2010 Election

Here is an interesting article by the Pew Research Group. They look at Religion a little bit more close and it shows some interesting numbers.

New Speaker of the House and President

Even though President Obama and John Boehner are from different parties, they seem to have a lot in common. Which reminds people when Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich were in their office positions together. ... Is this a good or bad thing?

The 2010 Census

Gays and the GOP

The gay lobby gave the GOP some gains with the mid term elections, as they feel the GOP will be more inturne to there issues.

2012 Senate Race

Although the elections just ended, those running in 2012 are just about to kick off their campaigns. This article is solely about the Senate, however those in the House will have to start getting ready for their campaigns as well, just like we discussed in class.

A Historic Shift

This interactive feature from the New York Times takes a look at the national trends and demographic groups that played a large role this year's election results.

2012

Its never too early too look to the next election cycle. For all the talk of Republicans trying to win the Senate this year, that was likely unrealistic because 18 of the seats up this year were Rupublican seats, and many of the Democratic seats up were pretty safe (Cal, Conn, Del, New York x2, Was, Ore, Haw, and Vermont. But the 2012 Senate elections are a different story. There are no fewer than 14 Democratic seats that, based on the current climate, that will be very vulnurable.

Welcome, Senate Conservatives

This Op-Ed is AWESOME, Jim DeMint isn't my favorite Senator but he nails it in this piece. He discusses a lot of the pressures that face newcomers to Congress and it touches on a lot of what we've discussed in class with regard to the institutional challenges that have to be overcome

Republican Game Plan for 2010

This New York Times article talks about the Republican's game plan for taking over the House and how they have been planning it since before President Obama's election. Does anyone else think that if the Democrats had called them out more strongly on their methods they would not have lost as many seats? Or were national tides too strong to go against?

The GOP and their redistricting

This article ties in directly with our discussion on Wednesday and goes into a little more detail on the process than we did in class.

An ad encouraging latinos to NOT vote..

i saw this on the colbert report. i think this is an interesting and crazy ad to put on air. i think it was pulled right away though.

Up To 2.2 Million People Could Vote Tuesday

A turnout projection for Wisconsin from the Government Accountability Board.

VOTE OR DIE!

I'm only registered in Madison so I voted absentee on my lunch break from work on Thursday. Just for fun: I never vote strictly party line, and XXXXX.

I have a feeling, call it a premonition, that I've voted for XXXX again, but hey I voted with my heart, and I never would have even voted if I hadnt been subconciously coerced into doing so in lecture on Wednesday.

So anyway...GO VOTE! Or dont I dont care.

EDITED [TOFIAS]: Let's not talk about who we voted for.

ADs ADs Ads

politico highlights some of the more controversial and shameless last ditch efforts to slander and defame opponents before tuesday.

Joe Manchin Ad

I posted this ad because it speaks a lot to what we talked about in class when it comes to Congressional races being tied to the president's aproval. Manchin is a Democrat and in this ad he is saying he is going to repeal some of Obama care, that guns are good which usually a no, no for Democrats, and that he won't allow cap and trade to pass because it will hurt West Virginia's coal mining. Some feel Manchin would just be a "rubber stamp" for Obama, but this ad tries to distance himself from Obama.

Schumer and Durbin's under the radar play for leader

Article about how Senators Schumer and Durbin are pumping money to Democrats and state parties, no doubt subtely laying the groundwork for a run at leader if Harry Reid looses.

In Minnesota, A Tight Race for Governor With No Incumbent

Although this article discusses a gubernatorial race rather than a Congressional one, it still ties in very well with our recent discussion of incumbents and challengers. Though we have discussed the kind of situations that occur when strong incumbents or strong challengers run for re-election or election, it is quite interesting to see a real-life situation play out in which there are three challengers without the threat of an incumbent. The article also hints at the spatial model in relation to where each challenger lies on the political spectrum!

Best and Worst of the 2010 Political Ads

This is a short segment from the Today Show discussing the year's best and worst political ads. The round-up for this year includes demon sheep and candidates who kick children in the face!

Miller for Alaska Ad

Joe Miller meets the Old Spice Guy?

The Making of a Political Viral Video

Barney Frank's challenger tries to go viral on the internet with a political advertisement.

Chris Coons the Taxman

Carly for California Ad

A pretty funny advertisement used by Carly Fiorina (R) running for Senator in California.

"Different This Time Around?"

It seems as though everyone is commenting on the upcoming midterms and in most cases it seems as though their analysis of it is wrong. Yes, the GOP is going to walk away with some significant gains but, is this really any different than any other midterm? The short answer is no however, there is a certain intangible difference in the level of anger and frustration that the article eludes to.
Also, the effect of John Stewart and Stephan Colbert is a little overplayed. I, as I assume the rest of the class too, do not pull there political news from late night comedy shows.

Feingold v Johnson

As election day approaches, according to this article, Feingold would be more then happy to have the election come down to which candidate is "fiscally responsible". What it comes down to is, which candidate can sell their ideas more, both are completely different and it looks like Feingold will have a run for his money with Johnson.

Powerful Statement

This ad by Sharron Angle's supporters makes several powerful messages and uses footage from real news segments to portray Reid as a failure when it came to protecting Nevada's jobs.

Where to Donate?

So let's say you want to make a campaign contribution this midterm that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Sam Wang argues you should contribute to the Nevada, West Virginia, Colorado, or Illinois Senate campaigns. His advice combines both the size of the state and it's competitiveness (link via Brendan Nyhan).

Rand Paul Attack Ad

Ron Johnson White Board

The video I like about the Johnson campaign

I Am Not a Witch... Not that there's anything wrong with that

Christine O'Donnel's much maligned campaign ad, where she tries to rebut the jokes about her dabbling in witchcraft that stemmed from her declaration many years ago on Bill Maher's show. The failure of her ad in trying to move beyond the issue was brought up in her debate by Wolf Blitzer, and lampooned on Saturday Night Live

Really

Somebody please help me understand what is going on in this country! I always thought that if something is “illegal” it is prohibited from someone or some organization to do. So please tell me this isn’t true what I’ve just read, that it’s okay for people the country illegally are politically campaigning for a “Democrat” for votes. Wow, where are we headed?

Feingold and Johnson in a dead heat according to recent poll

Senator Feingold is two points (within the margin of error; hence either one could possibly be ahead of the other) behind Ron Johnson in a recent St. Norbert College poll. However, even if Senator Feingold is leading, will voter participation play a role in a Feingold loss?

Democrats & the House

I found this article to be pretty relative to our class lecture on Wednesday. The article reports on the House's upcoming election and how Democrats are in danger of losing majority control and the reasons for their loss of voter support. The article also discusses the incumbent v. challenger element of campaigns.

Keeping the Theme going

The Wall Street Journal article about how the labor union AFSCME leads all groups, including the Chamber of Commerce by $12 million, in spending this election. Talks about how they can spend more money after citizens united, so the question becomes if both sides can spend money more easily doesn't it even out. Answer an attack ad with one of your own. It bight bore the average tv viewer, but nobody watches commercials anymore thanks to dvr and such.

Follow Up Re: Money in Elections/Robert's America

I wanted to pose this question related to the link above and the posts below to see if anyone has an opinion:

Does the new interpretation of rights to free speech a la the Citizens decision invite this type of interaction between lawmakers and partisan support groups?

Specifically, could this have gone on before Citizens, and assuming the answers is yes to some degree is, it easier or more advantageous in light of the loosened restrictions due to Citizens?

Don’t Follow the Money

David Brooks calls money in politics, "primitive mythology of the political class." He alludes to some of the ideas we are studying right now about the relationship between winning elections and campaign finance.

John Roberts' America

In class this week, we discussed elections as it relates to candidates, as well as how money can have a significant influence upon candidates' campaigns.
This article considers the current ramifications of the Citizens-United ruling, and how significantly the ruling has affected this year's midterms, especially for a general population that continues to be inundated with political ads paid for by unknown sources.

Debates

I know this is a Congress class and all but I found this relevant because I believe I posted something about debates earlier with Feingold and Johnson. This is the New York Governor's debate, and it really shows how debates can help in a way, but they can also be almost comical and some feel a waste of time. That is if even people watch them. Although this one was really funny and I kind of wish I could find a full version of this one because the rent is too damn high.

Obama Campaign Trail in 2010

President Obama is on a campaign trail on the West Coast trying to urge the significance of the Mid-Term Elections of 2010. He is also trying to get in his say for his seat in 2012. This is a very cool article depicting what Professor Tofias brought forth during class on Monday saying that Obama is not only pushing for democratic Senators and Reps, but he is also pushing for his own ticket in 2012.

Crunch time=lots of commericals

This article ties in with some of our discussion during out last class. It discusses the amount of adds being played in Nevada and other cities as well as how the GOP is spending more money, probably due to the fact that they are the challengers as we learned in class.

Realignment of Southern Party Politics

In class we talked about the President's interest in Congressional elections. How his goal is a unified government or to minimize the number of seats lost. We also talked about his power to endorse and campaign for his parties candidates. Right now in the South, where the Democrats stand to lose a lot of seats in what could prove to be a major political realignment or party politics. Because of this, many of the democrats are trying to distance themselves from Obama and the party program.

Gutter Politics

Kentucky senate candidates, Rand Paul and Jack Conway are now in a dirty fight over "gutter politics". Conway's campaign created a commercial that exposed Paul and his religion choices in college. Paul called Conway out on a televised debate asking for an apology...

Don't asked don't tell because I don't want to know

When a man is in a foxhole fighting for his life, it’s not the time for the man next to him to say, “hay buddy, I’m gay”. No body in the military needs to know that nor does anyone care about the life style anyone is living. But now come a judge from California overruling the congress regarding this issue I feel should be kept secret. I always thought we elect a congress to pass rules and laws and that it’s up the courts to interpret the law and not make them. Elections have consequences!

The Education of President Obama

This article is an interesting examination of just how much Obama's relationship with Congress has affected his first two years in office, both in the eyes of the general public as well as in the eyes of Washington.

As Obama states in the article, "we probably spent much more time trying to get the policy right than trying to get the politics right. There is probably a perverse pride in my administration — and I take responsibility for this; this was blowing from the top — that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular. And I think anybody who’s occupied this office has to remember that success is determined by an intersection in policy and politics and that you can’t be neglecting of marketing and P.R. and public opinion.”

TV ADS

So, while never missing a single riveting episode of Jeopardy last week I couldn't help but notice a few political ads that aired. I am honestly undecided about these two candidates; Although I think Feingold owned the debates in a substantive sense, I don't know how much real substance plays into voter's minds at the ballots compared to precisely planned and rhetorically charged campaign ads. Here are two and my opinions of them:

Johnson's I think is poignant, altough it doesnt make mention of the usefulness a working knowledge of the law can have in creating them, the numbers themselves are striking. Even if the implied connection between the lack of manufacturers and accountants in the Senate and the exploding national debt is a fallacious one, politics is about perception.

Feingold's... is pointless. Seriously, you gotta believe I am not rooting for anyone here...but can anyone honestly tell me what the hell just happened? Maybe you need to go to Harvard AND be a Rhodes scholar to pick up on all the allegories...idk.


SOOO I CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO INCLUDE 2 LINKS IN THE BODY OF THE POST THAT YOU CAN CLICK ON SO HERES THE FEINGOLD AD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcXmx0boNBA

Feingold v. Johnson Leads in Campaign Ads

As we're moving into our course module on elections, it seems pretty useful that we're knee deep in campaigns. In fact, Wisconsin leads in total Senate campaign television ads aired since September 1st. Be on the lookout for good ones and link to them.

Tea Party Targeting Dems

The Tea Party Express is ready to take off on another rally across states to target Democrats. They newly added Democrat from Mass. Barney Frank to their "hit list". He is added to the list with Harry Reid from Nevada.

funding secrets!

We haven't really mentioned funding in class yet, but I found this article very interesting since we have the democrats primarily Obama and Gibbs calling out the Republicans for receiving donations from undisclosed sources. Though it was pointed out in the article that the democrats are guilty of the same action. My overall point is should we allow either party to keep their supporters private? I personally believe we should force candidates to disclose a list of all their supporters because ultimately when we vote for candidates we are also voting for the agendas of these undisclosed supporters since they can influence a candidate with their supply of cash.

A Vote Some Dems Might Regret

Political scientists Steven Greene and Seth Masket find that Democratic members of the House who represent conservative districts and voted for healthcare reform are taking about a 3% point hit in their quest for reelection.

Advertisements for Democrats?

More Democrats are running ads making themselves seem more Republican. Mostly saying they go against Obama and Pelosi.

Debates Tonight (Friday, 10/8)

Just a reminder that in addition to tonight's Senatorial debate being held in Milwaukee between incumbent Dem Russ Feingold and GOP new-comer Ron Johnson;

Attorney General JB Van Hollen and his Democrat challenger Scott Hassett will square off tonight on PBS as well.

7:30 PBS "Here and Now" - (R) Van Hollen vs. (D) Hassett
8:00 CBS Senate Debate - (R) Johnson vs. (D) Feingold

Finally the article I posted is supposed to be in conjunction with the following as an effort to sort of create a juxtaposition between the style and strategy employed by the two candidates.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/104462169.html

Feingold seems to be out there shamelessly self promoting in an effort to turn out voters, while Johnson seems to be shamefully avoiding debates and the press in an effort to contain and control his image.

Either way I think a lot can be gained or lost by both candidates tonight, should make for an interesting debate!

Poll Results

This article gives a lot of really great poll results that we could imagine on a political spectrum. They give more accurate account of Obama's favoribilty than, nobody likes him. There is also a really interesting link to an interactive map for the key contests that are predicted to decide the 2010 elections.

Money=votes? maybe not

With the monumental decision Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, the barrier on how much money corporations can spend on campaigns was lifted. One might think that this would make an enormous difference in the outcome of an election, but this article says that before Corporations still spent a lot of money on advertisements during elections, but the had to be about issues of the election, not supporting one candidate over another, while now they can directly endorse one candidate over another in commercials. The money being spent since the 2006 midterm elections has more than doubled, and the money is strongly favoring Republicans, so we will have to see if this money spending will make a difference in this election.

The Founding Fathers versus the Tea Party

Considering that our discussion this week revolved around both the Founders and the Tea Party, I thought this article was a very relevant examination of the link that exists between the two groups. Although the Tea Party seems to be trying to bulk up its credibility by claiming a tie to the Founding Fathers, as we discussed in class, the Founders were hardly the harmonious group that we may sometimes view them as being. As the article states, "Any movement that regularly summons the ghosts of the founders as a like-minded group of theorists ends up promoting an uncomfortably one-sided reading of history."

Spending for the 2010 midterm elections

Noticing more ads when watching your favorite tv shows? (Jeopardy) It might have something to do with the record amounts of money being spent. It's a really interesting article, and it briefly describes the tea party as a faction.

The site where they gather some of their data from is http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=183 It's a non-profit that has been around since 1971 and are the self-described "Defenders of Democracy"

Can we really trust polls?

This article does not include information I find critical in determining if we should value this polls information or not, for instance how many people were polled, what did they state as their political allegiance if they have one, and what was the age group of those polled. The ultimate question though is even if that information was provided can we still trust this poll, or any other poll?

In the article itself it states that "The problem with interpreting the generic ballot is that a national poll cannot produce the same results that 435 separate polls in 435 House districts would produce," so does that mean we shouldn't pay much attention to these polls that claim to be the "poll of polls" and what not?

Recession isn't over?

Although many experts say the recession is over, many everyday people disagree. Many are still out of work and many are wondering how it is possible to be out of a recession when the economy is so bad.

Historic election?

Article by legendary prognosticator Michael Barone saying the polling makes it look like this midterm could indeed be like 94.....1894 when the Republicans won 100 of 350 House seats. Some rather astonishing numbers of likely voters, saying if the voter turnout is lower (dems stay home) Republicans could win the popular vote (sorry Al Gore) by almost 20 points.

The NFL vs. Russ Feingold for Senate For a 4th Time

Russ Feingold's most recent bid for US Senate has got him pinned against the NFL. In a new advert for his campaign, Senator Feingold has compared "Mr. Johnson and the corperate interest" of prematurely assuming that the November election will go in their favor. In order to do this he used NFL clips of Randy Moss scoring at Lambeau. The NFL has now asked him to remove the clips to which the Feingold campaign has complied by editing the ads.

On another note, Senator Feingold mentioned a 2005 touchdown taunt by Moss as being, "one of the most significant moments" in Packers history. If I put a list of 100 most significant moments in Packers history, the Moss touchdown would be number 206. Not much of Packer Fan?

Obama Care number two

Ahh yes and Obama Care strikes again.

Now since this train has left the station, we will start to see more stories like the 3M story and McDonalds story.

You can keep your health care insurance, bunk.

I don't want to be miss understood, something needed to be done with our out of control heath care, but not this way.

Progressives in Madtown not motivated

An article about the Lefts lack of motivation about the Senate race in Madison (who can blame them during a Packer game). This is big because if Feingold doesn't dominate the 2nd district were Obama won almost 70% he will be in big trouble given the Republicans expected dominance in the suburban Milwaukee area.

Only 39 Percent Would Vote to Re-Elect Obama in 2012

Delaware Race Is Bellwether: All Politics Is Now National

Is new media the end of local politics? This article examines this question by using Christine O'Donnell's recent win as a framework. As the article states, "As money and media coverage cross state borders more easily than ever, driven by fiery commentators and online groups, we are bound to see politicians who are popular vehicles more than they are actual candidates, instruments of resentment whose grass-roots support may emanate mostly from states they have never visited." Are we moving away from both the trustee and delegate styles of representation, to a style that is less tied to local constituents than ever?

Murdoch tells Congress to secure Borders

I just found this pretty interesting because Murdoch owns many media outlets. Among them is the Fox News Channel whose slogan is Fair and Balanced. Not to make any judgements or anything because there are people out there who believe Fox News is slanted for conservatives, which securing the borders seems to be something along with that. But at the end of the article it says that Fox News is not anti-immigration, but some could feel this way since their leader is in front of Congress telling them this.

Obama Care

Obama Care was supposed to be the answer to out of control health care. The uninsured were to be the beneficiaries of this new program that was supposed to lower health care cost and make the health care system more accessible.
But the bill was 1000 plus pages and none of the legislators read the bill. According to House Speaker Pelosi, “we have to pass the bill first to see what’s in it”. Now that the bill has passed, against the will of the majority of Americans, we are now starting to see the unintentional consequences of this bill that was larger then the yellow pages.
McDonalds will have to cut the health care for it’s low wage earners. Was this really the answer to the health care problem?

The Houses uncertain agenda

This article discusses the agenda the House faces before they are able to adjourn. In the last few weeks of the session the Senate is still divided over whether to extend the Bush tax cuts before they expire and it is unlikely they will come to a decision before the session ends. Other bills waiting to be voted on are a NASA authorization bill, a child nutrition bill and a bill providing health care to Sept 11th first responders. The slow progress being made in the House before the session ends could be attributed to everyone anxiously awaiting the upcoming elections. Reelection is vital and is the most important thing on every ones plate right now.

Many Big Donors to Democrats Cut Support

The article suggests a kind of contribution "fatigue" among liberal donors, but I think they probably just don't want to waste their money on what they presume to be a lost cause. Maybe they are saving their money for 2012? It's interesting that at the begining of the electoral cycle, it was the Republicans that were scrambling for cash. In any event, record amounts of money are being spent this campaign season fueled in part by "Super PACs." Some estimates predict, "$3 billion in total spending on political and issue ads."

RECESSION ENDS!!! (over a year ago???)

This is an interesting article detailing the recent conclusion that the U.S. recession ended in June of 2009. How can this be? Aren't we all still upset that President Obama hasn't pulled this car out of the ditch yet? The article also points out that this was the longest recession since the Great Depression. Does this mean experts were correct when they predicted this would be the worst recession since the Great Depression soon after Wall Street collapsed? If this article is telling the truth, why are we all so upset?

Florida Democrats Start Advertisement Battle

In the Florida race for Governor, the Democratic party starts an advertisement that tries to put the death blow into the Republican candidate Charlie Crist.

Obama’s Visit Was Not Simple

This article offers an interesting glimpse at the political implications of Obama's visit to UW-Madison today, which was viewed more as a campaign rally for the Democratic Party than a presidential visit.

Only 5 Weeks

With only 5 weeks left, the race "tightens" between democratic and republican parties.

Ad's Target Seniors

Here is a neat article on advertisements, it shows how advertisements target a group of people and in this case it is in Indiana and seniors.

RE: GOP Leadership Ignores Ryan (from post below)

In this statement Ryan specifies first and foremost that his "Roadmap" addresses the national debt and unsustainable government growth, and well as the faltering economy. Most people agree that those are pressing issues. Most people also have very little faith in either the Republican or Democrats ability, or desire even, to confront the national debt and the bloating government. Neither party has the will to face these long term issues.

Perhaps in making a statement to Republicans that he won't play their games, that he won't join them in ignoring issues any longer, and that his plan is better then theirs, Ryan is hurting his career. But as critics of the "Pledge" have noted, it really has no guts. The "Pledge" is just a bunch of pretty pictures and posturing before November. Ryan's plan is concrete.

Anyone who were to take some time and explore his Roadmap for America's Future site can see just how in-depth his plan really is. It's laid out clear as day in great detail. Regardless of whether you agree with all or any of it, you can't dispute that is has guts. Here's the link.

http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/

Ryan's plan proposes putting some decision making, currently done by government, back in the hands of Americans. It's risky to be talking like that in Washington, with all those Republicans and Democrats running all over the place up there on the hill. Sometimes a leader needs to act in a risky manner in order to make a point about what he honestly feels is best for his country.

GOP Leadership Ignores Ryan

A quick note pointing out that Republican fiscal policy workhorse Paul Ryan doesn't seem likely to play a big part in the near-future GOP leadership.

Harry Reid Preps Procedural War against Republicans

This article discusses Harry Reid's efforts to control the final talking points before voters go to the polls. According to the article, this maneuver will give Democrats "a chance to talk about overseas jobs and tax loopholes and slam the Republican economic agenda" in effort to try and secure some of the Democratic seats up for re-election.

Star Power Used to Bring Attention to a Worthy Cause?

I want to first say that I am a fan of Stephan Colbert however, my first reaction was not positive to his apperence on Capital Hill Friday morning.

He appeared, in character, before a Senate Committee to testify about the issue of migrant farm workers in the US. He based his "testimony" off his one experience in the fields. Truthfully, I had seldom considered the issue of migrant farm work or lack there of, previous to this headline. So is it appropriate? The answer is not clear. He has brought attention to the issue, but at what cost to the public perspective of Senate Hearings?

Although I am not a fan of the Speaker of the House, she summed it up well when asked if it was appropriate for Mr. Colbert to testify by simply stating; "Of course I think it's appropriate. He's an American, right?"

In the words of Mr. Colbert himself, "USA #1".

Timing of the Tax Cut Vote

I thought this article really emphasized how American politics revolve around elections. Taking note of Harry Reid's reasoning for delaying the vote until after elections seems to be a bit of a paradox. He wants the vote post-election due to the "hesitancy of some politically vulnerable Democrats", though his party could (is likely to) lose the majority. I'm not sure I understand Reid's reasoning here! If anyone could shed some light on this I'm greatly interested.

Slick William Clinton

Can anyone, Republican or Democrat, watch this and not get a little twinge of nostalgia with regard to our 42nd President William Jefferson Clinton?

This was on Morning Joe - an MSNBC program I rarely miss that airs weekdays 5-8am, which has gotten rough on me since I lost my DVR capabilities due to the emergence of my roommate as a total cheapskate/deadbeat, but I digress - this Thursday. Contained within the discourse about the various topics discussed are some nice references to what Bill Clinton might suggest to President Obama and his fellow Dem's, especially considering the volatile climate surrounding the upcoming midterm elections.

P.S. Check out CGI!!!

Congress to look into football related concussions

I think this and the whole steroids debate in baseball bring up an interesting debate. I am a huge sports fan, and obviously I want baseball to be steroid free and hate seeing football players going down with concussions. But there seems to be a debate on whether or not the government should step in and tell sports leagues how to run their leagues and teams. Should Congress be able to change things in sports and if the economy is a mess. And if there is the War on Terror going on, 14.2 percent or whatever it is now jobless rate, and so may other issues going on, should they be taking a day to talk about sports?

Contract With America 2.0

House Republicans unveil their campaign and legislative agenda for the 2010 elections.

Barrett closes in on Walker

In the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, Milwaukee Major Tom Barrett is gradually closing in on Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's lead. Given Walker's more extreme record on many issues including supporting the sale of Milwaukee Parks to private owners and cutting over 300 Milwaukee county jobs during an economic crisis, it seems as though Barrett is more likely to take the moderate vote.

On an unrelated note, I recommend www.wispolitics.com as an excellent online news source for Wisconsin politics.

Thank You Sarah Palin for more Republican women candidates

This election season has had more women republican candidates then before. According to the article Sarah Palin opened the door for these women. Only 73 seats in the House are held by women and in the Senate only 17 are women.

Republicans May Strip Murkowski of Committee Slot

As the Republican Party moves to support their candidates, it seems like they might have to deal with some folks who aren't on board the Tea Party Express. Murkowski might be the first victim. Why might the GOP punish Murkowski while the Democrats allowed Joseph Lieberman to keep his committee posts?

UPDATE: Murkowski keeps committee assignment, but resigns as vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. More of a haircut than a beheading.

Popular Dem Gov free-falling in Senate race.

The Democratic Governor of West Virginia, whose job approval in Charleston is over 60% and once had close to a 20% lead to take over the late Robert Byrd's seat, now trails Republican Jon Rease by 3. The people feel he has done a very good job running the state but apperatly are less enthuasistic of him in the Senate. I conclude that they are basing their decesion on National politics (ie Healthcare, stimulus etc), because otherwise he should be winning based on his popularity as Governor. If politics were local he should win. This to me shows the Republican stratagey of nationalizing all the races will work, and Democrats need to make every election local, like the 30some Democratcs running for the House running ads against Nancy Pelosi.

Campaign funding used for personal expenses

It seems Odonnell has used some of her campaign finacing to fund herself rather then her campaign. She supposdeldy used $20,000 on personal expenses. So now an independent group is going after her for breaking the rules, it will be interesting to see how this will hinder her bid for election.

Tea Party Success and Possible Civil War for the GOP

The Tea Party is causing quite the controversy even within the Republican party. This article really shows some good insight to how some other Republican candidates feel about the Tea Party and it discusses the possible seperation of the Republican party because of the Tea Party Express.

Some Democrats break with leaders on tax cuts

Nancy Pelosi and House Majority leader Steney Hoyer were sent a letter by 31 House Democrats supporting the continuation of tax breaks for everyone, rather than letting them expire for the wealthy. Unsurprisingly, as we discussed in class the importance of appearing moderate, many of those who signed are up for reelection this year.

Tea Party Victory for Democrats?

Democrats see the Tea Party victories as a positive for the up coming elections because it is showing a divide in the Republican party as a whole.

Democrats Invoking Palin to Stir Base

This week in class, we briefly discussed pragmatic parties and pure parties. This article from the New York Times makes a fairly strong claim that the Democratic Party's current approach is completely pragmatic. Instead of attaching themselves to any sort of definite ideology, the Democratic Party is instead focused on branding the opposition; thereby leaving themselves as the only viable alternative. They are also strategically painting Palin as the head of the Republican Party, whether or not the Republican Party would agree, in order to appeal to a greater number of voters.

Joseph Cao Loves the Obama!

I thought this was a good example of a candidate trying to appeal to the center. Joseph Cao, a republican congressman representing Louisiana's 2nd district is obviously appealing to democrats. It is also interesting to note that his website is primarily blue. More evidence of the battle for middle ground.

Newsweek article about stimulus package

Article about how stimulus package/minds who crafted it wasn't well done to address economy's needs

Dem Hopeful ask Pelosi to Step Down.

Brett Carter is running in the Tennessee 6th, a seat held by fellow Democrat Bart Gordon since 1984 but is solidly Republican, stated he feels Nancy Pelosi should step down and that he would not vote for her as Speaker. With her approval rating at a mindboggling 11% will more Dems throw her under the bus to get themselves elected?

Johnson and Feingold to debate three times

I chose this article because debates can really have an impact on a congressional race. The number of times can be tricky to determine because just as a member can improve themselves in a debate, they can also screw themselves as well. I know Feingold wanted five debates at one time, but they had to compromise to three.

National Republicans Embrace O'Donnell

While we were in class, the GOP decided to get on board with Christine O'Donnell and their Delaware primary voters.

Tea Party

It seems that not only are established Republicans having trouble holding onto office over the summer months. Looks like the tea party movement might just have some steam after all. For many, the country appears to be going in the wrong direction and that direction is being helped with Republicans that think big government is the norm. Enter the Tea Party to get Republicans or Conservatives to rethink their positions as voters seem to be willing to throw the bums out and retake their government back. With all this movement and Obama polling in the low 40's, seem like politicians on both side of the aisle are rethinking positions. Most Dems must be scared even when Fiengold dodged Obama when he came to town to stomp for Barrett. Is Obama the poster child for what's wrong with government?

Website colors

The tidbit about website colors from class monday piqued my interest slightly, but I decided to look into it a bit only after I noticed all the GREEN in Paul Ryan's site yesterday. I went to http://www.gop.gov/contact/members/name to see how many of his fellow REPUBLICANS also have large amounts of green all over their sites (I supposed green would be more likely found in significant quantities on DEMOCRATS' sites). Of the 28 congressmen/women whose sites I checked out, (last names beginning A-B) I only found 3 more with any significant amounts of GREEN (Gus Bilirakis, John Boehner, and Mary Bono Mack). ...Oh well. However I noticed that of those 28 sites, only 8 had anything more than nearly unnoticeable hints of RED. Isn't that the GOP's favorite color??? Nearly all were completely BLUE.

Of the first 27 DEMOCRAT house member's sites I checked (last names beginning A-B), roughly half had GREEN in them, but none had nearly as much as Ryan's. As expected, all of them were completely BLUE, but only three had any hint of RED in them.

Bush Tax cuts

This is a pretty nice article that relates somewhat to what we were discussing in class on monday 9-13-2010 about how if you stray away from your parties ideologies you sometimes get shunned and ridiculed by your own members. It deals with a Republican figure, in this case Boehner stating he would side with Obama on the Bush Tax issue if he had no other choice. Other republican congressmen and women ridiculed his statement and his decision to side with the "opposition".

governator looking for Russia

This has very little to do with Congressional Politics, expect that its the Governator. I just thought it was funny that he "twittered" about flying over Alaska and making jokes about Sarah Palin and her famous seeing Russia from Alaska comments.

external influence...

I found the bit in this editorial article about the Delaware GOP Senate primary really interesting. It's really interesting to note that the key power players behind many of these new ideologues showing up out of the tea party seem to be exclusively national figures, especially from the media. "all politics is local", to me, seems to be a dying phrase, especially regarding the tea party movement. Can politics be Too nationalized?

Lincoln Chafee on the Daily Show

Here is the complete clip of Lincoln Chafee's appearance on the Daily Show after his Senate election loss in November 2006.

Welcome to Fall

The 2010 midterm elections are soon. There is so much to do and so little time to do it.