rep. Jane Harman, and a swath of Republicans who value their seats more than U.S. security.

Imagine what a Democrat victory could bring: the economy would immediately rush into a deep recession, terrorists would take over the world, babies will cry, and there will be much gnashing of teeth because God will be angry. Happens every election these days it seems like. It's not just fear that's the message; it's massageing potential non-voters emotions so that they might be personally held to account for all this happening.