That Lunch Table Shrinks (Again)

Olympia Snowe (ME-R) one of the few remaining moderates in the Senate has announced her plans to retire:

Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term.... So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.

The Washington Post suggests that with an open seat election the Democrats will be favored to take the seat this November.

Midterm on Wednesday

As promised, here is a study guide for our Midterm Exam.

Richard Lugar, the Grandfather of the Indiana GOP, fights for reelection

Richard Lugar fights for reelection

This article about 7 time incumbent GOP representative out of Indiana, Richard Lugar fights for another election. It presses on the difficulty of not only winning the election but winning the primary as well. Lugar, long-time incumbent now know as a "Washingtonian" more than an Indiana Hoosier still has the ability to outfinance his competition but fights to prove that he still worries about the issues that press the constituents of Indiana, even though he's lived in Washington for so long. I think this brings up a lot of the issues we discussed in class, like how incumbents win a strong majority of the time, especially when the article states that Lugar hasn't been involved in a close race since 1972!

Santorum Makes Case for Religion in Public Sphere

Santorum who has been consistently been reaching out to the "religious right" as he tries to gain support and how this will be received by voters. Things have definatly gotten fiery between Santorum and Romney as both leading Republicans try and "challenge the depth of the other's conservatism".

Edited to make it pretty – mtofias.

"Road" Island Lampoon of Joe Biden

I'm not sure why V.P. Joe Biden saying goofy stuff would be very shocking at this point but this is an interesting attempt to associate Joe's general extracurricular goofiness with Sen. Whitehouse. Republican candidate Barry Hinckley's campaign posted this video Wednesday night, and though it is hard to tell, it appears Hinckley's people are trying to highlight a gaffe in a White House release that mentioned V.P. Biden's visit to "Road" Island. I decided to post this link because I'm not sure what this ad accomplishes? It is really kind of uncomfortable to watch.

re: Harry Reid, U.S. Senate Majority Leader

"Reid looks to stick around"

This article is about the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid; the 72-year-old Democratic Nevada Senator still has five years left on his current term, and plans to remain leader of Democrats in U.S. Senate even if the Democrats lose their majority. Most of Reid’s Democratic colleagues support him, and his leadership role. Republican colleagues, however see Reid as a “polarizing leader” who refuses to let the U.S. Senate do its job. This article shows the importance of the leadership roles in the U.S. Senate, and the control and power the majority enjoys.

Intra-party struggles

This isn't a topic we have directly talked about, but intra-party negotiations are part of coalitions and win sets.  It is interesting to see that the GOP continues to have issues utilizing its majority in the House due to party infighting.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72978_Page2.html

Representative Vulnerability

Good Example of some of the inherent difficulties in running for congress and keeping the job.  Massachusetts democrat and freshman rep. Bill Keating narrowly won his 2010 primary over an ex-state senator and squeaked out a victory over a republican.  As if getting elected as a rookie wasn't hard enough, Keating was redistricted having to change his residency and gainined some new constituents.  Now he is already facing opposition within his own party for another primary battle in 2012.  Although Keating will technically have the incumbent advantage, winning another primary and election seems expensive.  And with our governments short terms and frequent elections Keating has probably already started campaigning for 2012 since he was elected 2 years agohttp://atr.rollcall.com/massachusetts-bill-keating-dodges-serious-three-way-primary-in-new-district/.  

Debate on an Issue

Surprise, surprise individuals in Congress are disagreeing with each other and some with President Obama. There are so many issues where not everyone is going to have the same preference. There will be individuals who are further away from the status quo and believe that their opinion is the right one and should be the status quo. Here they are debating over whether President Obama is “attempting to force contraception.” The two members who disagree with each other are Paul Ryan, Wisconsin and Chris Van Hollen, Maryland. Ryan says that it is not about the contraception but this will hurt and spread into our First Amendment rights.  http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2012/02/paul-ryan-chris-van-hollen-clash-over-obama-contraception-114947.html

Upsetting the apple cart?

Repeal the Voting Right Act

How many of the representatives that aren't from these states, are truly willing to risk upsetting the apple cart and vote on a limited scope issue and risk the wrath of minority groups and risk losing a re-election campaign?

In my opinion, none. This is an issue that if you get painted as a racist, there is little to no chance of re-election.

The public doesn't know the truth

An article about the simple fact that there are people who don't know the rules governing the senate. These rules make changes to a what is meets the criteria of win set when they are employed in this manner.

Here is an article about the Super PACs and the impact that it has had on political opponents. It highlights that the mudslinging can lead even the most honorable legislators to compromise in order to gain support, while incumbent positions can come under fire if not backed by the super PACs. 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72922.html

Another Look at Citizens United

Looks like Congressional Dems are going to try to get the IRS to investigate PACs to make sure they are breaking the 51% barrier of spending in their budgets in areas other than political activity. My stance is that each viewpoint has its own funding so I do not see a problem with the money in politics but clearly Dems in Congress do.

Single-minded seekers of re-election

Can Congress Ever Restore Payroll Taxes to Their Usual Levels?

The fight to extend the payroll tax cuts has put some congressional Republicans in a tough spot. Republican's usually favor tax cuts, but many have expressed concern that extending the payroll tax cuts will only add to the federal deficit. However a vote against extending the payroll tax cut, which puts money back in the pockets of workers would be politically unwise. This is an example of representatives as single-minded seekers of re-election, here the congressional Democrats benefit.

Republicans’ Bid to Extend Tax Cut May Shift Blame to Democrats

Now that the holiday season is over, here we go again. U.S. House Republican leaders proposed to vote this week to extend a payroll-tax cut that may move blame back in the direction of Democrats if they don't go for it. This can about after Republicans dropped their demand for spending cuts to offset the lost tax revenue through renewing the cut. However, overall discussions on cutting spending continues to go on separate of the payroll tax cut proposal. A move will have to be made before February 29th when it expires.

UPDATE 4-Obama birth-control rule stokes election-year fight

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner denounced President Barack Obama's new rule on contraceptives stating it was an attack on religious freedom and is vowing to overturn it. This seemed to only fuel the outcry from religious leaders in the Catholic Church and social conservatives over a requirement that they will be forced to provide health insurance plans that offer birth control to women. I wonder how much this issue might become part of reelection campaigns in Congress as well as for President.

Who is electable?

Why don't Americans elect scientists

I found this to be a very interesting article on who is considered electable and what makes an American politician. I found that combining the middle, often sound byte (technical spelling intentional) adverse, positions that scientists take on issues with the drive to the extreme of the current parties in the primaries held for most elections makes a scientist unelectable in most current political elections. A house election where there is a bi-annual need to prove one's loyalty to the party, is the opposite of what most sciencetists want to do.

Vulnerable Incumbent MoC

Hey, this ties in well with the article we read about the vulnerable american politician.  The intro is a little confusing because it refers to the 2010 election and how people who did not lose their seats are still vulnerable, but then lists 5 republican house members, so that is a little strange.  It is nonetheless interesting to see their reasons as to why each seat is vulnerable.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72819.html

Trustees Vs Delegates, Wisconsin Edition

Following up on our discussion of the different role types available to representatives, here is an example of Wisconsin legislators choosing or perhaps more accurately being asked by their leaders to behave as trustees:

Republican lawmakers were told: "Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments."

However, the JSO reporting suggests that there seems to be a lack of clarity if the instructions were related to a de facto suggestion for role types or merely an indication of a media strategy.

First Nuclear Reactors in 30 years

U.S. Federal regulators approved the first two new power plants in 30 years to be built in Georgia. With this major shift in policy for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission I am wondering if there is any political positioning involved with the timing of this. Pres. Obama and many who have been elected to Congress over the past 3 election cycles have said that they agree with a balanced energy policy to move the U.S. from a fossil fuel based system, does this move provide some political cover for them going into November?

Three-state sweep by Santorum bolsters his case

Even though this doesn't regard a Congressional Race, I think its important to keep an eye on what's happening in the Presidential Race as it can effect the outcome of House and Senate races. Plus, with these three wins behind him, will Santorum be able to launch himself back into range of the top two spots. I find it all very interesting and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Retirement Funds

We've talked briefly about the importance of retirements in the process of incumbent exit from Congress. But we know it's really all about the Benjamins. So what happens to all of that campaign contribution dough that an outgoing incumbent has balled-up in a war chest? From Roll Call, we learn that While a retiring member of Congress is allowed to use the money for charity or save it for a potential future campaign, much of the money ends up with their co-partisan legislators and their parties' campaign committees.

Of course we'll be talking more about retirements and money in congressional campaigns later in the semester.

And We're Back!