Now this is a Fox News poll, so take these results with a grain of salt. We all remember the polls this Republican establishment fabricated during the 2012 presidential election. They had poor Mitt Romney thinking he was winning, when in fact he was sweeping the bottom of the barrel.
What a difference a couple weeks makes. Republicans have a slim three-point advantage when Americans are asked about their vote preference for Congress in the latest Fox News poll. That’s an 11 percentage-point shift from last month when Democrats had an 8-point edge.
The poll finds “if the Congressional election were held today,” 43 percent of voters would back the Republican in their district and 40 percent the Democratic candidate.
That’s a reversal from last month when 45 percent backed the Democratic candidate and 37 percent the Republican (October 20-22, 2013).
SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County court-at-law judge elected during the “red tide” of 2010 is switching parties.
Standing at the foot of the Bexar County Courthouse steps, County Court-at-Law No. 11 Judge Carlo Key said Monday that he is joining the Democratic Party and will seek re-election as a Democrat in November 2014.
“Make no mistake, I did not leave the Republican Party, it left me,” said Key, flanked by high-ranking Democrats. “My principles have led me to the Democratic Party, and my only hope is that more people of principle will follow me.”
While he’s been considering the decision for several weeks, it was the recent federal government shutdown that caused Key to seriously consider switching parties.
It’s like the battered woman syndrome. Americans keep running back to their economic abusers.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll is showing some worrisome trends. Americans are beginning to trust the Republicans more than Democrats on issues they’ve proven to know nothing about. Issues like the economy, where Republicans have blocked progress time and time again by defeating numerous jobs bills, deficit reduction and foreign policy, Americans are putting more faith in Republicans.
“Republicans are now rated higher than Democrats on handling the economy and foreign policy, and the GOP’s lead has strengthened on several other issues, including dealing with the federal deficit and ensuring a strong national defense. On topics such as health care, Democrats have seen their long-standing advantage whittled to lows not seen in years.”
One very long and drawn-out election season’s already been fitfully left behind, but that hasn’t stopped pundits from casting their gaze on another upcoming ballot battle: next year’s midterm elections.
Though not as popular nationally as presidential elections, midterm votes are seen as powerful referendums on the sitting president’s agenda, as well as a means to decide how power is brokered in the often divided and ideologically warring houses of Congress.
Every retirement, every scandal, and yes, even every death, is seen as a potential Congressional opening by two parties interested in taking full control of the government. And as the tea leaves seem to show, neither party can claim to have an advantageous lead… so far.
Toss-Ups
When citizens cast their midterm votes on November 4, 2014, most eyes will be on the very contentious Senate races. That branch of Congress is currently made up of 53 Democrats, 45 Republicans, and two independents. And though Democrats control the senate by a clear majority, several announced retirements have made the prospects of them maintaining their hold after the elections a little more unclear. So far, six Democratic senators have announced they will not be seeking reelection, compared to just two retiring senators on the Republican side (though one of the expected-to-retire Democrats, New Jersey’s Frank Lautenberg, passed away June 3. New Jersey’s Republican governor, Chris Christie, has scheduled a special election in October to fill the seat).
The early departure of heavily funded incumbents has created unexpected toss-ups in states that were once considered safe. Should Republicans pick up all the seats being vacated by the Democrats while losing as few of theirs as possible, the chances of them taking over the Senate are very high. This would lead to a completely Republican-dominated Congress, as the GOP already has a strong majority in the House: 233 against the Democrats’ 200 seats. Of course, control of the House could shift should Democrats make some unexpected gains. One of the more surprising retirement announcements from that chamber came in May, when Tea Party darling Congresswoman Michele Bachmann stated she would not be seeking reelection. Strategists thought the Minnesota representative’s exit would clear the way for businessman Jim Graves, her former opponent. However, Graves himself said he would not be running for Bachmann’s post shortly after her announcement. This air of uncertainty has created one of the most visible toss-ups in what was once considered a safe Republican stronghold.
Presidential Stakes
Though the president’s name won’t be on the ballot next year, it’s safe to say many of the issues he has fought for most certainly will. That’s because midterm votes are usually seen as critiques of the job the commander-in-chief has been doing since his election. The midterms of 2006 saw Democrats taking over Congress, which pundits analyzed as voter disapproval of George W. Bush’s war policies. A similar lesson was gleaned from the GOP’s takeover of the House in the 2010 midterms, when young, ultra-conservative congressmen swept that chamber through voter insecurity over Obama’s health-care legislation. As the president wades more deeply into controversial policies, the public’s votes will be seen as a gauge of their approval on issues such as same-sex marriage, immigration reform, overhauls of the education system, foreign policy, and even the specter of “Obamacare,” which remains as polarizing as it was back in 2010.
The chief executive’s daunting task will be to hold on to the Senate while trying to win back the House, all while preserving his legacy and defending his legislative record from Republican attack. To do this, political analysts have suggested Obama and Democrats seek a way to revive the strong coalition of young and minority voters that helped sweep him into power in both past presidential elections. This can prove a major challenge, as midterm elections have always been beset by historically low turnout, especially in those two demographics, according to the Center for Voting and Democracy. The only way to rouse these groups would be through strategies already employed in previous bigger elections, mainly the use of internet tech and social media to build grassroots activist movements. The administration could also tout some of the positive aspects of Obamacare, such as the expanded role it will have for mental health and substance use disorder benefits, a cornerstone of the president’s new policy on the fight against drug and alcohol abuse. By stressing his legislation’s role in tackling the root of alcohol abuse in Minnesota or other states known for their high numbers of alcohol dependence, the president will be able to showcase the practical aspects of his more controversial laws.
Decisions
Despite the lower appeal midterm elections have for most voters, these are the campaign wars that decide which course the government will take for the next few years: whether it be a united Washington under the control of one specific party, or a fractured government beset by constant infighting. Political careers can be made or destroyed at this time, and coalitions formed or disbanded. But no matter the outcome of these bitterly fought seats, at least there will be one clear winner: pundits with more tea leaves to pore over.
The election year was dominated by talk about jobs and the economy, but neither the administration nor Congress seems to have any grand ideas for jump-starting a still sluggish recovery — and they’re not even talking about it much.
President Obama sought to turn attention back to economic issues with a speech last week in Texas on manufacturing, but that’s already long since been forgotten. A cascade of scandals has driven the issue entirely off the Washington radar.
Even before Benghazi, the IRS and the Department of Justice controversies started heating up, the economy had consistently taken a back seat to issues such as immigration and gun control.
“The economy is by far the most important issue for voters,” says Karlyn Bowman, a polling expert at the American Enterprise Institute. “It’s not unusual for Washington preoccupations to be different than those of the public.”
She says that the public is skeptical that Washington can provide economic answers at this point. Politicians themselves seem a little dubious.
Yes, 90% of Americans wanted at least a background check done whenever someone buys a gun. No, Americans did not get what they wanted today, as Republicans joined hand in hand and voted against that most basic idea.
And, these so-called Democrats joined the Republicans in defeating background checks.
You’ve all heard the claims, that the problem in Washington is not a revenue problem but a spending problem. Republicans have successfully led many to believe that Democratic presidents have contributed the most to our national deficit. But there is something called the truth, and the truth cannot be denied especially when it’s backed up by statistics.
Here’s a look at the spending in this nation over the last 30+ years. Something Republicans refuse to comprehend.
I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.
In an attempt to reach a deficit-reduction deal, President Obama is offering to cut essential programs such as Social Security and Medicare in his new budget proposal. The President’s proposal will include a cut of $1.8 trillion over 10 years and replace the budget cuts that went into effect on March 1. This deal also revisits an earlier proposal to House Speaker, John Boehner, where $400 billion in savings to Medicare would occur over those 10 years.
A senior administration official commented,
The President’s budget to be presented on Wednesday will show how we can invest in the things we need to grow our economy, create jobs and strengthen the middle class while further reducing the deficit in a balanced way
The Social Security portion will include a ‘chained CPI’, an inflation formula which should attract many Republicans as the CPI is argued to be a more accurate calculation of inflation which could possibly help minimize the growth of consumer prices. The idea of whether or not this is truly the case is still being heavily debated.
There’s little doubt that this proposal will cause some dissent against President Obama as cutting Social Security and Medicare is an unpopular choice for many Democratic supporters.
However, this has been an ongoing battle between the President and many Republican incumbents and it’s clear that the President is ready to move forward with some type of compromise that pleases most, if not all, members of each party.
You hear Congressional Republicans say it all day every day, that President Obama has no plan to avert the coming sequester. Well if these Republicans were tech savvy enough to navigate themselves to a computer, and able to do the google, I guarantee they would find this:
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has agreed on an immigration reform plan that would provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States but only after borders are better secured.
The plan, unveiled a day before President Barack Obama is to give a policy speech on immigration in Nevada, tackles the most explosive issue – how to deal with the millions of foreigners living in the United States illegally.
Under the group’s proposal, undocumented immigrants would be allowed to register with the government, pay a fine, and then be given probationary legal status allowing them to work.
Ultimately, they would have to “go to the end of the line” and apply for permanent status, according to the document by eight Senators including Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida, John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Robert Menendez of New Jersey.
The White House praised the group’s efforts but warned that Obama would not be satisfied until there was meaningful reform. The president “will continue to urge Congress to act until that is achieved,” a White House spokesman said.
Come up with the wittiest, most outlandish repartee between our two beloved political icons and the commenter with the most “likes” will have their dialogue published into the word balloons. Both art and copy will then be re-posted with a credit line for the winner!
CONTEST RULES:
1. No more than 80 characters (including spaces between words and sentences).
2. Colorful, adult language allowed, but keep it G-rated please : )
3. Indicate dialog for Democrat symbol (the donkey) and Republican symbol (the elephant)
4. Winner will be notified via Facebook inbox mail before their entry is published.
5. Winner’s name or tag will be used as a credit line, your choice.
Contest ends January 31, 2013 @10am. Revised art with winner’s copy and credit line will be posted February 1st, after winner notification.
In the ongoing fiscal cliff chess match playing out on Capitol Hill, Democrats have a message for Republicans: checkmate.
Democrats look at the political landscape and see a win whether a deal gets cut now or after the country goes over the cliff. Worst-case scenario, they say, the House will approve legislation the Senate passed in July extending Bush-era tax cuts for everyone but the rich, an idea that Republican House Speaker John Boehner has flatly rejected.
If Boehner refuses to pass the Senate bill before the end of the year, Democrats say their hand only gets stronger in the new year when the Senate will have 55 Democrats and at least five Republicans who have signaled they could vote to extend the middle-class tax cuts.
“We have the political high ground — there is no question about it. The sooner they realize it, the better it will be for them,” Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said of the Republicans. “In 2010 it was the opposite. They had the political high ground and we had to do just about all cuts and no revenues. Now, the election was fought on revenues; we won it on revenues; the public is with us on revenues.”
Indeed, polls show that a majority of Americans favor raising taxes on the wealthy and will blame the GOP if the country goes over the cliff. And Democrats don’t believe that Republicans have the time, the megaphone or the leverage to force Democrats into making significant entitlement cuts right now. Congress just spent the last year making more than $1 trillion in cuts and Democrats say they are well-insulated from charges that they’re unwilling to slash spending.
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