Sunday, September 5, 2010

Clinging to the Senate

"Tea Party’s Alaska victory forcing GOP agenda changes" by Associated Press | September 2, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Tea Party movement of fed-up conservative-libertarian voters displayed its power in its biggest triumph of the election year: the toppling of Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska’s GOP primary. Political novice Joe Miller is the fifth Tea Party insurgent to win a GOP Senate nominating contest, an upset that few, if any, saw coming.

Related:
Palin's Alaskan Pull

Insurgents vs. Incumbents

They couldn't call him an insurgent, though.

The political insurgents have taken hold in the Grand Old Party, unseating lawmakers, capturing nominations for open seats, and forcing Republicans to recalibrate both their campaign strategy and issues agenda. Out is talk of delivering federal dollars back home; in is talk of fiscal discipline....

I guess that is why they are removing some of them.

"AFL-CIO gears up to help Democrats keep majorities

WASHINGTON — Union leaders said yesterday they will mobilize millions of members in 26 states with a message about “economic patriotism’’ as they try to help Democrats hold onto their majorities in the House and Senate.

When are they going to start practicing some?


The nation’s largest labor federation plans to spend more than $50 million leading up to the November elections, targeting 70 House races and 18 Senate races with television ads, phone banks, and leaflets.

Also see:
Slow Saturday Special: S*** Politics

In a response to the antiestablishment anger of activists of the Tea Party movement, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka called on voters to think about “economic patriots’’ and “corporate traitors.’’

Also see: Labor's Empty Threat

Executive Payday: Raytheon Rewarded by Labor

I'm tired of the frauds of Labor in AmeriKa.

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The help cannot come soon enough for Democrats facing high voter frustration over a lingering recession and a Tea Party movement that has galvanized opposition to President Obama and other Democratic leaders.

In his comments, Trumka framed the midterm elections as a choice between working to improve the economy under Democrats and Obama or returning to the days “when Wall Street and corporations ran wild and controlled the agenda.”

They BUY OFF BOTH PARTIES so STOP IT with the FOOLEYS!!

And how bad is it in AmeriKa when LABOR LIES to you!?

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Democrats are still fighting amongst themselves:

"Defeated Democratic US Senate candidate Jeff Greene is suing two Florida newspapers for libel over articles Greene says cost him votes....

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Also see: The Boston Globe's Primary Concerns: Fun For Florida Democrats

Interesting that Greene wasn't an insurgent, huh?

And shouldn't Democrats be backing each other?

"GOP relying on political neophytes to retake Senate; Anti-D.C. wave fuels campaigns" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | September 5, 2010

WASHINGTON — They are political newcomers — some buoyed by personal wealth, others running on little more than populist heat — who have tapped the anti-Washington vein of the American electorate. But while they are riding high on voter discontent, these candidates, who are crucial to GOP hopes of retaking the Senate, are among the least politically experienced contenders in a generation.

From Tea Party-backed Sharron Angle in Nevada, who is attempting to unseat Senate majority leader Harry Reid, to former wrestling executive Linda McMahon in Connecticut, who is up against the state’s longtime attorney general, eight candidates styling themselves as outsiders are running neck-and-neck with more entrenched Democratic opponents.

They are not insurgents yet?

See: Harry Reid Hates Hispanics

Reid on the Run in Nevada

One For the Ladies

Burying Blumenthal

Ordinarily, their inexperience would be an impediment; but this year, the dynamic is far more volatile.

Several are insurgents who bucked their party to win primaries, forcing Republican leaders into an awkward embrace as they start to pour money into the campaigns of candidates they didn’t recruit.

Unless most of these candidates win, it will be difficult for Republicans to match their historic victory of 1994, when they humbled Democrats halfway through President Bill Clinton’s first term by snatching control of the House and Senate. But in interviews, several said they are confident that the political fervor that helped them win tough primaries will propel them to victory in November.

People have woken up,’’ US Senate hopeful Ken Buck, a county-level district attorney and GOP nominee in Colorado, said in a telephone interview last week. “What’s motivating me is what’s motivating a lot of the grass roots: Being mad at D.C.

“Republicans are every bit to blame as Democrats for the mess we’re in. More and more, people now are questioning the party establishment.’’

That is why most Americans are in an INCUMBENTS OUT kind of mood.

Also see: Democrats Suffering Sophomore Slump

While political analysts increasingly predict the GOP will win back the House, the Senate is a more elusive prize....

That means the party’s success hinges on the fortunes of candidates like Buck, Angle, McMahon, former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina in California, and millionaire businessman Ron Johnson in Wisconsin — all newcomers to big-time politics who are seeking seats held by Democrats.

Related: Ladies Night in California

Additionally, Tea Party-backed Rand Paul in Kentucky and former state representative Marco Rubio in Florida are gunning for must-win open seats previously held by Republicans.

I'm not a Rand Paul fan.

Joe Miller, a Tea Party-backed candidate who has never held office, beat out the establishment favorite, Senator Lisa Murkowski, for the Republican nomination in Alaska.

For these candidates, the lack of political credentials is a selling point, as they seek to stoke the unrest that fueled Republican Senator Scott Brown’s stunning upset in this year’s special election in Massachusetts....

With unemployment numbers continuing to rise, and President Obama’s popularity continuing to fall, incumbents once considered safe are now fighting for their political lives. But analysts also said that having so many novices could backfire because such candidates are often untested and can be prone to gaffes and misstatements....

That may matter to the chattering class, but we don't care out here.

You MAKE MISTAKES and you are ONE of US!

If the MSM HOPS on them even MORE!

Democrats are plotting to win over independents by branding the GOP insurgents as far out-of-the-mainstream, pointing to the number of Tea Party-backed Republican nominees as evidence of the party’s lurch to the right....

Sorry, but YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE with us INDIES!!

And I knew it was ONLY a MATTER of time before the OFFENSIVE WORD insurgents was used to describe a POLITICAL DISAGREEMENT in an ELECTION!

The Democrats’ field is far more politically experienced. Six of their candidates in competitive races are incumbents — with a combined 86 years in the upper chamber — and the others are former representatives, governors, or other state officials.

That translates into LOSSES this year!

Republicans are actively promoting their fresh faces.

“We’ve got some new blood in here, let’s see what happens,’’ said Jody Dow, a Republican National Committee member from Massachusetts. “This country was made on people who didn’t think the way everyone else did.’’

In one new ad in Wisconsin, Johnson’s wife and three children read from scripts to tout how good he is before Johnson breaks in with a wry smile.

“Obviously I’m not a professional politician, and they’re not professional actors,’’ he says. “We’re just a Wisconsin family worried about our country.’’

That's right! The GRASSROOTS of the PARTY is GOOD PEOPLE!

That's why Beck and Palin are trying to CO-OPT the movement!

The National Republican Senatorial Committee last week pledged $2.5 million to help Rubio in a heated three-way race in Florida. There are more announcements planned over the next few weeks, probably in states like Colorado and Nevada — hotly contested races where non-establishment candidates won primaries.

“In all of these races we’re working with all these campaigns and have great relationships with them,’’ said Brian Walsh, committee spokesman.

Twice over the last three decades Republicans have successfully taken the Senate majority by riding a wave of unrest. In 1994, for example, Republicans captured eight seats from Democrats, nearly all of which were won by candidates who had previously held elected office. In 1980, Republicans gained 12 seats, five of which were won by political novices.

You see the TREND, right?

Democrats currently control 59 votes in the Senate and, because Vice President Joe Biden would break a tie vote, Republicans need a net gain of 10 seats to gain a majority....

Unless JOE LIEBERMAN decide to make a SWITCH, right?

And after SUCH FAILURE with the MAJORITY the Democrats DESERVE to LOSE IT!

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