US voters are ready to 'throw the bums out' on Election Day. But who are the bums?

Other than 1894, when Republicans won a staggering 130 seats, next Tuesday is shaping up to be the mother of all "throw the bums out" midterm elections.

But who, exactly, are the bums?

According to the latest polls, anti-incumbent sentiment is running higher than anti-Democrat feelings among American voters. Indeed, the latest Rasmussen survey shows that 65 percent of voters want to replace the entire Congress this fall and start all over again.

One Florida Republican congressional candidate, Bernard Sansaricq, applauded the poll's finding: “Being American implies a duty; not to fulfill that duty is a treason. We must take the trash out next Tuesday. Vote all incumbents out of office. Let's clean the people's House in D.C. and replace them with true patriots.”

Mr. Sansaricq's rhetoric suggests that incumbents are just a convenient surrogate for the real target in 2010: out-of-touch political elites.

The anti-elitism card

Anti-elitism is one of the major themes expressed by tea party candidates.

• It's why Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle rails on Harry Reid's comfy quarters at the Ritz Carlton.

• It's why Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell brags that she didn't go to Yale.

• It's why bearded Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller seemed to suggest that his past ethics violation was part of his "warts and all" regular-guy appeal. "Alaskans get to understand that, hey, they're electing somebody like them," he said during a recent debate when he admitted the transgression.

Some Democrats are trying to play the anti-elitist card, too. Take a look at West Virginia Senate candidate Joe Manchin's ad:

Does the anti-elitist rally cry have merit? Are Beltway political leaders really that out of touch with mainstream America?

Snobby fat cats?

Absolutely – at least in some important respects. Consider the wealth of our members of Congress. As this New York Times article reminds us, most members have no idea what it's like to struggle to make mortgage payments. Of 100 senators, at least 68 were worth more than $1 million; 18 were worth more than $10 million. In the House, 240 members (out of 435) were millionaires.

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