Will the Democrats have control of the House after the 2014 mid-term elections? As we all know, they do not now. And if they are riding the coattails of the POTUS, they are going to have a tough go at it. If the Dems can win the House and maintain the Senate, than the Pres can back off of some of the executive orders and agreements that he has been using to get his way in policy. Maybe he can get some more of his SOTU wishlist accomplished... or maybe not. According to RCP, the President's job approval rating in states where there are Democratic senate seats up for election are in jeopardy... and that spells a sea change for the Dems. Many political wonks will tell you that the mid-term elections are a referendum for the party in power, and if the POTUS approval ratings continue, he may have a tough row to hoe. Could this be the reason for his very populist sentiment, his overabundant use of "you," "us," and "we?" Folks reading the tea leaves will tell you that they feel that this is why the Waxmans of the world are resigning from public office... So, again... what this brings us back to is the civil war within the GOP. Who's candidate will take the lead, can they keep a minor party candidate from running, and for the Dems: who can answer this call?Hillary? Joe? Elizabeth Warren?
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I didn't misspeak. Half. Certainly makes class warfare and the debate over the role of social services in America stink of a conflict of interest.
This past week, Center for Responsive Politics released their most reports that crunch the 2012 personal finance disclosures to tell us that 268 of 534 members of Congress are north of $1M. Our wealthiest? Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Ca), who was worth around $474M last year. This is great for playing a fun game... what are your Representatives and Senators worth? I found out that my Senator Mark Warner has millions to the tune of 8 figures. And at a minimum, to answer my own semi-question, we can at a minimum gawk at their wealth, and watch to see how that impacts their votes. And perhaps, an extended analysis through some pleasure reading. Did you hear about Lawrence Lessig's new book? Here's a little excerpt to wet your whistle. There are so many times in this lovely course of mine where I feel like my head is in a vice grip. Here is one of those instances. I have to remember, as I reach for my bottle of Advil, that things are intentionally complex because there are so many damned rule breakers out there. Primaries. They are... awful. So, the GOP is trying to figure out a way to be more relevant and responsive to voters today. So, they have proposed a new primary system to compress the primary calendar to such a degree that all primaries are wrapped up by June, to preserve advantage to the big six early primary states, and allow our less financially solvent and less well known candidates time to cozy up to party deep pockets and the media. A slight tweak from 2012... and maybe they can reign in the rebellious Sunshine State, who has undermined primary aims of the RNC for the past two election cycles. Must be all the orange juice. Here's a smidgen more on that... |
Photo via Flickr/Ted Eytan
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