This is a class blog for the students of POLSCI 426: Congressional Politics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Should Dems ignore the Southerns?

That's the debate going on over at Salon (you don't need to register to view the stories, but you do need to wait through a short commercial, which will give you a one-day access pass to the site).

Essentially, the two sides are arguing over whether the Democratic Party should focus energies on keeping the Southern Democrat base within the party or whether party officials should just ignore the South.

In the second piece, I found this quote quite good:
Sure, the overall trend has been toward the GOP, but that's hard to avoid,
since the starting point was a one-party Democratic region.

New Congress unlikely to rush toughest issues

This is an interesting article that reports on the slow road for legislating that the new Congress will face.

The main issues that are being discussed are the following:
Iraq
Wiretap policy
Immigration

Dems warn Iraq government: No rubber-stamp support

This article is basically about the plans that the Democrats have when it comes to their legislating in the NEW CONGRESS. It also touches on the violence going on in Iraq right now and the fact that Iraq should expect changes in the United States' role in that region.

At least they have a plan, it's better than nothing. LOL

Looking Beyond 2006

Jacob Weisberg of Slate is the most informed person, it seems. He says about the recent elections:
The conservative era in American politics, which has coincided with my
entire adult lifetime, came to an end two weeks ago.

Amazing that he can come to such a conclusion and the Democrats haven't even formally taken power yet. And he goes on to say:
So, if I'm correct that the conservative era is kaput, what comes next? No
one knows! But perhaps we can speculate about some of the candidates for
successor. Here are four possibilities, moving from left to right.

The four possibilities: A New Progressivism, Clintonism Continued, The Muddled Middle and Bushism Without Bush.

I think either an era of Clintonism Continued or Bushism Without Bush remains the most likely ones of the four mentioned in the article. And I think a Clintonism Continued would be my guess for how the American public shapes the scope of the political landscape in years to come -- particularly in 2008.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

^___^

Sort of relating to Congress..

"True freedom is protecting Americans by letting the NSA monitor their email and phone calls by the millions without a warrant, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales explained to Air Force Academy cadets in a speech last week.

It's a mistake to regard such Gestapo tactics as compromising freedom, he told the young officers in training. "This [antagonistic] view is shortsighted. Its definition of freedom - one utterly divorced from civic responsibility - is superficial and is itself a grave threat to the liberty and security of the American people".

Only days earlier, vice president Dick Cheney had denounced an August court decision in Michigan that found the NSA wiretap program unconstitutional as "an indefensible act of judicial overreaching".

It should surprise no one that the Bush administration is mounting a PR campaign to sell its illegal mass wiretap program, even though it's hardly a hot news item at the moment (the Michigan decision is being appealed). The sales job is directed toward the lame duck Republican Congress, in hopes of having the domestic spying program legalised after the fact, before Democrats take control of the Hill."

So does anyone think that they'll be able to get it pushed through? I personally don't; isn't trying to get it legalized to "supplement" the authority that already exist rather pointless to if it was already legit? I think even if they tried to push this through it'll take something to let the general public know and from them I'm sure the general feeling will be of displeasure. Time will tell.

We should pat ourselves on the back...unless you didn't vote..then don't pat yourself on the back

"Washington - Young voters carried more political weight in Wisconsin than in virtually any other state in the Nov. 7 midterm elections.

That is one of the most striking findings about the state in an examination of exit poll data from across the country.

Voters age 18-29 made up 17% of the Wisconsin electorate - more than anywhere else except Montana (also 17%). Nationally, young voters made up between 12% and 13% of the electorate.

"We lost all these college-town seats," Janesville congressman Paul Ryan said. "The marriage amendment clearly complicated the turnout situation, which did not play to our benefit in many ways."

According to a preliminary national estimate by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland, about 24% of eligible voters between 18 and 29 went to the polls Nov. 7, up from 20% in the last midterm in 2002. National turnout for voters of all ages is estimated at a little more than 40% in 2006."

Texas loses lengthy clout in Congress

This article has it all –distribution of power, junior members and redistricting. Enjoy.

House Democrats Pick Their Leader

House Democrats chose Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland majority leader. The interesting thing was that there was fighting amongst party members. Hoyer was chosen despite the fact that he wasn't the candidate favored by speaker of the house Nansy Pelosi. John Murtha was favored by Pelosi, who got 86 votes compared with 149, which were received by his opponents.

Lieberman: Payback Time?

I was watching Scarborough Country on MSNBC and one of the things that came up was the issue with Joe Lieberman most likely being bitter because of the fact that he probably feels that the Democrats left him behind to support Lamont. Now that Lieberman has won over Lamont, could it be possible in anyone's eyes that he might become a turncoat and consider becoming a republican. It was stated on SC that he had more votes from republicans than independents, so I am wondering what anyone thinks of this because he could tip the balance when it comes to the power in the Senate.

Could quicker Rumsfeld exit have kept GOP in power?

The article is basically about speculations about whether or not Donald Rumsfeld's resignation could have helped the Republicans stay in power if it had been done before the Midterm Elections. I agree pretty much with Bolten when he states:

"I could argue the politics of it either way," White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told CNN. "It might have been disheartening for people to see a sudden change at that moment, two or three weeks before the election. But however you view the politics of it, it doesn't matter. The president wasn't ready to make the decision until the last week. And he was determined not to inject politics into one of the most important national security decisions he has got to make."

I don't think it would have made much of a difference either way. Most people most likely would have shrugged it off and voted the way they wanted. Also, it has been discussed before on a few political cable news shows that a significant amount of people voted absentee, including me, so whatever the circumstance it would have been too late or fruitless to make an impact.

Lieberman: Call me a Democrat

The title pretty much says it all.

Disenchanted Chafee may bail on GOP

Here is a short article on how the most liberal republican of congress might jump ship after his election loss. Interesting that he waited so long to decide that he might leave the party.

Redistricting: Home to Roost

"The trade-off in redistricting is between safety and maximizing the numbers," says Alan I. Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. "You can't do both."

Political Parties in a Critical Era

Thanks to Anthony Cetrano for pointing out that this article was not available on jstor. You can find it at the above link on my website or at the site for the American Politics Review.

Iraq: Ailing Democratic Party since 2006

Not surprisingly, the New York Times picks up on how the Democrats used the war in Iraq to leverage their way into Congress.

The story talks about how Iraq had fallen off of the media's radar and how a bloody and violent month of October overseas helped to raise the profile of the war again to a point where Democrats could use it as a means to Congressional ends.

But the White House helped too, they say:

Republicans, normally sure-footed this decade, reacted with a tentativeness that they called evidence of a divergence between a White House that viewed a victory in Iraq as central to Mr. Bush’s image and Republican candidates who saw the war as poisoning an already difficult re-election environment.

Senior Republican strategists said they told candidates to avoid talking about the war, and even to distance themselves from it, and urged the White House to change its approach, at least through November. But that strategy was undercut by Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who kept making the case for victory in forum after forum, ensuring that the issue remained in public view.

What a novel approach for Democrats.

After Years On the Outs, New York Comes Back In

“Now when I say to one of my colleagues, New York needs something, or I need something, they’ll be more amenable.”
- Chuck Schumer

Democrat win in Montana

Jon tester wins for democrats in Montana, leaving Virgina to be decided, "Mr. Tester’s victory means that the Senate will at the least be tied 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, but effectively the Republicans would remain in control in that case because Vice President Dick Cheney has a tie-breaking vote".

Bush appoints new Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld has put in his resignation as Secretary of Defense and President Bush has appointed former head of the CIA, Robert Gates. Little information is available at this time but President Bush has announced that he believe Gates will assist him in "Staying the Course" or "Changing the course" or something is going on with the course at least.

Democratic Majority in Senate

Democrats have defeated the Republican incumbents in Rhode Island, Pennsylvanis, and Ohio. Right now they are winning in other three, Virginia, James Webb(Democrat) leading with very slime majority 49.6 to 49.3%, 99/8% votes counted. Missouri, Democratic challenger McCaskill leading by 49.5 to 47.3 over her opponents with 88.4% votes counted. In Montana Democrat challenger Jon Tester leading by 50.7% to 46.8% over the opponent with 64.1% counted.

Dems take House as GOP clings to Senate, CNN projects

Democrats have won the house as expected. Senate is really up for grabs and 3 is needed for Democrats control and 1 for Republicans.

Liberman Wins

Senator Liberman wins running as an independent by beating both the democrat and republican candidates. He got 50% of the votes, with heavy turnout of 66% in Connecticut.

Readings for Wednesday

Pay attention to the syllabus, not to what I said in class. The readings that we will cover tomorrow are Jacobson Chapter 6 and Aldrich's “Political Parties in a Critical Era.” Thanks and vote well.

Information on what wisconsin is voting on

To All-

The link is a webpage full on information on issues and candidates that Wisconsin will be voting on today. Please read carefully on all issues and don't forget to vote.

The NRCC is doing a robocalling smear campaign..

"In 53 Congressional campaigns across the country, including the Pennsylvania 6th, the Connecticut 4th, the North Carolina 11th, the New Hampshire 2nd, and the Illinois 6th and 8th (and possibly all races), the National Republican Congressional Committee is conducting a $2.1 million campaign to make it appear as if Democrats are spamming callers with telemarketing calls. The NRCC hired Conquest Communications Group to conduct a massive nationwide robocalling campaign with calls specifically scripted to appear as if they're coming from the Democratic candidate — in violation of FCC regulations on such 'robocalls,' which requires the identity of the caller to be stated at the beginning of the message [47 CFR 64.1200(b)(1)]. The call begins with 'Hello. I'm calling with information about,' and then says the name of the Democratic candidate. There is then a pause; if the recipient hangs up here, they will receive repeated calls back with the same message, potentially up to 18 times or more (according to one callee). If the callee doesn't hang up, they hear a smear message from the machine about the Democratic candidate. The NRCC thinks the legality of the calls is, conveniently, a 'complicated legal question that's not going to get adjudicated this weekend.'"

Bush Says U.S. Pullout Would Let Iraq Radicals Use Oil as a Weapon

This is an interesting article because Bush now is arguing that staying in Iraq is about oil. After 4 years of saying that the Iraq war has nothing to do with oil, it seems a strange change of reasoning. Bush also argues that the loss of Iraqi oil would result in oil prices as high as $400 a barrel, never mind that Iraqi production has never been that significant of total world production. Sounds like Bush is trying to use the fear of voters to pay more at the pump to win votes for Republicans. I just don't see how this is good for Republicans.

Republican Scandals

The world of mudslinging and muckraking takes center stage during election season, as political ads become ubiquitous. A sweet respite from ads exchanging blows with each respective candidate’s opponent, this ad, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/11/02/ad-challenges-voters-to-r_n_33119.html, challenges people on the street to read a list of republican scandals in one breath, with a reward of a hundred dollars if anyone can do it.

The fact that they cannot surprises several of the participants, and brings light to issues people didn’t even know existed. The man on the street approach, makes the ad more accessible in comparison to the political commercials that simply degrade a candidate’s position, and the clever premise keeps the audience watching.

This is a perfect example of how politicians can attract voters who have learned to tune out the traditional vote for this guy's ad.

Plans to build atomic weapons...brought to you by your friendly GOP members of Congress and President

"Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein."

"The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs."

"The director of national intelligence, John D. Negroponte, had resisted setting up the Web site, which some intelligence officials felt implicitly raised questions about the competence and judgment of government analysts. But President Bush approved the site’s creation after Congressional Republicans proposed legislation to force the documents’ release."

"Peter D. Zimmerman, a physicist and former United States government arms scientist now at the war studies department of King’s College, London, called the posted material “very sensitive, much of it undoubtedly secret restricted data.”

Ray E. Kidder, a senior nuclear physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, an arms design center, said “some things in these documents would be helpful” to nations aspiring to develop nuclear weapons and should have remained secret."


The stupidity of some of our government never fails to amaze me.
"Let's stop the world from getting nukes!"
"Ok, how do we do that?"
"By releasing information to help them on their paths to building nuclear weapons of course!"
What the hell? Is there ANY oversight? I guess not since plans to build nukes got released into the wild. I am rather curious now what the looked like though.

Rally with President Bill Clinton in Milwaukee

Hey guys! There is going to be a rally with President Bill Clinton in Milwaukee. Apparently, Governor Jim Doyle, Senator Herb Kohl, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, and AG (Attorney General) Candidate Kathleen Falk are going to be there as well. It is on Friday, November 3rd at the Milwaukee Theatre on 500 W. Kilbourn Avenue at 2:00 p.m. which is when the doors will be opened. If you need a RSVP ticket, all you have to do is go to the UWM Democrats office in the Union I believe and ask them. I am definitely going because hey, it's BILL CLINTON! I hope to see some of you there!

New NYT/CBS Poll

29% American approve of the way President Bush is managing the war in Iraq.

Nearly 70 percent of Americans said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war, and an overwhelming 80 percent said Mr. Bush’s latest effort to rally public support for the conflict amounted to a change in language but not policy.

Only 20 percent said they thought the United States was winning in Iraq, down from a high of 36 percent in January.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=530

Context needed on Kerry's botched joke

Context, context and context.

Green and Doyle Bring on Support!

Both Green and Doyle bring on outside support to help them win over voters. Green has Tommy Thompson promoting him and Doyle has Barack Obama helping him out. The link is from ABC's Milwaukee station that has video of it all. The race is heating up and today in recent polls, Green and Doyle are neck and neck. Remember to go vote next Tuesday between 7am to 8pm at your local polling station!

Kerry insults GOP

"I'm sick and tired of a bunch of despicable Republicans who will not debate real policy, who won't take responsibility for their own mistakes, standing up and trying to make other people the butt of those mistakes," he said. "It disgusts me that a bunch of these Republican hacks who've never worn the uniform of our country are willing to lie about those who did."

I guess negative campaigning is going on even in person, and why not? It works.

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