House Democrats have won seven special elections in a row, including four since Obama was inaugurated. Their opponents all had one big overriding issue in common:

New York 20th, March 31, 2009

Republican Jim Tedisco's platform? Nancy Pelosi is scary.

“I think he’s Nancy Pelosi’s worst nightmare,” said State Senator Roy McDonald, who until this year represented other parts of Saratoga County in the Assembly. “He’s not going to remain silent and take orders.”

Fred Thomspon:

America is waking up to the flawed thinking and outright dangerous schemes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid’s Congress and the Obama Administration. Opposition is building every day. If Jim Tedisco wins this seat, it will be a very public repudiation. A Tedisco victory will start the process of building an effective opposition to the Obama-Pelosi agenda, and send a clear message: conservatives aren’t going to let the extremist left in Washington strip us of our rights and freedoms.

Giuliani:

"I'm calling to ask you to join me in supporting Jim Tedisco for congress this Tuesday March 31," reads the script. "This congressional race could come down to a few hundred votes and yours could be the difference between victory and defeat. Jim Tedisco's victory will ensure that we have a voice in Congress that will stand up to Nancy Pelosi, and all her plans to hike taxes and spending by trillions of dollars. Please join me, Rudy Giuliani, in support Jim Tedisco this Tuesday."

California 10th, November 3, 2009

Republican David Harmer's platform? Nancy Pelosi is scary.

Conservatives criticized [Democratic opponent John] Garamendi's support for a government-run insurance plan in health care reform legislation in Congress and sent out mailers linking him with Pelosi, D-San Francisco.

Now, Harmer has decided to target Rep. Jerry McNerney in the neighboring CA-11th, and thinks the same message will somehow yield different results:

"Jerry McNerney claims to be a moderate Democrat, but his voting record is well to left of his district. On every significant vote, he supports the liberal agenda of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

New York 23rd, November 3, 2009

Conservative Doug Hoffman's platform? Nancy Pelosi is scary.

Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman is up with a new ad blasting Democrat Bill Owens as a lackey of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Nancy Pelosi hand-picked Bill Owens for Congress and bankrolls his campaign. You know what that means,” the ad says. “So when Pelosi wants Owens’ vote for her massive energy taxes, government-run medicine and a trillion dollar deficit, where would Bill Owens stand: With you or with her?”

Hoffman didn't get the hint with his loss, and he continues to run on his anti-Pelosi platform.

Pennsylvania 12th, yesterday:

Republican Tim Burns' platform? Nancy Pelosi is scary.

Burns made the race about Pelosi and often featured her in his TV commercials. If "Nancy Pelosi's values are your values, then Mark Critz is your candidate," Burns said in a TV ad.

More:

In a new ad supporting Republican Tim Burns, who's running for the seat vacated by the late Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA), the group RightChange.com depicts an animated Nancy Pelosi as a cross between Frankenstein's monster and Godzilla. Obama and Harry Reid play the roles of mad scientists. As they flip switches for bailouts and taxes, Pelosi is zapped and grows to terrifying size. Then she stomps on a factory, a home and goes berserk on a suburban street. The only thing that can stop her? Laser-like beams fired from Tim Burns campaign pins.

The result of these elections? Democrats won. Apparently, Nancy Pelosi just isn't that scary. But these crazies listen to their Pelosi-obsessed base and convince themselves that their hatred will translate to the rest of the electorate. It won't.

People don't hate Pelosi. And given the choice between a campaign talking issues, and a campaign screaming about Pelosi, the voters are making the same choice every single time -- even in districts (like NY-23) in which Democrats hadn't represented since the 1850s, or in a McCain district like PA-12.

It turns out that Pelosi sucks as a boogeyman. She's terrible at it! But as long as the GOP doesn't figure that out, their hopes for massive gains will definitely come up short.