Governorships

The Governors: Key To Reapportionment Battles For The Next Decade!

Ronald Leave a comment

While so much attention has been addressed to the US Senate and House races this election year, the voters’ choices of 37 Governors are crucial for the long term health, or lack of it, of the two major political parties for the next decade!

This is due to the fact that the Governors will have the major input to the approval of reapportionment plans in the states for seats in the US House of Representatives, as well as state legislative districts.

Even if the state legislature is controlled by one party, if the Governor in office in 2011 is of the opposition party, it can have a dramatic effect on how the districts are gerrymandered, and can determine fortunes politically for the next ten years!

This is particularly significant in large states such as Texas, California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, among others.

So the state governorship races require more analysis than would be often imagined, because of their effect on the national political scene!

The Year Of The “Wingnuts”, The “Loonies”, The “Crazies”! :(

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This midterm election year has been the most amazing of times, with so many “wingnuts”, “loonies”, and “crazies” running for public office, or candidates for re-election, and the thought that any of them might be elected or re-elected is a sign of how desperate, confused, and frustrated the people of America are!

The term “wingnut” was coined by journalist John Avlon, who has written articles and a notable book on the subject. Avlon promotes a moderate, centrist view of politics, and he is excellent at portraying the horrible politicians, many without any real qualifications, who might become our leaders, or are already our leaders!

If they do win, the American people will soon realize the errors of their ways, but it will be too late, and particularly with the Senate, we will be stuck with these characters for at least six years! 🙁

So who are the “wingnuts”, the “loonies”, the “crazies”?

Senate races–Newcomers

Rand Paul, Kentucky
Sharron Angle, Nevada
Mike Lee, Utah
Ken Buck, Colorado
Joe Miller, Alaska
Christine O’Donnell, Delaware
Linda McMahon, Connecticut
Carly Fiorina, California
Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania
John Raese, West Virginia
Ron Johnson, Wisconsin
Alvin Greene, South Carolina

Senators In Office

Jim DeMint, South Carolina
David Vitter, Louisiana
Richard Shelby, Alabama
Tom Coburn, Oklahoma

House Races

Michele Bachmann, Minnesota–in office
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina–in office
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee–in office
Ben Quayle, Arizona–newcomer
Allen West, Florida–newcomer

Governor Races–Newcomers

Rick Scott, Florida
Carl Paladino, New York
Tom Tancredo, Colorado
Tom Emmer, Minnesota
Dan Maes, Colorado

This list is partially from Avlon’s articles and book, and partly based on other reports of what these candidates or office holders have advocated or promoted, ideas which would set back American progress, or else have encouraged character assassination of President Obama with “birther” statements or claims he is “Muslim”, a “terrorist”, a “Kenyan”, and other reckless rhetoric that promotes violence, confrontation, and threatening behavior! 🙁

The author will comment on the likelihood of how many of these will be elected before Election Day next Tuesday!

Multi Millionaire Business Executives Likely To Be Defeated In November: An Important Message From Voters!

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The Republican Party is trying to convince the nation that multimillionaire businessmen and women, who have never had any political experience, but are willing to spend tens of millions of their own money, should be rewarded with public office, either the Senate or Governorships!

The likelihood is that most, if not all, will be defeated in their attempt to “buy” the office with their own wealth!

None of these people give a damn about average Americans, and are just trying to stroke their own egos, and think personal fortunes alone should be enough to satisfy their need for power and influence! Their level of arrogance is amazing, and should NOT be rewarded! 🙁

I am referring to the following:

Meg Whitman, running for California Governor
Carly Fiorina, running for California Senator
Linda McMahon, running for Connecticut Senator
Carl Paladino, running for New York Governor
Rick Scott, running for Florida Governor
John Raese, running for West Virginia Senator
Ron Johnson, running for Wisconsin Senator

The alternatives are, respectively:

Former Governor Jerry Brown of California
Senator Barbara Boxer of California
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of New York
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink of Florida
Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin

Anyone who seriously analyzes these seven races would come to the conclusion that the Democrats stand for solid backgrounds, loads of experience, concern for those NOT rich, and strong principles–all reasons to support their election or re-election to public office!

In Difficult Electoral Climate For Democrats, Some Have No Problem!

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While the Democrats face possible election losses in two weeks, there are eight Democrats who are facing no problem at all when it comes to election or re-election!

In Senate races, the following Democrats have no serious challenges:

Daniel Inouye of Hawaii
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
Chuck Schumer of New York
Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
Ron Wyden of Oregon
Patrick Leahy of Vermont

Two gubernatorial races also seem guaranteed for the Democrats:

Andrew Cuomo of New York
John Hickenlooper of Colorado

These eight Democrats are a very privileged group, but otherwise Democrats are running for election or re-election, knowing clearly that the trend seems to be against them, with losses expected, but the extent of the losses hard to predict as the races reach their final two weeks of what has become a marathon!

The Tea Party Movement And The Republican Party: Clear And Present Danger! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

The Republican Party has had a long history, and has given the United States some very outstanding leaders in the Presidency, in the halls of Congress, and in the state governorships!

Like any political party, it has had its bright, as well as gloomy moments, but it is now seriously threatened with being taken over by some of the most loony, arrogant or unqualified candidates for public office that anyone can ever remember! 🙁

Witness the following:

1. Many, if not all, of these candidates are for privatization of Social Security, Medicare, and veterans benefits, the end of unemployment compensation, the shutdown of the US Department of Education, the repeal of health care legislation, the reversal of Wall Street reform, the end of credit card and student loan reform and any economic stimulus, and overall, support the return to failed policies of the Bush administration and the Newt Gingrich “Contract With America”! They also do not “believe” in evolution, climate change, or science in any form, but advocate religion and oppose immigration reform, gay rights, and any other ideas that are part of what they call the “socialist” agenda! 🙁
2. Delaware Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell has lied about her education, has advocated that evolution is a myth, has admitted that she was involved with witchcraft, has used campaign money to pay for personal expenses, and has advocated that any form of sex before marriage, including masturbation, is to be avoided!
3. Florida Gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott was involved in Medicare fraud in the 1990s, but has no shame in running for chief executive of the fourth largest state!
4. Nevada Senate nominee Sharon Angle has been making inconsistent statements on many issues, constantly contradicting herself! She also believes that if the elections this November do not lead to the desired results, that there should be Second Amendment remedies!
5. New York Gubernatorial nominee Carl Palladino has sent out campaign literature with a smelly garbage scent, has accused his Democratic opponent of having scandals in his private life without any evidence of such, has threatened journalists with personal harm, and has fathered a child outside of wedlock while married! He has also made it clear that he will not cooperate with the state legislature if he is elected Governor of the third largest state!
6. Many GOP nominees have used obscene amounts of their personal fortune to attempt to “buy” the political office they seek, including Rick Scott in Florida, Carl Palladino in New York, Gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman in California, Senatorial nominee Carly Fiorina in California, and Senatorial nominee Linda McMahon in Connecticut!
7. There is so much more that could be said here about other nominees, including Mike Lee of Utah, Ken Buck of Colorado, Joe Miller of Alaska, Marco Rubio of Florida, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and last, but certainly not least, Rand Paul of Kentucky, all GOP Senate candidates! 🙁

Many traditional Republicans have been unwilling to support the nominees after they have been defeated, including Rick Lazio in New York, Bill McCollum in Florida, Mike Castle in Delaware, Rob Simmons in Connecticut, Lisa Murkowski in Alaska and Trey Greyson in Kentucky!

In a time as difficult as we are facing now in this country, we have a group of candidates who threaten the stability of state governments, the US Senate, and also the US House of Representatives (which has numerous Tea Party Movement candidates with crazy, dangerous platforms)!

If most of these candidates are elected, the country will suffer from office holders who endanger the future of the nation, and soon there will be “buyers’ remorse”, and the GOP will be threatened by total chaos, as we will have people in power who will refuse to negotiate or compromise, which is part of the nature of successful politics!

And as the author has stated elsewhere, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell had better watch out, as they will likely face a nightmare, which could include their being deposed as Republican leaders–or if they survive, they might at some point WISH they had not been leaders of their party in Congress! 🙁

What a terrible scenario could be in the offing! 🙁

The Governorships And State Legislatures: A Crucial Year For Both Political Parties!

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The elections in 37 states this November for the office of Governor, as well as the state legislative battles raging across the country, will have a very powerful effect on the fortunes of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party for the next decade, as this is the year of the census figures, and reapportionment of seats for the House of Representatives and the state legislatures will be determined over the next two years by the election results!

The party that controls the state legislature can use the practice of gerrymandering to set district lines to favor their party for the next decade! In a sense, redistricting allows leaders to choose their voters, instead of voters choosing their leaders! 🙁

The Republican Party is seen as favored to gain more by likely control of more state legislatures, with an estimate of gaining at least ten chambers this fall, which could give them the power to redraw up to 25 congressional districts!

At this point, the Democrats have the advantage, controlling 27 states to 14 for the GOP, with eight states having divided legislatures! But the momentum is against them in this round of such crucial elections!

However, the governorships are also a factor, as a governor can veto redistricting plans of the state legislature, and force the issue into extended court suits, if the Governor is of the party opposite of the legislative majorities!

So although there are 50 states, the larger states with more Congressional members have a greater role, and in those states, the Governorship races are therefore more crucial for both parties to win! Certainly, the most important states would thus include California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Georgia, the top nine states, and all of these are battlegrounds, except possibly New York, where Andrew Cuomo is a heavy favorite to overcome either of his Republican opponents!

So the state races, both for the Governorship and the legislative balance, matter greatly, even more this year than usual!

Female Vs. Female Political Races And More Women Running Against Men: A Record Breaking Year?

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A fascinating part of the 2010 election cycle is the fact that there will be more female vs. female races than we have seen before in American history!

For the Senate, the only such race will be Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer against former Hewlett Packard CEO and Republican Carly Fiorina in California!

For the office of Governor, there will be two all female races–in New Mexico, where Republican Susana Martinez will run against Democrat Diane Denish; and Oklahoma, where Democrat Jari Askins will compete against Republican Mary Fallin! Both Democrats, by the way, have been Lieutenant Governor of their states and still are!

In Congressional races, the most notable is Republican Congresswomen Michele Bachmann of Minnesota against Democratic state legislator Tarryl Clark!

But also running in South Dakota for the state wide Congressional seat are Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin against Republican state representative Kristi Noem!

Of course, there are other women running for high office, but against men! Among them are gubernatorial candidates in California (Republican Meg Whitman), South Carolina (Republican Nikki Haley), and Florida (Democrat Alex Sink). For the Senate, we see Sharron Angle (Republican of Nevada) and Linda McMahon (Republican of Connecticut). Additionally, there are numerous Congresswomen running for reelection, and many women who are opposing men in and outside of the House of Representatives for House seats.

Will this be a major “Year of the Woman” in American politics? Maybe it will not be a record breaker, but certainly women are playing a growing role in American politics, and of course we are not talking here about the numerous women who sit in state legislatures, city councils, boards of education, and other elected bodies, or who are running to be part of these government structures!

The Trend Is Overwhelmingly To Keep Incumbents In Office After All The Hype!

Ronald 1 Comment

One of the big stories of 2010 has been the belief that the country was ready to rebel against all incumbents in office, both in Congress and the Governorships, because of citizens’ disgust with the economic recession, and anger at government’s reaction to the crises the nation faces!

So therefore, it was supposed to be through the primary system that the “rascals” would be thrown out and replaced by “rebels” who would radically change the way the states and the national government operate!

So as we await the challenges to incumbents John McCain in Arizona and Lisa Murkowski in Alaska tomorrow, we should stop and observe how has the primary system gone so far!

The shock is that the grand total of SEVEN incumbents have been defeated in primaries, but 317 incumbents have been renominated!

So a little over TWO PERCENT of incumbents have been retired by the voters, and it is highly expected that Senators McCain and Murkowski will be renominated and likely win their contests in November, after all of the expectations that J. D. Hayworth would overcome McCain, and that Sarah Palin’s support of Joe Miller in Alaska would defeat Murkowski! But that is apparently not to be!

So all of the talk and discussion has led to little change, and it makes one wonder: Could the same thing happen with Congress and in some states in November? Could it be that the Republican Party might not gain that many seats from the Democrats? Could it be that Barack Obama will be seen as gaining an endorsement for his actions as President despite the public opinion polls?

No one can possibly know the answers now, but it certainly makes following the campaign for Congress and the Governorships more interesting, and makes one look forward to see what will happen on November 2!

It may be, as the author has indicated in other earlier entries, a very different result than many have predicted!

The Inscrutable Nature Of The American Voter: The Future At Stake!

Ronald Leave a comment

The upcoming Midterm Elections of 2010 for the House of Representatives, Senate, and Governorships are a topic of discussion among not just journalists and bloggers, but also every day Americans who are living through the most difficult economic times in 75 years!

Certain points seem clear:
1. There is great discontent and anger with the high unemployment rate, and the continuing housing crisis, with foreclosures at very high levels!
2. The vast majority of Republicans and conservatives are totally negative toward everything that the Obama Administration has promoted into law, and everything they advocate in statements and actions!
3. Democrats are unenthusiastic about the upcoming elections, and have lost their passion to be involved in promoting their party through activism and voting participation!
4. Independents are unhappy with the Obama Administration, but not enthused either by the Republican alternative!
5. Moderates may be unhappy with some of what the Obama Administration has done and advocated, but don’t want to go over to the right wing Tea Party activist movement!
6. Tea Party activists are zealous in their hatred of government, but it is doubtful that a large percentage of Americans believe in their cause!
7. A majority of Americans may hate the power and influence of the federal government, but at the same time want the federal government to be there to control and regulate the powerful economic forces, the corporations, that dominate their lives!
8. A majority of Americans are disillusioned about the future, and that may lead to record turnout for the elections, based upon this emotion, or could also lead to a record decline in participation, based on alienation from the whole situation existing in America!

The reality is as follows: Based upon history, the Republican Party SHOULD gain seats in both houses of Congress and in the Governorships! That would not be a surprise! The party out of the White House traditionally gains seats in a midterm election!

But the question is, will those who vote, state by state, cause a party turnover in the Congress? The answer is highly unlikely, as a gain of more than 40 seats in the House and 10 in the Senate seems extremely remote!

Will the decision be by those who vote that the opposition is the “lesser of evils”, or rather that “better to stick with those you know, than those you don’t know”?

When those who vote have time to reflect on what has happened, will they punish the Democrats for the multitude of changes brought about, or decide after reflection that a lot of good has occurred, and they do not wish to see it repealed; or will they be supportive of a more confrontational Congress that will lead to greater gridlock and stalemate?

The key question above all is not only who votes, and how many, but how rational will these voters be when they are actually voting! Will emotion and fear and scare tactics win over, or will calm reasoning about how much worse it would have been, under a different set of policies under President John McCain, take hold?

This midterm election is truly a mandate, a sense of where the American people stand! We are at a crossroads as to whether government can work, or whether we are returning to the era of 19th century states rights (Civil War) and unregulated capitalism (Gilded Age)!

In other words, are we returning to the tragic policies of the past, and wiping out all of the progress of the 20th century under Congresses and Presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon (yes, even him!), George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama?

All of these Presidents and Congresses made life better, and advanced the cause of social and economic reform, and democracy, at times when many of the states were in the other direction, and also tamed the excesses of industrial capitalism in the public interest!

To believe that we are on the cusp of a reversal of our history is something to be worried about, and to prevent this by promoting active participation in this fall’s election by those who care about preserving the great reforms and changes that the federal government has brought about in the past century!

Can America afford to return to the past? Is this what would be best for the nation’s future? The clear answer is NO! 🙁

The Crisis In The Governorships Nationwide

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It used to be that the office of governor of any state was a prestigious position sought by many ambitious politicians, who saw it as a place to serve, make a difference, and possibly seek higher office, including the Presidency, after years of devoted service.

The governorship has been the primary background for the American Presidency, and many governors have also served in the US Senate or as cabinet officers, and some, like Earl Warren of California, on the Supreme Court.

But the glorious days of being governor have passed, as it has become, in these difficult economic times, a thankless job, so much so that one wonders why anyone seeks the position.

And on top of that, we have seen scandal in the governorship on a level unseen before. Think of the list of disgraced governors of recent times, including, among others, Jim McGreevey of New Jersey, Eliot Spitzer of New York, Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Jim Gibbons of Nevada, John Rowland of Connecticut, and Bob Taft of Ohio.

While we have had four governors in recent times in the White House (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush), it is hard to see any governor of recent times being able to make that leap to the Presidency.

Difficult economic times have made life difficult for Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, both born outside the United States, so not eligible for the Presidency, in any case.

Rick Perry of Texas is in a struggle for another term, but even if he were to win, his statements about secession would seemingly eliminate him from a serious quest for the Presidency, and there have been ethical questions about his long ten year tenure in the governorship.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is also in the battle for his life in the Senate race against Marco Rubio, and at this point seems unlikely to be in office beyond the end of his term as governor.

The fact that past governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas failed in their quest for the Presidency in 2008, and the controversies around former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, make it seem unlikely they have a future beyond their former offices.

Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota are worth watching, but it is hard to imagine them accomplishing their immediate or long range goals of living in the White House.

Finally, the new revelations about New York Governor David Paterson, who succeeded to the governorship due to the scandal surrounding Eliot Spitzer, is only the latest blow to the stature of the governorship office, not only in New York, but nationwide.

This is very disappointing, as to many, being governor is the position that best prepares someone for the challenges of the Presidency. This is part of the general disillusionment that so many Americans have about their government at all levels, and will not be overcome any time soon! 🙁