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WASHINGTON - National Democrats have canceled television ad buys in two congressional races in Philadelphia's suburbs, signaling that the races may have slipped out of reach as the party shifts money to other races that appear more competitive.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) canceled ad reservations in the Chester County-based Sixth District, where Democrat Manan Trivedi is taking on Republican Ryan Costello, and in the Bucks County-based Eighth, where U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) faces a challenge from Democrat Kevin Strouse, once billed as a star DCCC recruit.

The cancellation, first reported by Politico, comes as Democrats scramble to protect incumbents, rather than trying to gain ground in a year that looks ever stronger for the GOP.

"Ad reservations are changing every week, and both Manan Trivedi and Kevin Strouse are running aggressive campaigns in a tough climate," said DCCC spokesman Marc Brumer. The National Republican Congressional Committee cast the decision as Democrats waving the white flag.

The DCCC retained its $1.3 million ad reservation in the tough South Jersey race between Democrat Aimee Belgard and Republican Tom MacArthur to replace U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan (R., N.J.).

Democrats had reserved $1.9 million to help Strouse and Trivedi before slashing their planned spending.

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National Democrats cancel ads in Phila.-area races

Democrats are starting to play the blame game as they face the possibility of losing the Senate in November.

Tempers are running high a month out from Election Day, with polls showing Democratic candidates trailing in the crucial battleground states that will decide whether control of Congress flips to Republicans.

Pro-immigrant advocacy groups, meanwhile, are saying Democrats should not blame them if Latino voters dont turn up to the polls on Election Day. They say President Obama made a tactical blunder by postponing an executive order easing deportations.

And grassroots organizers are grumbling about Alison Lundergan Grimess (D-Ky.) bid to take down Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), arguing her campaign has been disorganized.

Yes, youve seen pre-emptive finger pointing in the last couple of weeks, said Gerald Warburg, a former Senate Democratic leadership aide and assistant dean at the University of Virginias Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

"I used to work in the Democratic caucus and some of the toughest shootouts we ever engaged in were when we stood in a circle and fired at each other. I think you see a little bit of that now," he said.

With control of the Senate in jeopardy, some Democrats are eyeing potential scapegoats: Obamas low approval rating; low turnout from Hispanic voters; overly centrist messaging; and the media, to name just a few.

One of the Senates most vulnerable incumbents, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) recently said he wants to replace Reid by electing Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) as majority leader. He made the comments at a fundraiser, according to audio obtained by The Washington Free Beacon.

Pryor said the best thing that could happen to the Senate would be if McConnell gets beat and Harry Reid gets replaced.

With an eye on saving his majority, Reid adopted a strategy of limiting legislative amendments to protect vulnerable colleagues from tough votes that could be used against them on the campaign trail.

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Democrats start to point fingers

U.K. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the Conservatives promise to raise the level at which people start paying income tax will only be kept if his Liberal Democrats are part of the next government.

Tax cuts for working people are only happening because we Liberal Democrats fought for it every day in coalition, Alexander told his partys annual conference today in Glasgow, Scotland. The income-tax threshold will only go to 12,500 pounds ($20,000), and be paid for fairly, if there are Lib Dems in government next time to make it happen.

Prime Minister David Cameron concluded his Conservative Party conference last week by promising the tax cut, as well as an increase in the starting point for the higher 40 percent rate, if hes re-elected in May. With polls showing both the Tories and the Labour opposition may struggle to win a parliamentary majority, the Liberal Democrats might find themselves kingmakers for a second time, even though theyve lost most of their support from the 2010 election.

Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, said the balance of deficit reduction through taxes and spending cuts would be central to negotiations for any future coalition government.

Clegg said his party would cut tax relief on pensions for the wealthiest, change the level of tax relief on dividends and scrap the ludicrously wasteful shares-for-rights program to raise more money for public services to make sure those with the broadest shoulders pay their share.

The Liberal Democrats are not going to enter into government with an economic agenda which the Conservatives have announced is their priority, which would only penalize the working-age poor; its anathema to everything we believe in, Clegg said in an interview with BBC Television. We believe you have to do the difficult things to deal with the economy -- which the Labour Party refuse to confront -- but you have to do it as fairly as possible.

Meanwhile, Alexander reiterated the Liberal Democrats plan to introduce a tax on higher-value homes to ensure policies do not only benefit the richest in society.

It does mean asking the wealthiest to pay a little more tax. We will introduce a new levy on the highest value properties -- new bands on top of council tax to end the outrage that a 50 million-pound property can currently pay the same as a half-million pound home.

Backing for the Liberal Democrats has dropped to as little as 7 percent, according to a YouGov Plc (YOU) poll for the Sunday Times. It also showed the Conservatives leading with 36 percent support, followed by Labour at 34 percent. YouGov President Peter Kellner has estimated the Liberal Democrats may lose half their House of Commons seats.

Party activists at the conference flocked today to a lunchtime side event discussing whether the Liberal Democrats could go into coalition with Labour after 2015. Ten minutes before the scheduled start time, the room was so full that stewards were turning away dozens of would-be attendees.

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Alexander Says Liberal Democrats Key to Tax Cuts for Poor

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Political strategist Cliff Schecter joins us to remind us why the mid term elections matter and the implications of a Republican controlled Senate. He brings...

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