2010 Midterm Elections Thread

[Max]

Quartermainefan, you certainly won't get an argument from me regarding how wrong it is for the religious right to demand that all Republican candidates cater to their agenda. Furthermore, it is divisive how many Republicans tell people in liberal cities that they are not true Americans. However, in order to be fair, I should remind you that it was also reprehensible for Obama (back during the 2008 campaign) to categorize those living in small town America as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion.

There's also one last point I'd like to make about the Rev. Wright controversy; the point being that it's not exactly comparable to a Republican sharing a stage with Falwell or Robertson. The reason why Obama's association with Wright is far more disconcerting is because he attended Wright's church for 20 years. (I also believe that Wright married him and baptized his children.) By contrast, if a Republican shares the stage with some far-right minister, all he is doing is pickup up an endorsement (which is something that I nevertheless still condemn). (Yet, it by no means implies that the Republican candidate attended that crazy minister's church.)

[DRW50]

So the big conservative power broker DeMint still wants to fire gay teachers and "sexually active" unwed women.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/demint_sexually_active_unmarried_women_and_gay_teachers_should_be_barred_from_classrooms.php?ref=fpi

For all the talk of it being about fiscal issues, this type of thing is still right around the corner. A group of people who stigmatize gays and any woman who does not know her place.

[quartermainefan]

who cares if he attended his church though? Why is that more disconcerting than a politician like McCain sacrificing every principle he has to appease Falwell and get his endorsement and then choosing some psychopath fundie lunatic to be his VP? More disconcerting to who, republicans who will hate Obama no matter what?

[Max]

Quartermainefan, common sense would tell us that if Obama objected to the crazy things that Wright said, then Obama would have left Wright's church long ago; the fact that he chose to attend Wright's church for 20 years (and have him baptize his children) leads a reasonable person to conclude that Obama likely shares Wright's crazy views. Thus, that is why so many people care about this issue. If you still fail to see why this is such a big deal, Quartermainefan, then it is pointless to continue on with this particular discussion.

Getting back to the topic of the midterm elections, it looks like things have gotten even worse for the Democrats: The West Virginia U.S. Senate race was supposed to be an easy win for the Democratic candidate, popular governor Joe Manchin. However, because of the terrible economy and Obama's high disapproval in that state, many polls are now showing that Republican John Raese will be the winner on November 2.

West Virginia, of course, is not the only Senate seat that Republicans will pick-up from the Democrats, as other likely GOP gains include Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. If the Republicans pick up all 8 of these seats (which the polls show they will) and hold on to all their current seats (as expected), this will give the GOP exactly 49 senators. Hence, what we are left with are four Senate races whose outcome I can't yet predict: California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois. Should Republicans win two out of those four very close races, they will become the majority party in the Senate.

[DRW50]

Right now Nevada is tied and Washington seems to be tilting in Patty Murray's direction, as she has led in most polls recently. Connecticut also seems to be with the Democrats, unless something big changes.

I think West Virginia could go either way but this type of thing is sinking Raese.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43474.html

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003752504

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43363.html

I have to wonder if there is a big movement out there among voters to abolish the minimum wage. Rarely have I seen an election year where major Republican candidates call for it. Beyond Raese, this controversy also tripped up the CT race.

I also wonder why people are throwing their money at Christine O'Donnell when she has no chance of winning.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43683.html

[DRW50]

As the article points out, independent voters probably make the difference and early voting doesn't mean a lot, but it does seem like there's much less of an enthusiasm gap than polls have claimed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/22/AR2010102206959.html

[Money]

Democrats are screwed this is why Obama has been stumping hard to get the woman and teen vote because he knows without them they don't stand a chance. Unfortunately women and teens came out in droves in '08 under the promise of change and two years later they're left scratching their heads. I don't think many of them will vote and if they do they'll vote Republican. Some might even vote for the Tea Party because they're the "it" party right now.

[DRW50]

I think the Tea Party has kind of shot itself in the foot with a lot of the candidates they've chosen. They'll still do well but it isn't where it was earlier this after with Scott Brown.

My guess is that young voters are more likely to stay home than vote Republican.

[DRW50]

Politics just keep getting uglier.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/kentucky-stomper-identified-as-pauls-now-former-bourbon-county-coordinator.php?ref=fpa

[quartermainefan]

The very flower of the tea party movement and republicans at their finest. But considering Rand Paul and his anti civil rights act stance, is anyone surprised he has lunatics around him?

[MichaelGL]

Considering that "incident" that occurred with Rand Paul in college, is anyone really that surprised that such an incident like this happened at the hands of one of the lunatics he had around him?

[quartermainefan]

What's scary is just how deranged and lunatic the republicans have become. Where once racism or perhaps allegations of witchcraft would have spelled the end of your career, these days republicans talk about armed revolution if the vote doesn't go their way, doing away with the public school system, ties to white supremacists, being a landlord to gay bars even as you attack gays, racist cartoon fliers, opposition to the landmark civil rights act..none of it matters to republicans anymore. As long as they tell themselves these people are the real Americans who genuflect to Palin and Beck, it is all good.

[DRW50]

In a not overly surprising response, the guy who did the kicking wants an apology from the person he kicked.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/10/woman-stomped-outside-rand-pau.html

[Max]

For many months in the Florida Senate race, Republican Marco Rubio has held a commanding lead over Independent Charlie Crist and Democrat Kendrick Meek. Knowing that this race was a lost cause with the anti-Rubio vote split between the two other candidates, the Democratic power brokers--including Bill Clinton--recently asked Meek (who has been running in third place) to drop out of the race and endorse Crist. An hour ago, however, Meek called a press conference and made the surprise announcement that he will remain in the race.

Of course, I commend Meek for not caving into the pressure put on him by the sleazy Democratic power brokers. The Democrats (who claim to be the party that "cares" about black people) ought to be ashmed of themselves for asking their African-American nominee (Meek) to step aside for a white man (Crist). (If the Republicans ever tried something similar, they would no doubt be immediately accused of racism by the left.) Furthermore, I find it especially disgusting and cowardly that Bill Clinton would ever have the nerve to pressue somebody else to quit; after all, this is the man who refused to resign the presidency (when he should have for the good of the country) after he committed perjury and obstructed justice. ("Monicagate" was not merely just a "private" matter of sex as the Clinton and the Democrats tried to spin it. As I just said, it was a matter of perjury and obstruction of justice, and Clinton should have resigned immediately.)

[DRW50]

Some think that Meek is staying in because that helps downticket Democrats who won't want to choose between two Republicans (which is what Crist is, party label or not). Others say he's just selfish. I don't know. I think Crist would lose no matter what -- it just didn't work out.

It looks like Lisa Murkwoski is the reverse and will manage to pull out her Senate seat, although that's down to Joe Miller having a long public meltdown.