WASHINGTON – It's depressing to be a House Republican these days. Dark moods, sleeplessness – it's all understandable after losing yet another "safe" House district last week, this one in rural Mississippi. And what better tonic than a new, family-oriented agenda, with a nice slogan like "The Change You Deserve," rolled out by a sunny member like Fort Worth Rep. Kay Granger.

It took about 10 minutes for Democrats to point out that the slogan was already in use – by the makers of Effexor, an antidepressant.

"We certainly had no idea that that was a trademark or a slogan used by that drug," Ms. Granger said.

"That gave the talk shows a lot to laugh about and talk about. I still think change is what people are looking for."

It's hard to overstate the panic that struck Republicans last week after the loss in Mississippi. They now trail the Democrats 236-199, their fewest number of seats since their 1994 takeover. And it marked the third straight loss in a special election, all in districts deemed reliably conservative – one in Louisiana, the other held for years by former Speaker Dennis Hastert in Illinois.

Fingers are being pointed.

At the insistence of Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, head of the Republican Study Committee, a conservative bloc with half the GOP membership, party leaders called a special meeting for Tuesday to hash out options.

There's talk of a backbench revolt.

"We've got to earn our brand back again," Ms. Granger said in an interview taped for C-SPAN that airs today. "I hope it's not going to get worse. ... We've had a rough time, no doubt about it."

The House GOP lost 30 seats in 2006, and along with them, control of the House. After the Mississippi loss, Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia moderate and former chairman of the House GOP campaign arm, warned that this year's atmosphere is "the worst since Watergate." Party insiders fear they could lose 20 or 30 more seats in November.

The head of the Democrats' campaign committee, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, gloated that no district anywhere can now be considered safe for Republicans.

That may be a stretch. In Texas, where Republicans hold a 19-13 edge, Democrats have little hope of padding their national majority. Still, the current climate will make it hard for the GOP to reclaim the two seats lost in 2006: Tom DeLay's old district in suburban Houston, now held by Rep. Nick Lampson of Stafford, and the San Antonio-to-El Paso district where Rep. Ciro Rodriguez ousted Henry Bonilla.

Still, Ms. Granger didn't dismiss Mr. Van Hollen's assessment out of hand.

"We're going to have to fight for every seat we've got," she said.

"People are war-weary and see that the war started on our watch. And there's just some general angst among people."

As vice chairwoman of the House GOP conference, she unveiled the ill-sloganed "American Families Agenda," a 46-point plan aimed at high gas prices, the time crunch facing workers with kids and aging parents, and other pocketbook issues. She and other female lawmakers will barnstorm the country to showcase the agenda.

Party discipline is an early casualty of defeat. Last week alone, Republicans defied President Bush twice, providing veto-proof margins on a massive farm bill and a measure to halt oil purchases for the federal emergency stockpile. Ms. Granger shrugged these off as policy differences but conceded that some colleagues see an upside in bucking an unpopular president.

"That may be," she said. "All politics is local."

Serving in a shrinking minority isn't the best job in the world, and Ms. Granger is one of several House members eyeing Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat if the senator runs for governor.

"It's not as much fun as it is when you're in the majority," she said.