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November 05, 2010
Despite pre-midterm
speculation that Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Ben Nelson (D-NE), two centrists in the Democratic caucus, could choose to caucus with Republicans in the next Congress, each have recently ruled out the possibility of changing their affiliations.
Asked about whether he was considering a switch in an interview with
Roll Call, Nelson said, "I'm certainly not planning to, and the answer I've been giving is 'No.'"
Lieberman gave a similar answer to
CapitolBeatOK, stating, "I will remain an Independent, but will caucus with Democrats in the Senate. That's my tradition and I'll stick with it."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's
earlier decision to seek to lead her party into the minority puts her top underling, Steny Hoyer (D-MD), in a tough position.
Hoyer "announced he is 'exploring' a bid for minority whip, a post he held before Democrats won the majority in 2006,"
Politico reports -- but Jim Clyburn (D-SC), currently majority whip, has already said he will seek the same position. Given Clyburn's support among the Congressional Black Caucus, most of whom held their seats, Hoyer's path to victory could be difficult, potentially putting him out of the leadership for the first time sine 2003.
In an interview with
CBS News, Karl Rove said that the midterm election's results won't be a repeat of 1994, noting that this time the Republicans "are on probation. That's why they've got to do in office what they said they would do on the campaign trail when it comes to these big issues."
Said Rove: "I think the Republicans learned from that. And I also think President Obama is not anywhere near as adroit a political operator and nimble as President Clinton was."
On a
radio show, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) admitted he was a little "sad" that he won't have a four year term with a state legislature completely controlled by Republicans.
But he might get a brief chance if the gubernatorial race between Mark Dayton (D) and Tom Emmer (R) isn't settled.
Minneapolis Star Tribune: "If the stalemate continues past Jan. 3, Pawlenty would continue as chief executive as the legislative session gets underway. GOP legislators could act quickly to send a budget-cutting bill to him to sign rather than waiting for a likely veto should Dayton prevail."
''He came back and said 'I never met in my life such an arrogant man.'"
-- Rupert Murdoch,
recounting New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's description of President Obama.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that she will run for House Minority Leader in the next Congress.
The Hotline notes that Pelosi "can credit the drubbing House Democrats received for putting her in a strong position to keep her leadership post. Democrats lost 36 of the 48 members who represent districts that John McCain carried in 2008, wiping out much of the party's moderate wing that would be most resistant to Pelosi's return to power."
Sen.-elect Marco Rubio (R) has been tapped by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to deliver this week's GOP response to President Obama's weekly radio and video address,
Roll Call reports.
Peggy Noonan strongly objects to Sarah Palin saying she's modeled herself in Ronald Reagan's image:
"The point is not 'He was a great man and you are a nincompoop,' though that is true. The point is that Reagan's career is a guide, not only for the tea party but for all in politics. He brought his fully mature, fully seasoned self into politics with him. He wasn't in search of a life when he ran for office, and he wasn't in search of fame; he'd already lived a life, he was already well known, he'd accomplished things in the world."
The Independent reports that former British immigration minister Phil Woolas "lost his seat as an MP today after an election court ruled that he knowingly made false statements about an opponent in May's general election."
Bloomberg notes Woolas was guilty of "an illegal practice" by making statements "he had no reasonable grounds for believing were true and did not believe were true."
"It is the first time in 99 years that an election has been overturned as a result of a candidate making false statements. Woolas told reporters he is applying for a judicial review of the decision."
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning (R) announced this morning that he would form an exploratory committee for the 2012 U.S. Senate election to challenge Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), the
Omaha World Herald reports.
His announcement came a day after Gov. Dave Heineman (R) said that he would skip the race and serve his full four-year term as governor.
The news is also insurance for Senate Democrats who worry Nelson might switch parties. With Bruning already in the race, it's unlikely Nelson could win a GOP primary.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "ruled out running for president in 2012 or 2016 on Friday, saying the United States should be ready for a woman president but it would not be her,"
Reuters reports.
"I think that over the course of two years, we were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn't just legislation."
-- President Obama, in an interview with
60 Minutes, stating the obvious and possibly signaling a new direction for his administration with a Republican-controlled House.
First Read looks at "where we believe things will be a year from now, with the GOP candidates headed into home stretch in IA. It essentially combines what we know from '04, '06, '08 and '10, and factors it ALL in."
Solid Dem: DE, HI, MD, MA, NY, RI, VT
Likely Dem: CA, CT, IL, ME, WA, OR
Lean Dem: IA, MI, MN, NJ, PA
Toss-up: CO, FL, NV, NH, NM, OH, VA, WI
Lean GOP: MO, MT, NE (one EV), NC,
Likely GOP: AL, AR, AZ, GA, IN, LA, MS, NE (four EVs), ND, SC, SD, TX
Solid GOP: AK, ID, KS, KY, OK, TN, UT, WV, WY
"Here's another way to look at this: The lean Dem states are winnable by a
Republican if things break, say, 53%-47% nationally for the nominee.
And the lean GOP states are winnable by a Democrat if things break,
well, 53%-47% nationally for the president. And you can guarantee BOTH
parties will play in every lean and toss-up state so the BIG
battleground for 2012 begins with 17 states."
Chicago mayoral hopeful Carol Moseley Braun slammed rival Rahm Emanuel for "abandoning" President Obama after "pushing policies that led to the biggest Democratic Party political loss in 27 years," the
Chicago Sun Times reports.
Said Braun: "He left the president holding the bag... If Rahm abandoned the president of the United States, what makes anybody think he'll stick by regular Chicagoans?"
Nate Silver takes a look at the accuracy of pollsters in the midterm elections and concludes Rasmussen Reports "badly missed the margin in many states, and also exhibited a considerable bias toward Republican candidates."
"Other polling firms, like SurveyUSA and Quinnipiac University, produced more reliable results in Senate and gubernatorial races. A firm that conducts surveys by Internet, YouGov, also performed relatively well."
The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs last month but the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6%.
After election officials counted ballots through the night, the
Hartford Courant reports Dan Malloy (D) appears to have gained enough votes to win the race for Connecticut governor.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) "is acting as though she already has pulled off an improbable victory after her write-in candidacy, enthusiastically thanking supporters and telling them they've made history," the
Anchorage Daily News reports.
Said Murkowski: "The story of my write-in campaign will be told and retold; it will change the definition of American politics ... (a)nd it re-enforces what we all knew: In Alaska, anything is possible when you have a small group of people who are determined to change the world."
However, Murkowski's "fate rests in the reading of more than 83,000 write-in ballots. As of Thursday, initial returns showed write-in ballots held a 13,439-vote edge over GOP nominee Joe Miller, but it's not clear how many of those are for Murkowski -- or how many of the ballots have been cast properly."
"Guilty of political malpractice in the first degree."
-- Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), quoted by
Future of Capitalism, on President Obama allowing himself to be negotiated into a economic stimulus package that was "far too small."
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) finally declared victory in the Washington U.S. Senate race after challenger Dino Rossi (R) called to concede the race last night, the
Seattle Times reports.
Murray's win means Democrats will have 53 votes in the Senate next year.
November 04, 2010
"The final tallies in Connecticut's chaotic, mistake-ridden, Florida-style election remained unknown Thursday afternoon because election officials in Bridgeport still have not released their official totals yet," the
Hartford Courant reports.
Without Bridgeport's results, Tom Foley (R) leads Dan Malloy (D) by 8,409 votes. However, the most recent results in Bridgeport reported by the Associated Press gave Malloy 12,646 more votes in Bridgeport than Foley -- meaning that Malloy would become the next governor.
Adding to the intrigue:
CT Confidential reports "about what may be an uncounted bag of ballots discovered in Bridgeport."
High-level House Democratic sources tell
ABC News that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is seriously considering staying in Congress and running for the position of minority leader.
"Pelosi is methodically calling every Democratic House member who won on Tuesday, as well as many who lost... In the process, she is weighing her options and gauging her support. Some of Pelosi's closest allies are encouraging her to stay and to lead the Democratic effort to win back their majority. Those encouraging her are arguing, in part, that she can unify the progressives in the caucus, and more importantly, that nobody in the House can raise money for the next campaign better than Pelosi."
According to
Gawker, Sarah Palin recently "
favorited" an Ann Coulter tweet that linked to a picture of a sign about "The blood of Jesus against Obama," our "Taliban Muslim illegally elected President USA: Hussein."
Just a day after Rep. Mark Kirk (R) won the U.S. Senate race in Illinois, he met defeated challenger Alexi Giannoulias (D) for a
beer.
See more...
"Short of suicide, I don't really know what I'd have to do to convince you people that I'm not running."
-- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by
Fox News, taking "
Shermanesque" to a new level.
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