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In essence, Republicans succeeded in playing on fears (some real and some imagin*ed) which scared substantial segments of the voting population away from the president’s economic policies and liberal agenda.
Those most affected by the scare tactics were older voters, wealthy voters and independent white voters who “surged to the polls” on November 2 to help return control of the U.S. House of Representatives to the Republicans and reduce the size of the Democratic Party majority in the U.S. Senate.
The report was released by Project Vote, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group, which also found that turnout by pro-Democratic blocs such as African-Americans, young people and Latinos dropped sharply from 2008 levels, leaving what it labeled “a lopsided pro-Republican electorate to dominate the national landscape.”
Compared with 2008, voting dropped off this year particularly among pro-Democratic groups:
o Young voters were down by 55 percent.
o African-Americans were down by 43 percent.
o Hispanics were down by 40 percent.
Of those voters who did show up this year, 4 out of 5 were white, 1 in 10 was African-American and 1 in 13 was Latino. The analysis is based primarily on exit poll data and preliminary estimates from the U.S. Elections Project.
The results strongly suggest that if Obama wants a second term as president, he will have to rely heavily on getting young whites, Blacks and Hispanics to the polls. Currently, however, the president and his advisors appear to be spending more time trying to work out deals with Republicans and appease their conservative base.
Just when you thought it was safe to go to Idaho again, right? Well, the guy that orchestrated this one figured he was making a positive statement on behalf of the Aryan nation.
Unfortunately for the poor “white separatist”, his neighbors were not having Mr. Hitler snowman on the front lawn representing their community. He was made to shut it down.
The Senate is set to vote on a controversial immigration bill. If it fails, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez tells Bryan Curtis he’s prepared to ditch Obama and the Democrats-and take the movement to the streets.
It’s zero hour for the DREAM Act, a bit of immigration legislation that has taken on a hulking importance among Hispanic leaders. For two years, Barack Obama failed-or, if you prefer, refused-to nudge along a major immigration bill.
The last-ditch hope is that departing Democrats, and a few Republicans, somehow band together in the lame-duck session and pass a law allowing illegal immigrants who came to the United States as minors to gain citizenship. Harry Reid promised to bring up the bill for a Senate cloture vote this week. Republicans vowed to scuttle it, just as they did in September.
But as Chicago congressman Luis Gutiérrez prepares for a rally at a church in Brooklyn a few weeks before the vote, the DREAM Act seems like the end of his interest in congressional gamesmanship rather than the start.
Gutiérrez is one of several Hispanic leaders who have found themselves politically estranged from the president. Moreover, they are numbed by the legislative process that denied them a vote on immigration reform, much less a victory, when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.
“If we couldn’t do it when Democrats were nearly 260 in the House and 59 in the Senate, how do we propose to tell people we can do it now?” Gutiérrez tells me. “The opportunity to have gotten it done is gone.”
‘There’s just too much at risk in the next cycle not to make a change’
Some Republicans are looking for a challenger to RNC Chairman Michael Steele.
WASHINGTON — Turning their attention to the 2012 presidential election, Republican leaders are digging in for a battle over control of the Republican National Committee, judging that its role in fund-raising, get-out-the-vote operations and other tasks will be critical to the effort to topple President Obama.
Some senior party officials are maneuvering to put pressure on Michael Steele, the controversial party chairman, not to seek re-election when his term ends in January or, failing that, to encourage a challenger to step forward to take him on.
So far, the effort has been tentative, with Mr. Steele’s most ardent opponents working behind the scenes to persuade an alternative to run against him — fearful that any overt moves will create a backlash in Mr. Steele’s favor among those committee members who tend to view the establishment in Washington with suspicion.
One man leading the effort is a Mississippi Republican Party committeeman, Henry Barbour, who is a nephew of Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi — a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, himself. Governor Barbour is said by people involved in the discussions to be among those eager to see a change at the top of the party and recently criticized party fund-raising under Mr. Steele.
Officials close to the presumed new House speaker, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, and the Senate minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said that both men would prefer a new chairman as well, but that they were also resigned to Mr. Steele’s continued leadership should no clear alternative emerge to defeat him.
‘Have to make a change’ In an interview Tuesday night, Henry Barbour said, “I like Mike Steele, and I’ve worked hard to support him as chairman.” But, he added, “I do think we have to make a change, and I have actively talked to some other members in the last week or so and encouraged a few of them to consider running.”
Among those Mr. Barbour has approached is a member of Mr. Steele’s “kitchen cabinet” of advisers, Reince Priebus, who is chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin and who helped manage Mr. Steele’s first election for the chairmanship two years ago.
Several officials involved in the discussions, all of whom requested anonymity to share details of the talks, said Mr. Priebus had recently warned Mr. Steele that a run for re-election could prove difficult this time around, and advised him to consider leaving the chairmanship at a time when he could point to big Republican gains nationwide.
But Mr. Priebus has made it clear that he is personally uncomfortable with the idea of challenging Mr. Steele directly for the post, given their friendship.
The effort to woo Mr. Priebus was first reported Tuesday on the Web site of The Washington Post.
Mr. Steele, who did not respond to interview requests on Tuesday, has said he has not decided whether to seek re-election when his two-year term expires in January. The 168 members of the Republican National Committee, who vote on the chairman, will convene then in Washington for their winter meeting.
But he is taking steps to build the support he would need in the face of deep opposition by Republican leaders on Capitol Hill and beyond — making personal appearances and granting party money in visits across the country and even in territories like Guam and the Virgin Islands.
‘Everybody has a learning curve’ “Whether I run or not, I’m going to be judged by what’s happened over the last two years,” Mr. Steele told reporters last week, arguing that the party’s early investments in important states and races helped Republicans reach their historic victory of picking up at least 60 House seats. “I think you can safely say the party has re-emerged. It is a very different party. I think it’s a transcendent party.”
Mr. Steele conceded that his tenure had not been perfect, saying, “Everybody has a learning curve, and clearly I had mine.”
The moves against Mr. Steele are a result of a perception that has been developing for months among the party’s seasoned political hands in Washington. His critics say Mr. Steele has performed poorly at the helm. They argue that his fund-raising was lackluster and point to comments he made that at times proved distracting and were at odds with Republican orthodoxy, as when he said the war in Afghanistan was “not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.”
As Henry Barbour put it, “There’s just too much at risk in the next cycle not to make a change.”
Mr. Steele said last week that he had modeled his effort after the 50-state strategy conceived by Howard Dean when he was chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Dean also infuriated leaders of his party four years ago by directing money and staff members to every state, not simply places where Democrats had a stronger chance to win..
Mr. Steele, his party’s first black chairman, dismissed criticism of his financial stewardship, saying he had purposefully focused on building grass-roots Republican activism rather than courting high-level donors.
But those working to remove him say a focus on high-level donors is one of the most important roles for a party chairman — if not the most important role — in a presidential election cycle.
Saul Anuzis, who represents Michigan on the Republican committee and ran for party chairman two years ago, said he was considering running again. “There clearly have been many major donors who have dropped off and have not contributed,” Mr. Anuzis said. “That’s a problem.”
But Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, voiced tentative support for Mr. Steele. He said that while the national party gave less to states than it had in recent years, the resources it did provide proved critical in his state. “I don’t have any complaints,” Mr. Wadhams said. “I think there’s a chance he could be re-elected.”
House Republicans gathered Thursday at a lumber warehouse in Virginia to unveil their new “Pledge to America.” So what are they promising? To make the Bush tax cuts permanent for everyone, to repeal health-care reform, and to reduce federal spending. The Pledge is 45 pages. If this doesn’t Scare Democrats and Independents to the voting booth in November to vote for Democratic, well, nothing will.
Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein says “Their policy agenda is detailed and specific-a decision they will almost certainly come to regret. Because when you get past the adjectives and soaring language, the talk of inalienable rights and constitutional guarantees, you’re left with a set of hard promises that will increase the deficit by trillions of dollars, take health-care insurance away from tens of millions of people, create a level of policy uncertainty businesses have never previously known, and suck demand out of an economy that’s already got too little of it.”
The New Republic’s Jon Chait is also unimpressed:
“It’s a reprise of every theme of Republican economic policy-making the party has followed for 20 years.” He adds, “The Pledge to America fulminates against debt, but it should be read as a plan to explode debt through the ceiling.”
It seems that the chairman and CEO of OneUnited, the bank at the center of the ethics investigation against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), has a troubled past himself, reports the Washington Post.
Not only has Kevin L. Cohee reportedly been arrested twice on sexual-assault and drug charges-although he has denied the arrests-the federal government also issued a “cease and desist” order to the bank due to his supposed living allowance that allowed him to live in a mansion.
Cohee’s bank purchased or leased luxury real estate for him-including an $880,000 condominium in Miami and a $26,250-a-month mansion in Santa Monica owned by Bruce Springsteen’s drummer-and reportedly paid for his Porsche.
Cohee promoted the bank as a responsible investor in minority communities, which Waters then helped promote in her district. Waters has described herself as a “professional and social” friend of Cohee.
On Thursday the US Senate confirmed Elena Kagan 63-37 to become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, with a handful of Republicans joining almost all Democrats in making her the fourth woman to serve on the high court.
When the court’s new term starts in October, Ms. Kagan, 50, will join Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor to make up the first three-woman bloc in the court’s history.
Fifty-eight Democrats and independents as well as five Republicans voted for Ms. Kagan. Thirty-six Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, voted against the nominee. The five Republicans who supported Ms. Kagan were Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.
Only 12 members of Congress voted to approve health benefits for “1st Responders” to 911 Twin Towers.
Yes the Democrats overwhelmingly passed it. It has been years since 911 and the folks that involved
their lives to save whomever are now greatly disturbed with health concerns – OK who knew. What the
outcome effects would be. These folks Fire Dept, Police Dept, Medics put there lives on the line to help.
And this is how Congress rewards them for a job well done to the best of their ability – well damn Congress.
And you wonder why – folks are voting for anybody other than the incumbent to stand for there City,
or State reps. How dare you put these folks on the back burner. Do you have no shame or guilt what you
are doing to these folks. Understandably the economics in this country are steep, why do you think that
President Obama wanted the Health Care Reform bill past. Not just for future clients, but present ones in
need as well. Congress when are you going to get off your azz and stop throwing a rock and then hiding
your hand. You took your offices with a “vow” to pledge and help your constituents of your state and
others. Do not turn a blind eye to the needs of Americans, families are involved here and future generations.
Have you thought about what your legacy would be when you depart your office? Was it to help or hinder
the causes of citizens of the USA? Or is it money talks and bullshyt walks Congressmen Republicans.
House Dems Seek Extra Security Amid Health Care Protests.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that at least 10 of his Democratic colleagues feel that they are at risk of harm for voting in favor of the new health care bill and have sought extra police protection. Also, the Maryland Democrat hinted Wednesday that Republicans should do more to condemn these threats of violence. “I would hope that we would join together jointly and make it very clear that none of us condone this kind of activity,” Hoyer told reporters. [Watch video below.] “And when we see it, we speak out strongly in opposition to it. And I would hope that we would do that going forward.” Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the majority whip, said Democrats and Republicans should continue to speak out on these threats. “Silence gives consent,” Clyburn said. However, Minority Leader John Boehner has already condemned threats of violence — and sought to explain why people are so angry. “I know many Americans are angry over this health care bill, and that Washington Democrats just aren’t listening,” the Republican stated. “But, as I’ve said, violence and threats are unacceptable. That’s not the American way. We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change. Call your congressman, go out and register people to vote, go volunteer on a political campaign, make your voice heard — but let’s do it the right way.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Capitol Police and sergeant at arms briefed Democrats behind closed doors today about the incidents of violence — the most high profile of which have been toward Democratic Reps. Thomas Perriello of Virginia, Steve Driehaus of Ohio and Louise Slaughter of New York. On Wednesday, the FBI began a preliminary investigation into fuel lines cut at the Virginia home of Perriello’s brother, whose address was posted online. A tea party participant published on a right-leaning blog what he thought was Rep. Perriello’s home address and urged disgruntled voters to “drop by” for a “good face-to-face chat.” Vandals broke windows at Slaughter’s office in New York and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s office in Arizona. Slaughter, a Democrat who chairs the House Rules Committee, said a caller to her office last week vowed to send snipers to “kill the children of the members who voted yes.” Her office reported the call to police, who were dispatched to provide protection for Slaughter’s grandchildren. She has also been in touch with the FBI and U.S. Postal Service inspectors, who intercepted a letter en route to her home in upstate New York. Sen. Bart Stupak, the Michigan Democrat whose last-minute compromise on abortion guaranteed passage of the bill Sunday, said callers have left messages for him saying, “You’re dead; we know where you live; we’ll get you.” And angry voters are planning to protest this weekend at the home of Steve Driehaus — who’s already seen a photograph of his children used in a newspaper ad published by reform opponents.
The group called the Committee to Rethink Reform used a photo of him and his two young daughters in an ad urging him to vote against any health care reform bill that included federal funding for abortion. Both the group and the newspaper — the Cincinnati Enquirer — apologized for including Driehaus’s daughters in the ad. Fellow Ohio congressman Boehner, who warned that anti-abortion Democrats would suffer politically if they voted for the health care bill, singled out Driehaus, saying he “may be a dead man” and “can’t go home to the west side of Cincinnati” because “the Catholics will run him out of town.” “Mr. Boehner made comments about me and my predicament when I go home which I felt were wildly out of bounds for his position and very irresponsible, quite frankly. He’s from next door. That’s not helpful. That’s irresponsible,” Driehaus said.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin posted a map on her Facebook page that shows the 20 districts represented by House Democrats who voted for health care reform – each marked by a bulls eye image. In her Twitter posting directing followers to the page, she stated: “Commonsense “Conservatives & lovers of America: “Don’t Retreat, Instead – RELOAD!” African American political activist organization Color of Change is also calling on readers to stand up against the Tea Party-led attacks by “confronting Republican leadership and forcing them to take responsibility for the atmosphere they’ve helped create.”
The instant Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others were gunned down at a public meet-and-greet in Tucson, leaving six dead-including a federal judge, several retirees, and a 9-year-old student council representative-Tea Party grandmaster Sarah Palin and leaders of her movement swung into damage-control mode.
Palin offered condolences to the families of the shooting victims and called for prayers for peace and justice. Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer went further and condemned the shootings as “an attack on the democratic process.”
Palin’s and Kremer’s expressions of outrage are undoubtedly sincere and heartfelt. But those fine sentiments don’t absolve them of blame for helping to create the hyper-vicious, borderline-vigilante climate that has provoked more than one unbalanced kook -as the alleged shooter Jared Loughner clearly is-to blast away at innocents, under the guise of striking back at someone or something whose politics, ideas, religion, or race they hate.
That this country had entered a new era-where it was some thought it permissible to take the law into their own hands and bombard public officials with life-threatening letters, texts, phone calls, and in some cases physical attacks-was plainly evident during and after the health care reform debate last year.
Nearly a dozen Democrats and Republicans received threatening messages. Republican Rep. Eric Cantor got a bullet through his campaign-office window. Other legislators had their windows broken and their tires slashed. Palin didn’t help matters with her oft-quoted exhortation to conservatives to “reload”-complete with photos of her on hunting forays, gun in hand. Palin and GOP leaders drove home their message that political opponents-i.e. liberal and moderate Democrats-were ripe for attack when she plastered an image of crosshairs in a Facebook post listing 20 vulnerable House Democrats who had voted for health care reform. Giffords was one of them.
Palin sensed the dangerous line that she had edged up to with her depiction of Democrats in the GOP’s gun sights. She protested that she was not calling for anyone to slaughter them with weapons but to vote them out of office.