Vice President Joe Biden came to the Twin Cities on Tuesday to talk about cats, strangulation and to make a prediction.

Biden went against prevailing political tea-leaf readers and predicted that Democrats would retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"I am absolutely convinced if we make it a choice, and we fight back, we will do very, very well," Biden told 350 attendees of a fundraiser for DFL gubernatorial candid

ate Mark Dayton. "If we organize our voters, we will do very well. If we don't, we won't."

Biden took aim at the current crop of Republicans.

"This is not your father's Republican Party," he said. "This is the party of repeal and repeat. This is the Republican Tea Party. These are not the same brand of cat you are dealing with."

Biden (not in Minnesota)

Biden said he's a little miffed at Republicans and what he called their newfound devotion to fiscal restraint. He said the last three Republican presidents spent down surpluses built up by Democrats and left Americans facing deep deficits.

"If I hear one more Republican tell me about balancing the budget, I am going to strangle them," he said.

"To the press," he joked, "that's a figure of speech."