This won't come as a shock to most people, but perennial pollster Stuart Rothernberg listed freshman Alabama Congressmen Bobby Bright and Parker Griffith as two of the four most vulnerable House seats in 2010:
Purely from a statistical point of view, the most vulnerable House Democrats are the four who won election last cycle with less than 55 percent of the vote in districts where McCain scored comfortable wins. That includes Reps. Bobby Bright (Ala.), Parker Griffith (Ala.), Walt Minnick (Idaho) and Travis Childers (Miss.), plus Rep. Frank Kratovil in Maryland's 1st district. Kratovil won with just 49 percent of the vote while McCain was carrying the district with 58 percent.
Something that has always perplexed me about the American economy is how do we expect to maintain long-term economic growth when 70% of that growth is predicated on consumption? I have just never been made to realize how that is sustainable. Robert Reich makes a similar point with regard to people's predictions about how and when our economy will recover:
My prediction, then? Not a V, not a U. But an X. This economy can't get back on track because the track we were on for years -- featuring flat or declining median wages, mounting consumer debt, and widening insecurity, not to mention increasing carbon in the atmosphere -- simply cannot be sustained.
The X marks a brand new track -- a new economy. What will it look like? Nobody knows. All we know is the current economy can't "recover" because it can't go back to where it was before the crash. So instead of asking when the recovery will start, we should be asking when and how the new economy will begin. More on this to come.
Carville said he joined the team of Ashraf Ghani, also a former World Bank official, so Afghans had a viable choice in the Aug. 20 poll.
"This is probably the most important election held in the world in a long time," Carville told The Associated Press in a telephone interview late Tuesday. "This is probably the most interesting project I have ever worked in my life."
Carville called Karzai "increasingly unpopular," despite opinion polls showing him with a commanding lead.
"There is very little confidence in Afghanistan at Karzai as a leader," Carville said. "Our job is to let the people of Afghanistan know that there is an alternative."
According to what I have seen, a shot at beating Karzai would definitely be a long one. I have no knowledge, but I would assume that Carville is probably just looking for a challenge. He doesn't need the money and it doesn't really effect anything domestically, so that is the only reason I can come up with. I will be a lot more interested in the Afghan elections now, I do know that.
I know they are going to kowtow to their base but I think that Paul Begala makes a really good political point as to what the GOP needs to do right now. Mind you this in the wake of the Bush Administration:
The GOP will rebound, to be sure. Politics is cyclical, but sometimes those cycles take decades. Republicans can hasten their comeback by following the Clinton model: Challenge established orthodoxies, overturn outdated dogma and modernize their movement.
Clinton committed the heresy of supporting welfare reform, tough anti-crime policies, free trade and fiscal discipline. In so doing he paved the way for President Obama. No one today is attacking President Obama on crime or welfare; Clinton took those Republican-dominated issues off the table.
If the Republicans were smart, they'd find a principled compromise on health care and energy -- take those two Democratic-dominated issues off the table -- and then work on rebuilding their fiscal credentials.
This ain't 1994. The GOP can't stand on the outside and shout about issues as if they had no chance to enact different polices. The Republicans have been discredited on almost every issue they normally campaign on (with the exception of riding the fence on some social issues) and should heed Begala's advice. A principled (as much as possible) compromise on issues that Obama is likely to win will give them leverage to make their case for better policies, but until then "the Party of No" will be around for a while.
This is about as occultish as it gets, but if you want to meet someone, why not try "Ron Paul Singles?" I am SO not kidding. It's weird, it's disturbing, and it exists.
I have avoided this topic so far, but apparently every columnist in the country feels the need to opine about Sarah Palin's decision to resign as Governor of Alaska, so I will as well.
Mrs. Palin's decision can quite easily be made sense of in two ways. Either (1) she is simply tired of public office and would like to be a commentator form the outside that won't receive as much criticism, or (2) she is truly an idiot. Let's examine these two options.
If Mrs. Palin truly wishes to at least partially or completely withdraw from public life this is the right way to do that. Certainly, and rightly so, most people will now count her out of the 2012 election and she can retreat to whatever job she would like. Very little speculation about her political future past the bombshell that she is quitting and an easy exit. Good idea.
However if Mrs. Palin ever plans to seek higher office and she just resigned as Governor she is an absolute fool and quite possible a total idiot. It is hard enough to run for President without a political base (just ask John Edwards), but it is quite another thing to run for the highest office in the land when you have just quit your previous occupation. If I was running against Sarah Palin I would ask her two questions. (1) How are you ever going to be President if you couldn't even tough out one term as Governor of Alaska, and (2) How can we be sure you just won't quit half way through? Say what you like, but if she intends to run for President, Sarah Palin is without a doubt the dumbest politician I have ever seen.
Whether one agrees that there will be a "green" economy anytime soon or not, according to Thomas Friedman (a "green" economy disciple), China certainly believes that to be the case:
China is increasingly finding that it has to go green out of necessity because in too many places, its people can’t breathe, fish, swim, drive or even see because of pollution and climate change. Well, there is one thing we know about necessity: it is the mother of invention.
And that is what China is doing, innovating more and more energy efficiency and clean power systems. And when China starts to do that in a big way — when it starts to develop solar, wind, batteries, nuclear and energy efficiency technologies on its low-cost platform — watch out. You won’t just be buying your toys from China. You’ll be buying your energy future from China.
“China is moving,” says Hal Harvey, the chief executive of ClimateWorks, which shares clean energy ideas around the world. “They want to be leaders in green technology. China has already adopted the most aggressive energy efficiency program in the world. It is committed to reducing the energy intensity of its economy — energy used per dollar of goods produced — by 20 percent in five years. They are doing this by implementing fuel efficiency standards for cars that far exceed our own and by going after their top thousand industries with very aggressive efficiency targets. And they have the most aggressive renewable energy deployment in the world, for wind, solar and nuclear, and are already beating their targets.”
I don't think that it is a great leap to say that if Europe and Asia move in this direction (they appear to be), then it would be to our detriment not to at least make some strides in this direction as well.
"... freedom of men under government is to have a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society, and made by the legislative power erected in it. A liberty to follow my own will in all things where that rule prescribes not, not to be subject to the inconstant, uncertain, unknown, arbitrary will of another man, ..."
State lotteries are educating the children of Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. Every year Alabamians spend millions on these lotteries to help educate the children of other states. A LifeStart lottery will make sure that Alabama dollars educate Alabama children.
Every high school student with a "C" or better average will be guaranteed a scholarship to a public Alabama University, two year college, or technical program of their choice. All others who graduate or earn a GED will be guaranteed a technical or trade education.
"Congressman Griffith is a fiscally responsible Blue Dog who has fought to rein in out-of-control spending in Washington," Spearman said in a statement.
He also took aim at Brooks, criticizing his more than $700,000 office budget in 2008, which Spearman said was up from $35,000 when Brooks was first elected to the commission in 1996.
Brooks took aim at the Parker Griffth after Spearman's comments.
"In the future, I suggest Parker Griffith call off his pit bulls and focus his time and energy on doing his job by publicly renouncing his support for socialist House Speaker Nancy Pelosi..."
Jim is a friend of mine and I would not characterize him as "pit bull" by any means. Like Governor Riley, he does have an affinity for cowboy boots, so that might have been a swift kick in the ass. Oh, and if Nancy Pelosi is a socialist, I am the purple-people eater. By the way, this Mo reminds me of another Mo (a little explict):
On Tuesday, as the previous fiscal year was drawing to a close, the Senate rejected three bills designed to save $5 billion, including $3.3 billion in education funding cuts that had to be enacted. Passing those bills would have given the Legislature time to work out a broader solution to the deficit and delayed the need for IOUs.
Instead, the budget shortfall is set to grow even wider because of California's complicated school funding formula, meaning the state will not have enough money to pay all its bills.
State Controller John Chiang said his office is prepared to issue IOUs totaling $3.3 billion in July
Cobb issued a statement Wednesday saying that while she received considerable support to run, she has decided to continue in her current position on the Supreme Court.
“I am honored to have been sought out and encouraged to run for governor by so many Alabamians from all walks of life. Their support has been humbling and perhaps made this decision the most difficult I have ever been called upon to make,” she said in a release.
I never really expected Cobb to seek the nomination, but it is still a relief to know that she will remain on the Alabama Supreme Court. Had Cobb sought the nomination an interim replacement would have been named by Republican Governor Bob Riley.
Norm Coleman has conceded victory to his opponent Al Franken in the race for a Minnesota Senate seat:
...former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has conceded defeat to the Democratic comedian Franken in the 2008 Senate race -- nearly eight months after Election Day, and six months after the seat went vacant when Coleman's single term had expired. Coleman said that further litigation would damage the state, and congratulated Sen.-elect Franken on his victory.
Franken will be sworn in next week when Congress returns from recess. However, Franken still needs money for the recount fund: Click To Enlarge: H/T - SwingStateProject, Wonkette
A political science major currently going to school part-time to make some money. A die hard partisan Democrat, with moderate political views. I was born a Democrat, am a Democrat, and by God will die a Democrat.
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