Ex-Rep Tom Davis: Surveillance Program Will Hurt Democrats in 2014

President Barack Obama’s support of the telephone-call-surveillance program revealed to the country last week will cause problems for the Democrat’s political base, former Republican Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia said Sunday.

“It looks like he’s kind of changed course on this,” Davis said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This narrative, I think, fuels the conservative base … going back to the healthcare issue.”

Obama is fortunate in that he isn’t running again, Davis said, but the disturbance in the party could play out in the House and the Senate during the upcoming midterm elections.

“The House is structurally Republican, and that isn’t going to change,” he said, noting that the political landscape portends a pickup in seats for the GOP.

Davis said seven Democratic seats that are up for election in 2014, are “in strong Romney states,” and if six are captured by the party the Republicans will take over the chamber.

“I think the average American’s probably not as disturbed about this [the monitoring of U.S. calls] as they are about the Internal Revenue Service leaks," Davis said. “I think this is going to have ramifications.”