Midterm Elections Of 2010

Potential For Civil War In Republican Party After Midterm Elections!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Tea Party Movement battle to influence and take over the Republican Party nationally may lead to civil war in the GOP after the midterm elections, if Tea Party supported candidates lose Senate and House races to Democrats!

Republican leaders are tending to be very cocky about the chances of taking over both the House of Representatives and Senate in the next Congress, but the Senate is particularly the place that could become a real battleground for control of the future of the party, and it could affect the national party and the Presidential battle for 2012!

Candidates such as Ken Buck of Colorado, Sharron Angle of Nevada, and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware have come across as loony and out of the mainstream, and if they lose their Senate races, the Republicans could end up having gained seats, but not the majority because of these candidates backed by the Tea Party Movement!

That could lead to recriminations, and could affect the Presidential contest, as Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and others who have flirted with the Tea Party could cause a split in 2012, fighting against establishment Republicans and Mitt Romney, who, despite his shortcomings, still comes across as the most legitimate, rational and sane candidate that the Republicans possess for 2012!

And, as stated earlier, a revolt within the Senate GOP could cause Mitch McConnell the control of the Majority or Minority leadership in the upper chamber, in favor of “flame thrower” Jim DeMint of South Carolina!

So whether the GOP gains control of Congress or just comes close, it could have long term negative implications for the party in 2012, including control of Congress after 2012!

Joe Miller’s Hypocrisy: Unemployment Compensation!

Ronald Leave a comment

Alaska’s Republican Senate nominee, Joe Miller, a favorite of the Tea Party Movement, has made it known that he opposes the continuation or expansion of unemployment compensation because it promotes an “entitlement” mentality!

This is his view despite the fact that we have had the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression for the past two and a half years!

And yet while he now enunciates this hard hearted view, it turns out that his own wife received unemployment compensation recently, even though Joe Miller is a successful attorney and therefore did not need for his wife to take such an “entitlement” to make ends meet! 🙁

But Joe Miller has no shame at “taking” government money, but wishes to deny it to those who desperately need it!

What hypocrisy and gall on Joe Miller’s part, and another reason for the voters of Alaska to repudiate his candidacy for the US Senate this November!

The Wall Street Rally: Will It Affect The Midterm Election?

Ronald Leave a comment

The standard viewpoint of late has been that since the economy has not recovered adequately from The Great Recession, the Democrats will suffer massive losses in the midterm elections coming up in November.

But the recent Wall Street rally in September, the best September since 1939, and the improvement in the market in the early days of October, have to make one wonder if that is a sign of economic expansion!

If it is seen as such, then it might just affect the attitude of many Americans who have soured on the Obama Administration!

Psychology is a very important part of politics, and it is well known that people’s memories are short, so the increased economic activity might just turn the tide for the Democrats, and they may lose fewer seats than often expected!

It just makes the waiting for the election results four weeks from tonight even more interesting and significant!

Turnover At The White House And In Congress: What Does It Mean?

Ronald Leave a comment

As we come close to the midterm elections next month, the Obama White House is rapidly changing personnel, with the departure of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (running to be Mayor of Chicago) being the most fundamental sign of change coming!

With much of the economic team leaving, and the expected departure next year of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and National Security Adviser James Jones, the President must figure out who he will call upon to replace many of his top team!

Obama must also decide what kind of relationship he will have with the Congress, particularly if the Republicans win control. But of course, a lot of it will have to do with how Republican leadership decides to treat him!

IF the Republicans decide to play “hardball” and issue subpoenas to investigate everything about the administration’s personnel and policies, then there will be partisan warfare and total stalemate and gridlock! 🙁

If the Republicans decide to promote repeal of administration policies, the President will fight, and has the ability to stop much of the negative actions with his veto!

If, on the other hand, the decision is to co-exist in many areas, then it is possible to have progress on the deficit, on social security reform, and on appropriate actions on terrorism!

If the Republicans become too obstructive, it could backfire on them, and lead to them losing control of either house of Congress in 2012, and help Obama win his re-election campaign, similar to Harry Truman in 1948 and Bill Clinton in 1996!

Of course, the level of success of the Tea Party Movement will have a major effect on the Republican party’s reaction to the administration over the next two years! So the potential takeover of the party by this right wing extremist movement could actually doom the party’s reputation and ability to succeed in power over the long run!

Whatever happens, the next two years will be very interesting and challenging, and will have a long range effect on the ability of the country to deal with its numerous domestic and foreign policy challenges!

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 Major Treasure Of The US Senate: Russ Feingold Of Wisconsin In Danger! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

If one had to select one member of the US Senate who is the epitome of the ideal Senator, the author would choose Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin!

If there was ever a person who had strong principles and has used good judgment, and has always been independent enough to challenge his party leadership at times, it is Russ Feingold!

Feingold sponsored with John McCain the McCain-Feingold legislation that attempted to regulate “soft” money and its deleterious effect on political campaign spending!

This is a man who had the guts and courage to oppose the hysterical rush toward the Patriot Act in 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, sensing that civil liberties would be restricted too harshly in the wake of the emotions felt by Americans over that horrible series of events!

Feingold has been one of a very few Senators to support same sex marriage, and was an early opponent of the Iraq War! He has acted in many ways as a true Independent!

He is one of a very small sample of past and present Senators that the author has felt a passion about, that he has been and would be an historic Senator!

But right now, at least according to polls, the Republican nominee for his seat, after Feingold has served so well and honorably for 18 years, is seen as having a real chance to defeat Feingold!

Ron Johnson, a millionaire manufacturer, backed by the Tea Party Movement, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, is ahead in many polls, and this has set off an alarm bell among progressive and liberal supporters, who had assumed Feingold’s seat was safe, considering Feingold’s exceptional record!

It is hoped that Feingold will retain his seat, as his leaving the Senate would be a tremendous loss to that body and to progressives and liberals nationwide!

The Two Party System Under Attack By Voters: Will It Benefit The Republicans By Default, Or Keep The Democrats In Control Of Congress?

Ronald Leave a comment

Polls indicate that there is great anger and fury among voters toward both the Democratic and Republican parties, and the wonder is how it will affect the party balance this November in the midterm elections for Congress!

The Democrats are highly unpopular, with only 38 percent approving, and 60 percent disapproving of the party’s performance in an Associated Press poll, but the GOP is far worse–with 31 percent approving and 68 percent disapproving!

In a CBS-NY Times poll, the Democrats have a rating of 30 percent compared to the Republicans with just 20 percent!

The Republicans are not seen as “new”, as they were in 1994, when they had been out of power since 1954–an amazingly long 40 years!

Now they have only been out of the majority for four years, and this comes after 12 years of control, in which they helped to cause the horrific conditions that led to a doubling of the national debt, two wars, and the Great Recession!

So they are on the defensive, as many do not see the GOP as really offering a better alternative, but simply putting back in power those who botched things up!

Will the country really give the Republicans the majority? Our two party system is frustrating to many, but there is no realistic chance to have a three party system or replace either one of the major parties, which have been around since 1854!

So it will be interesting to see what the voters, individually in each of the 50 states, decide to do with their anger and frustration! And also realize that polls can change rapidly as we get closer to the election, and are not always accurate in any case!

The Problem With The Democrats: Unwilling To Stand Up For Their Beliefs! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

With less than six weeks to go until the midterm elections, the Democrats are making clear that they are cowards–unwilling to stand up for what they believe in and what they have accomplished! 🙁

This Congress has been easily the most exceptional one since 1965-1966 under Lyndon Johnson, and yet most Democrats refuse to defend what they have done, and to show courage and guts and rip apart the negativism of the opposition Republicans!

This is NOT the time to be polite or pleasant! If the Democrats lose control of either or both houses of Congress, much of what they have accomplished may be destroyed, so this is the time to fight tooth and nail, and not care about the attacks of hypocrisy that will come from talk radio and Fox News Channel!

The health care bill has just gone into effect, the greatest social legislation since the 1960s, and the Democrats need to defend it, emphasize the positive nature of it, and refuse to apologize for it or act as they were not involved in creating it!

The Democrats must make it clear that the Republicans offer no alternative except a return to the past failures, and that they are not really concerned about the middle class or the poor, but only the wealthy! All they do is promote hate and division, appealing to the worse side of human nature, and yet they evoke religion and morality, when they exploit without caring about the sick, the unemployed, the homeless, and the handicapped!

The Democrats might play hardball, and if they still lose control of Congress, at least they will be able to look in the mirror and be proud that they have given a good fight! As Leo Durocher, the baseball manager, once said, “Nice Guys Finish Last!” 🙁

The GOP “Pledge To America”! A Ponzi Scheme! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

The Republican Party has just come out with a “Pledge To America”, similar in concept to the “Contract With America” introduced by Newt Gingrich in the 1994 election cycle, when they won control of both houses of Congress!

The emphasis is on repeal of the health care law, cutting of taxes, cutting of spending, and legislation to outlaw all abortions!

The GOP has no solution to the issue of balancing the budget or dealing with the deficit, and it wishes to take away the concept of children being on their parents’ medical plan to age 26, coverage of preexisting conditions for sick children, and no limit on lifetime care, among other points of the health care law!

The GOP is using the abortion issue to draw religious voters into their coalition, but are offering no new ideas on the economy, but instead the same old failed policies that led to a doubling of the national debt under George W. Bush!

They are bankrupt of new ideas, and are counting on amnesia to convince voters that the Republicans are a better choice than the most productive two year Congress since 1965-1966!

What a sad state of affairs, and hopefully, the American people will not be bamboozled to go backwards! 🙁 No more Ponzi schemes, please! 🙁

The Money Battle For Congress Favors Democrats!

Ronald Leave a comment

The public opinion polls may show major Republican gains for Congress this November, but the money battles favor the Democrats!

New statistics show that the national committees of the two major parties are very uneven in fund raising and money on hand, with the Democrats having over $13 million on hand, to the GOP’s almost $5 million!

In the House campaign coffers, the Democrats have $39 million to the Republican total of $26 million!

Only in the Senate campaign fund raising do the Republicans have a slight edge with $24.5 million as compared to the Democrats with $23 million!

Meanwhile, state party fund raising demonstrates that the Democrats are ahead in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Washington, Illinois and Iowa, while the Republicans are ahead in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Colorado!

So based on money raised, the Democrats are, overall, more competitive than the polls suggest!

It all comes down to voter turnout, and that means the Democratic message over the next 41 days will be crucial, requiring active campaigning by President Obama, Vice President Biden, former President Bill Clinton, and others, to convince the country that the Democrats are going in the proper direction, but that unfortunately, patience is required, and that slow progress is being made!

As Bill Clinton said yesterday to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, give the Democrats a whole term in office, rather than prejudging in less than two years, and consider what the opposition party offers as an alternative, which is NO POLICY, just attacks!

The point is, the election is far from over! Or as the former Yankee catcher Yogi Berra once said: “It ain’t over till it’s over!” 🙂