Players in the political marketplace can be trusted to read the political signals. The surprise retirement announcements of four veteran Democratic congressmen and the decision of Alabama House freshman Parker Griffith to switch to the Republican party are both indications that significant players are hearing signals that confirm the grim news for Democrats in  the generic ballot polls, in which the realclearpolitics.com average of recent polls shows Republicans leading Democrats by a historically unusual if not unprecedented 43%-41% margin.

Now from Hotline on Call and Politico we learn that a leading Democratic House race recruit, Jack McDonald in the 31st district of Texas, has decided not to run; the filing deadline is January 4. The 31st district, which runs from metro Houston to metro Austin, was created to be a safe Republican seat, but incumbent Michael McCaul won by only a 54%-43% margin in 2008, in a district John McCain carried by 55%-44%.