November 7, 2010

The depth of the 2010 GOP victory in the state legislatures.

It's extreme.
Republicans increased their numbers in 73 state legislative chambers of the 87 up for election. Democrats did get one or two seats in six states: California House (+1), Pennsylvania Senate (+1), Delaware House (+2), Hawaii Senate (+1), Washington State Senate (+1), and West Virginia Senate (+2.)

Compare these tiny gains with the massive Republican gains in many state legislative chambers, like these: Texas House (+24), Pennsylvania House (+14), Ohio House (+14), Ohio Senate (+11), Michigan House (+18) and Michigan Senate (+5), North Carolina House (+15) and North Carolina Senate (+11), Wisconsin House (+26) and Wisconsin Senate (+16), Iowa House (+16) and Iowa Senate (+6), Missouri House (+18), Alabama House (+15) and Alabama Senate (+6), Arkansas House (+12) and Arkansas Senate (+8), Tennessee House (+14), Minnesota House (+26) and Minnesota Senate (+16), New Hampshire House (+117), Maine House (+21) and Maine Senate (6), Connecticut House (+16), Montana House (+18), North Dakota House (+10), and Massachusetts House (+17).
Look at the before and after maps. Click on the individual states to see the particular numbers — for example, in my state, Wisconsin. Look at the swath of states — Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania — that went from Democrat or divided to Republican. In the south, Alabama and North Carolina went from blue to red. And red begins to creep down from the upper right-hand corner, with Maine and New Hampshire.

101 comments:

kent said...

Look at the before and after maps. Click on the individual states to see the particular numbers — for example, in my state, Wisconsin. Look at the swath of states — Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania — that went from Democrat or divided to Republican. In the south, Alabama and North Carolina went from blue to red. And red begins to creep down from the upper right-hand corner, with Maine and New Hampshire.

"Hope and Change!"

Jim said...

You want a real point of comparison?

In the wake of WATERGATE, Democrats gained approximately *200* fewer seats than Republicans did this year.

Just let that sink in for a minute...

Jana said...

Fantastic. Washington sure could use another Democrat.

::eyeroll::

Yay for the rest, though!

ricpic said...

Let state nullification begin!

Anonymous said...

* Republicans took control of the House of Representatives
* Republicans netted 6 Senate Seats
* Republicans netted 8 Governorships
* Republicans netted 988 State Legislative seats

This wasn't just a drubbing. It represents nothing less than our Democrat Party enemies being driven before us.

The reverberations of Democrats' hubris in raising health care costs for seniors - destroying Medicare - and then on top of that forcing people to buy health insurance will echo for a century.

If you listen quietly, you can even hear the lamentations of their women.

kent said...

If you listen quietly, you can even hear the lamentations of their women.

Oh, great. Another Keith Olbermann thread.

Anonymous said...

These downballot win numbers coupled with the redistricting that's going to happen and the number of democrats that are up for reelection in two years does not paint a pretty picture for dems.

Couldn't happen to a MORE sanctimonious bunch I must say.

BTW: The replacement for Mad Dog Olbermann (heh, my spell check wanted to replace olbies name with Doberman!) has been withdrawn because of....wait for it, campaign donations!

I've been humming Zippity-Do-Da to myself all day!

Anonymous said...

"Oh, great. Another Keith Olbermann thread."

Heh.

I was referring of course to Garage Mahal, AlphaLiberal, et.al. But I can see how easily you might be confused.

former law student said...

The rascals were thrown out. Prepare to watch the pendulum swing every couple of years.

Democrats did get one or two seats in six states: California House (+1),

Amazing feat finding a seat to turn Democratic. I've always said you can't wet the ocean, but apparently you can. Republicans became such an endangered species, I joined up, out of my natural desire to support the underdog.

New Hampshire House (+117),

There's 117 seats to switch in tiny New Hampshire? Is every citizen in the legislature?

John Burgess said...

Sorry, Bounty, it's clear that TP is the 'better picker-upper'.

Anonymous said...

Not to worry.

The Republicans will wear out their welcome, too.

And, I voted for them this time.

Doesn't guarantee that I will vote for them next time.

New York State is mired in backwardness and ignorance. We're pretending that financial reality doesn't matter. Bankruptcy, who cares?

So we elected all the same old welfare state, tax and spend Democrats. Of course, New York has been in the hands of Democrats for so long that the Republicans don't even put up a serious fight.

We even elected Andrew Cuomo, the very definition of a welfare Democrat, as our governor. The son of the famous tax and spend Democratic legend, Mario Cuomo.

We can't get enough of that shit!

Only California outdoes us when it come to pure cussedness and a fatal determination to drive business and residents out of our state.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I'll say it again. You don't re-hire the contractor who knocked your house down. These party turnovers & shifts will be more and more common due to immediacy of quick data and facts via the internets/ blogs etc.

The old political dogs have a choice : invent some new tricks and you survive or die.

Anonymous said...

Lil' Andy StatusQuomo was already talking about building a high speed rail from NYC to Buffalo NY, just yesterday.

I kid you not. It feels like this state is beyond repair.

garage mahal said...

And the GOP says they won't compromise, on..... whatever it is they can't talk about. I saw 3 repubs this morning on tv flat out refusing to name one specific thing they intend to cut. Just that we need to talk, or discuss "it", or when really pressed for a specific "see Paul Ryans Roadmap".......which virtually no Republican in Congress will actually sponsor. The only consensus seems to be that they are concerned about debt, but we need to add to that debt and borrow hundreds of billions to pay for tax cuts that concern 2% of the population. And the poor, sick, and elderly may have to be the ones to tighten their belts. Awesome.

Peter V. Bella said...

Ah Garage,
The poor will always be with us. They have been with us since grog had fire and Ug did not.

Poverty is a choice. The only way to help the poor is not to join them.

TosaGuy said...

political talent in Washington typically starts out in state legislatures. Undoubtedly many of the local Dems left standing are in super blue districts and would have little to no chance of winning a statewide race. This is the aspect of an election that hurts a party in 5 to 10 years -- lack of talent ready to step up and run a competitive race.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

26 in the Minnesota State House..

Massachusetts Brown was not a fluke people..

former law student said...

You don't re-hire the contractor who knocked your house down.

Well, not right away. It takes a couple years.

Unknown said...

There's actually an inverse relationship between GOP victories and Ed Shultz's ability to control his temper. To wit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBjkaR19TRA

Hagar said...

There are going to be a lot of Republican candidates for President in the field for 2012 - the prospects look good.

The Republicam Party has been turning over for some time and is much farther along in that respect than the Democrats. Whatever you say about Trent Lott, he is very good at telling which way the wind is blowing, and there were reasons why he decided to "retire" and become a lobbyist.
The Democrats are still stuck with their dinosaurs living in the 60's and 70's, and it will be another decade at least before a new generation will rise in that party.

bagoh20 said...

California reelected nearly all the asses that bankrupted the place and added a Demcrat dinosaur as Governor to stamp more of the same. Somebody shoot me.

Randy said...

FLS:

There's 117 seats to switch in tiny New Hampshire? Is every citizen in the legislature?

Just about. ;-) Actually one out of every 3,000 residents is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. If the US House had the same ratio, it would have somewhere around 100,000 members!

Amazing feat finding a seat to turn Democratic.

Even more amazing, that California assembly seat change was in a traditionally GOP district. The GOP nominee was an attorney who happened to be one of the the highest profile proponents and defenders of Proposition 8.

In other news, the switch in Maine marks the first time since 1964 that the GOP controlled both the legislature and the governorship. Neither congressional race was particularly close, however.

Anonymous said...

"The Republicans will wear out their welcome, too."

We know that.

Republicans probably have no interest in doing what has to be done. What needs to be done is the complete evisceration of every Democrat Party funding mechanism that is built into the federal budget ... starting with the universities and public employee unions, the non-profit NGOs, stretching through to the NEA and other artsy-fartsy funding, and everything in between that benefits the Democrat Party.

All that money needs to be stripped from the federal budget before 1 cent is raised in new taxes.

Republicans either do it with this one last chance, or we will dump the brand and start fresh. Tea, anyone?

Any Republican who crosses the aisle to vote with Democrats is a traitor to our party and will be removed from it by us.

It's nothing personal. It's just business. And we're about the business of gutting Socialism everywhere it exists in this country before it's too late.

Hagar said...

A large number of the "new" Republicans were - like Scott Brown in MA - elected specifically on a platform of opposing the "Obama Agenda." It will be difficult for them to compromise with this Administration.

When one party wants to head north and the other west, they can compromise and go off in a northwesterly direction, more or less.
When one party wants to go north and the other south, there is little room for compromise; there is only stalemate or victory for one or the other.

Revenant said...

The fact that California was essentially unchanged this election underlines just how gerrymandered we are.

Hopefully it'll be different next election.

Kirby Olson said...

And Keith Olbermann lost his job.

MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...

While it's clear conservatives don't give two hoots about race (see Marco Rubio, Susanna Martinez, Brian Sandoval, Jaime Herrera, Tim Scott, Allen West, Nikki Haley, etc.), the left continues to be obsessed about race and Republicans.

I hope there's a reasonable amount of racial diversity in those newly elected Republicans at the state legislature level. Because I'm sure if there's not, we'll hear about it. Somebody on the crackerjack ThinkProgress staff is probably looking at pictures as I write this.

Anonymous said...

"The fact that California was essentially unchanged this election underlines just how gerrymandered we are."

Californians have been shielded from the ramifications of their actions because Barack Obama and the Democrats use your children's tax dollars to bail out the states which refuse to cut spending,

Even those states that have mandatory balanced budget amendments in their Constitutions (which are being violated with complete fucking impunity.)

Republicans have to stop the gravy train that Democrats have built into the federal government budget.

If Republicans don't have the will to do that, then we don't really need a Republican Party do we?

De. Fund. Democrats.

Anonymous said...

Everything will be reversed in 2012.

Here is what will happen.

1. GOP will lose 10 more seats than what they have won. Pelosi will be the Speaker again.

2. GOP Presidential Candidates will fight against each other. They will be immature. They will kill each other's agendas. They are: Palin, Perry, Jindal, Huckabee, Christie, Daniels, Thune, etc., etc.

3. The voters will say "The GOP are immature." We will go with the current POTUS.

4. Obama/Biden re-elected with over 55% of votes from across the nation. Easy 270+ electoral college votes.

Yes, the GOP is dead. They just do not know when. I know: Nov. 2012.

Anonymous said...

"Yes, the GOP is dead."

Heh. Baghdad Bob returns from the dead.

I thought your your story arc'd?

kent said...

Here is what will happen:

"America's Politico will promise to leave the Althouse site if he is wrong about the results of the 2010 midterms... but he will be, as usual, lying."

Anonymous said...

"When one party wants to head north and the other west, they can compromise and go off in a northwesterly direction, more or less."

When one party wants to destroy America ... there's no compromising with them.

Democrats don't want a better America. They want a finished America.

Fuck compromising with these elitist pricks. It's time to DEFEAT them. To beat them down into a raw bloody pulp and stomp them into the history books.

I don't want my political party membership mingling with these Socialists. Any Republican who steps a toe across the aisle better be prepared to have his foot chopped off.

Compromise?

Oh, my God ... pull yourself together! Is this a question? We will show Democrats that we remember they are Socialists and we will remind them who We are!

GO! FIGHT! WIN!

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Oh, America's Politico, you so crayzee.

LonewackoDotCom said...

The results were caused by, among other things, low turnout, the Dems cratering with the "white vote", fewer young people voting, and in general a decision to send a message to DC. They weren't caused by people suddenly deciding to be GOP or libertarian teaparty types, no matter how delusional the latter group wants to be.

And, the long-term trends are against the GOP due to the mass immig. that their leaders worked with the far-left to bring about. GWB is responsible for 5 million new illegal aliens and they might end up voting and their U.S. citizen children certainly will. And, the leaders of the teaparties also support mass immig. In other words, the teaparty base is following people whose policies reduce their power (in addition to raising their taxes). Stupid? Yes, the teaparties are incredibly stupid, even if those who are using them tell them otherwise.

--------------

Unfortunately, I have to add this:

Because teapartiers are vile idiots (see the link to follow) I have to point out that there's a 99% chance that any replies to this comment from 'partiers will be full of lies and smears. That's who they are and what they do. No teapartier has ever been able to present a valid, logical counter-argument to anything I've ever written. Instead, all they can do is lie and smear. That's part of the reason why I encouraged everyone to hold their noses and vote for every one of their opponents. And, I'm basing that on covering politics for over eight years in over 9000 posts. I have never seen a more malignant group than the teapartiers. See my site for all the details.

LonewackoDotCom said...

As I said, the teapartiers really are the lowest of the low. For proof, see my highly detailed teapartier coverage.

For examples of teapartiers lying and smearing, watch the replies to this comment. None of them will be able to offer even a slightly logical reply to my comment. Instead, they'll do what they do: lie and smear.

And, for an example of how 'partier lies and smears here don't just stay here and how those lies and smears are counter-productive, see my comment here:

bloggingheads.tv/forum/
showthread.php?p=186650&posted=1#post186650

Bruce Hayden said...

The timing is fortuitous, in regards to reapportionment. Most of the states have Congressional seats that will get gerrymandered this time, and they pretty much all have state legislative seats. The Dems still control CA and NY, and should be able to do some damage there to the GOP, but the GOP has far more this time around, and should be able to tilt the House in their direction for the rest of the decade.

Another thing though that may change with this - the implementation of measures designed to combat voter fraud. This is long over due in some states, such as Ohio. There are a lot of indications that over-voting is going on in some states at an alarming rate, and the election laws are loose enough to allow it to happen without much in the way of penalties.

Anonymous said...

"See my site for all the details."

Ann, can't you get rid of these spam advertissements?

Revenant said...

Sometimes I almost feel sorry for Lonewacko.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

I can't seem to find a collation of results in state Secretary of State races. They can have a critical role in close elections (see Al Franken) and as I recall the Dems made a concerted, Soros-funded, effort to capture as many of those offices as possible.

Anonymous said...

"Another thing though that may change with this - the implementation of measures designed to combat voter fraud."

That's another thing that the Republicans have one, final, last chance to deal with.

They had better pass legislation requiring proper ID at the polls. Too many illegal aliens are voting (witness the re-election of Harry Reid by hundreds of thousands of illegal voters).

This has two bad effects: it creates animosity towards immigrants as a whole (a deleterious effect that Democrats could care less about) and it leads to a general sense of lawlessness in the United States.

When pipe-wielding Black Panther thugs can intimidate white people outside the polls and get away with it ... then how much confidence can Americans really have in a system of voting?

If we can't vote the bums out owing to black intimidation at the polls, or illegal alien cheating, then we're pretty much left with the alternative of burning them out. That's not an America I want to see ... but if that's what it takes then let's get to lighting the fires.

Either way, the bums are out.

Anonymous said...

Lonewacko,

You are a wacko.

No, the Tea Party doesn't base its politics on Ayn Rand.

So, we can throw out everything you have to say, since this dubious assumptions is all you've got.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

While we shot ourselves in the foot here in California with the truly awful people we elected and re-elected, we at least passed Prop. 20, which put redistricting in the hands of a commission instead of the state legislature. I fully anticipate gross attempts to manipulate this structure, but at least nominally and temporarily redistricting will not be in the hands of the Dem legislature.

wv:mistate-- Democrat word for "lie"

Anonymous said...

Remember, everybody, FLS pledged to leave Althouse for good if DADT isn't repealed by Christmas. The countdown clock is now at 48 says!

Tyrone Slothrop said...

@shouting thomas

The short list of commenters I never read, and never respond to:

LoneWacko
Cedarford

Unknown said...

I have high hopes for Michigan. I would love to see the Repubs slash taxes and have an old fashioned land rush for ravaged Detroit. Something different!

We could then compare/contrast with CA, now solidly left from top to bottom, and about to embark on cap and tax and who knows what else.

Anonymous said...

I can't seem to find a collation of results in state Secretary of State races.

Try here

Unknown said...

You read that and you understand the significance of Dick Morris (whether you like him or not) saying that it doesn't matter whatever other elections you win, always make sure you win the ones ending in 0.

If you're a Demo, it's even scarier to contemplate that almost all the areas they hold are losing population. CA is losing House seats for the first time in 50 years.

LonewackoDotCom said...

The results were caused by, among other things, low turnout...

'Fraid not. Turnout was higher than '06.

WV "puggess" A lady pug.

PS There's a piece on Insta that contends that, given how the Zero & friends are progressing on the economy, it will take 20 years to get the level of unemployment back down to the 3 - 5% level.

Maybe it's time to start comparing The Zero not to Jimmy Carter, but to Herbert Hoover.

LonewackoDotCom said...

See, like I said, all the 'partiers can do is lie and smear. And, New "Hussein" Ham adds a tiny little dollop of something that's verging on fascism into the mix.

As for "shoutingthomas"'s claim, I've never said that everyone in the 'partiers is a Randroid. However, some of their leaders are. For instance, Armey wrote a WSJ editorial which contained at least a couple Randroid codewords. His useful idiots won't be able to pick up on it, but those in the loop hear his message loud and clear.

Here's a challenge: instead of lying and smearing, find the smartest teapartier and see if they can present a logical and valid counter-argument to anything I've ever written.

P.S. For another example of how stupid the partiers are, note that in many cases the partiers and I share opponents. Yet, instead of helping me - and thus helping them - all they can do is smear. They really are the lowest of the low.

Big Mike said...

@Professor, you have chosen some interesting words to describe the Republican state-level success in this post.

There's the word "extreme," which seems better associated with Democrats that are endeavoring through their health care "reform" to put faceless bureaucrats between a doctor and a patient at the same time that they run pro-abortion campaign ads that complain that it's the Republicans who want to put "the government" between a woman and her doctor.

Then you close with the image of "red creep[ing] down from the upper right-hand corner."

Sorry if we scare you, Ma'am, but voters -- even voters who happen to lack the J.D. or E.D. or Ph.D. after their name and who never even contemplated going to the Ivies or Stanford or Berkeley or Northwestern or Wisconsin -- kind of have a sense of where the Democrats want to take them and they don't want to go there.

Robin said...

Lonewhacko.com

The exit polling from the midterm election shows that just about all your claims are false. There was a tiny reduction in turnout for young Democrats, but it did not make the margin of victory. Rather, the large shift in independants moving away from Democrats to Republicans is what made the difference.

But you go ahead and delude yourself.

LonewackoDotCom said...

According to CNN, "between 126.5 million and 128.5 million Americans cast ballots" in 2008. The lower turnout I mentioned was in relation to that, not the last midterms. I can't find the figure for the 2010 turnout, but it's going to be a lot less.

And, the turnout in 2012 is going to be more in line with that from 2008 with many more young people voting.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Thank you, stevenehrbar, the precise info I wanted. By my count, Republicans outdid Democrats 17-9.

sunsong said...

This is great news. I am hopeful that the GOP leaders in the states will begin to get their fiscal houses in order and create a welcoming environment for honest, innovative and beneficial businesses.

Greed has shown what destruction it can bring. The States, being closer to the people, are more acountable and accessible. As they take responsiblity for themselves - good things can happen!

I am encouraged hearing talk of cutting public salaries and numbers. I would like to see public employees salaries tied to the states' economies and the employees clearly aware of that. As well as being informed that every so many years they will be reassessed as to how they are performing in their duties etc

LonewackoDotCom said...

Here are the stats for the last four on the number of young people (broadly defined) and whites voting. Obviously, it would have helped "Robin" to glance at my site first because that's right on the front page.

Anonymous said...

"Here's a challenge:"

Here's one for you dude. Quit fucking spamming the comment section of this blog with ads for your blog begging people to sniff your scat.

It's rude, you fucking asshat.

tim maguire said...

The NYS Senate flipped from D to R, which is pretty impressive considering what a basket case the NY Republican party is. It's the first real gain for Republicans here in a very long time.

Hagar said...

edutcher,

George W. ~ Herbert Hoover

Obama ~ FDR




Wv: fochit!

Bruce Hayden said...

Another part of this that is going to be very, very interesting is what happens in the next year or so when CA and NY go belly up. CA has apparently removed the requirement for a super majority to increase taxes (?) But both states are losing businesses at an alarming rate due to their tax burdens, and it is likely to jut get worse, as their finances continue to deteriorate.

Before this election, they could expect the federal government to bail them out. Indeed, they already have to some extent with the porkuluous bill, etc. But they have huge public employee pension problems as well as welfare/Medicaid problems. I don't see them being able to tax their way out of their holes, and having the Dems, beholden to the welfare and public employee interests, in charge is just going to make things worse.

Up until the 111th Congress adjourns for the last time, these states have a chance at being bailed out. After all, their Congressional delegations are the strongest in the Democratic caucus. But that all changes in January. Californian Nasty Pelosi will no longer be Speaker, and all those other NY and CA committee chairs will no longer have their power. And I just don't see the rest of the states putting up with these feckless states being bailed out at the expense of the rest of the country - esp. if a lot of these other states get their budgets under control.

Richard Fagin said...

Its deeper than even the cited story reports. Texas may pick up four House seats in the upcoming reapportionment. Massachusetts had 12 when I moved away in 1978. It will have 9 after the current reapportionment. New York had 39, and may have 27 afterward. Florida may pick up 3 House seats. California will not pick up House seats for nearly the only time since it became a state in 1850.

It may not even be necessary to send the state police after absent Democrats to get a redistricting vote in the Texas legislature this time.

Anonymous said...

Here's a challenge: instead of lying and smearing, find the smartest teapartier and see if they can present a logical and valid counter-argument to anything I've ever written.

Here's a challenge: See if you can remember to take your medication tonight.

Bruce Hayden said...

George W. ~ Herbert Hoover

Obama ~ FDR
.

Are you suggesting that Obama will get credit where none is due? Or will get the credit that FDR finally has gotten for turning a business downturn into more than a decade of depression through his various programs and policies, changing apparently fairly often?

Frankly, I think that the better equivalence is Obama <= Carter.

Leland said...

The state gains will have ramifications for the next decade. With the 2010 census completed, Republicans will have control of the redistricting.

Anonymous said...

Yes, the GOP is dead. They just do not know when. I know: Nov. 2012.

America's Pothead, the next election is easy to handicap.

If the stock market continues to rise and unemployment drops below 7%, Obama will be re-elected. If he can get American troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq in some shape that resembles honor, that's a plus.

If not, he loses.

So, the real questions are:

1. Will Obama commit suicide by raising taxes and increasing regulation?

Or,

2. Will Obama decide to leave taxes and regulation at their current levels?

Or,

3. Will Obama just get lucky and ride the resurgent economy in two years?

Possible wildcards: another major terrorist attack; unforeseeable legal problems caused by corruption of black race hustlers; and things you just can't imagine happening.

Shit happens that you can't foresee.

Fen said...

If you listen quietly, you can even hear the lamentations of their women.

"Oh, great. Another Keith Olbermann thread."

Ha.

You made me forget what I was going to say...

Hagar said...

Bruce,

Hoover and George W. had bubbles burst on their watch. FDR's Administration parlayed a sharp recession into a world-wide decade long Great Depression, and Obama and his Administration looks to be bent on following suit.

Anonymous said...

And Lonewacko, since you seem to want to come up with a grand theory to explain the Tea Party, let me give you a hint.

If you were the brilliant analyst you think you are you would know this.

The patron saint and philosophical hero of the Tea Party is President Ronald Reagan.

Start from here and build your paranoid conspiracy outward. At least make a little sense.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

shoutingthomas said...

If the stock market continues to rise and unemployment drops below 7%, Obama will be re-elected.


With the Fed printing money like Larry Flynt published porn, the stock market will rise in the short term. Bonds will suffer, and the cost of essentials will continue to skyrocket. The things everyone has to buy, food and fuel, will be so expensive that no paper recovery will make up for it in the minds of the electorate. Obama will try to blame the House, but it won't stick. Despite the brilliant analysis by America's Politico, Obama is a one-term president.

John Burgess said...

@Tyrone (btw, envy you the name):

Secretaries of State are usually appointed, not elected. You can expect to see a whole new rash of them come January.

@Lonewacko: Here it comes, unadorned with lies or smears:

>>> You're a fucking idiot.

Anonymous said...

With the Fed printing money like Larry Flynt published porn, the stock market will rise in the short term. Bonds will suffer, and the cost of essentials will continue to skyrocket. The things everyone has to buy, food and fuel, will be so expensive that no paper recovery will make up for it in the minds of the electorate.

Could be, but predicting the future is impossible. I'll withhold judgment and observe day by day.

Has the cost of essential been skyrocketing? I haven't noticed.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it is true that I lost the election. My scientific polling prediction (224 in House and 54 in Senate) were off (more in House and less so in Senate). And, yes, my (now former) GF and future in-laws are keeping me at arm's length. And, yes, I am staying away from this good blog.

But, every now and then I will come and share my thoughts. Not to avoid my decision but to help you. Yes, I like to help the GOP save money, time, and energy.

Bottom line:

- GOP is having a false hope. Hope is not a strategy but a sentiment.

- GOP will never take the Senate. Ever.

- GOP will never win the Presidency in 2012 Ever.

- GOP House will be one mistake after another. Expect Pelosi to re-take the House (GOP -70+ seats) in Nov. 2012.

GOP is good at distraction. You can imagine the chaos with Palin, Perry, Huckabee, Thune, Daniels, etc. in the mix for 2012 sweep-stakes. It will be a soap opera that everyone in the world will pay to watch.

No, you are not going anywhere. You are destined to lose - it is written. This temporary victory is just a decoy. Wait till Nov. 2012, you will wish that you were back in time (Nov. 2010). Yes, it is going to be that brutal.

N.B.: No, I am not in the WH good books anymore. I failed to generate the House predictions. No one is returning my calls. But, I am a loyal democrat. I know the GOP is the party of hopeful losers who are just facing extinction (Nov. 2012).

What are your options? Forget GOP and give your time, energy and money to Obama-Biden. Now. Today.

Bruce Hayden said...

Hoover and George W. had bubbles burst on their watch. FDR's Administration parlayed a sharp recession into a world-wide decade long Great Depression, and Obama and his Administration looks to be bent on following suit.

Looks like we are in agreement then.

Hagar said...

Thomas,

Bernanke has just announced he is going to speed up the money presses. It takes a little time for the inflation to follow, but i's acoming.

Weimar, Argentina, Mexico are great examples to follow!

blake said...

What are your options? Forget GOP and give your time, energy and money to Obama-Biden. Now. Today.

Gosh, it's like when your favorite show goes off the air, and then comes back for a reunion special.

Anonymous said...

Forget GOP and give your time, energy and money to Obama-Biden. Now. Today.

I never dreamed I'd be saying this, but America's Pollyanna is right. We need to get behind the people who've proven that they know how to beat the Democrats.

Anonymous said...

but we need to add to that debt and borrow hundreds of billions to pay for tax cuts that concern 2% of the population

Laugh out loud funny.

You believe these "facts" because you are not that bright and easily misled.

Fen said...

AmericanPolitico: No, you are not going anywhere. You are destined to lose - it is written.

Yes, but I have NOW have the book it is written" in!

*rip* *rip* *rip*

Bwahahahahaha!

Anonymous said...

nd the poor, sick, and elderly may have to be the ones to tighten their belts. Awesome.

You really are parody at this point.

Anonymous said...

And here is the grandma with the gavel (for 2 more months) pretending it is all messaging:

In a letter sent to fellow Democratic lawmakers Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California expresses confidence that she will be elected minority leader and calls for the party to “further modernize” and “communicate” the message that helped them win the House in 2006.
"In addition, we must build the capacity for effectively communicating our message of job creation and opportunity for all, while supporting our signature achievements of health care, Wall Street reform, and Social Security and Medicare," she wrote. "In the 2006 election with our ‘New Direction’ and ‘6 for 06’ message, we spoke with great clarity and unity — and we won. Now, we must further modernize not only that message but the way in which we communicate with constituents."



She, like Obama, is delusional.

Anonymous said...

Secretaries of State are usually appointed, not elected. You can expect to see a whole new rash of them come January.

Not true; they're elected 83% of the time. (Elected position in 39 states, governor-appointed in 6 states, legislature-selected in 2 states, not a position at all in 3 states.)

Alex said...

Because teapartiers are vile idiots (see the link to follow) I have to point out that there's a 99% chance that any replies to this comment from 'partiers will be full of lies and smears. That's who they are and what they do. No teapartier has ever been able to present a valid, logical counter-argument to anything I've ever written.

Lonewhacko.com - I bet 90% of tea partiers would say "huh?" if you brought up Ayn Rand or libertarian philosophy. All these people want is smaller and more efficient government, do away with racial quotas and strong national defense. It really is THAT simple.

Alex said...

Let's summarize again what the Tea Party stands for:

* smaller & efficient government
* do away with racial quotas
* strong illegal immigration enforcement
* strong & sane national defense policies

How can anyone disagree with that unless they're a whacko-lib?

Unknown said...

Hagar said...

edutcher,

George W. ~ Herbert Hoover

Obama ~ FDR


The Zero is no FDR (and I didn't even know FDR).

What Dubya received was a rebuke in the normal stream of American politics (see Krauthammer's latest column). Had The Zero told the truth and done what he said he would do for most of the campaign he would do, we would be limping toward some sort of recovery.

That he went hard core Lefty on the country and made things demonstrably worse places the Demos in a very bad position. Nobody sees any improvement coming soon and, if we have some kind of "lost decade" due to inflation (quantitative easing) or another dip in the economy (housing, education, etc.), the whole Democrat societal model with all its Leftist apparatchiks, I think, will have been completely discredited and the the Demos will be in the wilderness for a very long time.

As I said, Who But Hoover?

former law student said...

FDR's Administration parlayed a sharp recession into a world-wide decade long Great Depression

right. The Great Depression didn't end till the massive Keynesian event called "The US declares war on the axis," in which the National Debt reached the dizzying peak of 120% of GDP. Luckily every subsequent President reduced the National Debt as a percent of GDP until, unfortunately, Reagan instituted his Voodoo Economics.

Worsened by the Bush family, Voodoo took all the margin out of the economy.

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...

The depth of the slaughter at the state level is hard to describe. After 20 years of Democrat and liberal governors here in Kansas, a very conservative Republican won by a 2-to-1 margin.

Our local state rep, a Republican who typically carried the district 58-32, won by better than a 3-to-1 margin. Conservative Republicans won every statewide office by wide margins, generally approaching 2-to-1.

In our federal Congressional district, represented by a supposed "Blue Dog" since 1998 -- a man typically winning by 60-40 margins -- the Republican won by more than 20 points.

In our county, and counties are an important level of government out here in flyover country, the liberal county chair (=mayor)lost here position handily to an old white guy with a proven record of reducing expenses and cutting taxes as the mayor of the largest city in the county.

Even at the level of out little township government, people voted overwhelmingly for the fiscal conservative.

This was a drubbing of historic proportions, in which the message from top to bottom is very clear -- stop spending so goddamned much money on frivolous shit.

If the Republicans can't figure that out, they run the risk of following the Whigs into oblivion.

garage mahal said...

This was a drubbing of historic proportions

It was. And we'll exactly who to blame for these historic majorities in oh, about 2 yrs. If not sooner.

John said...

"It was. And we'll exactly who to blame for these historic majorities in oh, about 2 yrs. If not sooner."

Garage you will never see another Dem majority in your lifetime. 2008 was the last chance your ideas will ever get. They have failed everywhere they have been tried. You are a man of the past.

garage mahal said...

Hey, just trying to keep 'em accountable, as the Tea Party would say. Is it too soon to ask where my 20% tax cut from Scott Walker is? Is it too soon to ask why Scott Walker is waffling on his pledge to stop high speed rail in Wisc already? Is it too soon to ask why John Boehner said earmarks are untouchable?

When can I stand with Tea Partiers about the socialist earmark promise broken? When does ObamaCare get repealed? When do the massive entitlement cuts start? If I have to wait indefinitely, why did I vote Republican? Where are the Tea Party rallies against these monstrosities? It seems like Tea Partiers only get mad when Democrats are spending. HELP.

I just want to be VIGILANT.

Anonymous said...

unfortunately, Reagan instituted his Voodoo Economics.

That's funny.

On a Democratic Congress no less!

Your ignorance is staggering.

Anonymous said...

It seems like Tea Partiers only get mad when Democrats are spending. HELP.

The Democrats still control congress.

Again, your posts are parody.

Anonymous said...

he Great Depression didn't end till the massive Keynesian event called "The US declares war on the axis,

Um, spending on a war is not "Keynesian"

But again, you're not that bright and easily misled.

So how would you know?

damikesc said...

And World War II didn't end the Depression.

The death of untold millions of Europeans and the levelling of pretty much every industrial power in the world except the US did that.

CrankyProfessor said...

Guess you can't call it a bi-coastal elite, given the red legislatures that touch the water now.

Fen said...

garage: And we'll exactly who to blame for these historic majorities in oh, about 2 yrs

Nope. By your own Obama-standard, we get to bitch for at least two years about the mess we inherited from the Democrats.

kent said...

And, yes, I am staying away from this good blog.

But, every now and then I will come and share my thoughts.

"One of these things is not like the other;
One of these things doesn't belong.
Can you guess which thing is not like the other,
Before I finish my song."

former law student said...

I should start collecting Jay's howlers:

spending on [World War II was] not "Keynesian"


damikesc said...
And World War II didn't end the Depression.

garage mahal said...

I should start collecting Jay's howlers:

Hoarder.

Revenant said...

Californians have been shielded from the ramifications of their actions because Barack Obama and the Democrats use your children's tax dollars to bail out the states which refuse to cut spending

I think you have us confused with Michigan or New York. California hasn't gotten a bailout and isn't likely to ever get one. We also pay more in federal taxes than we receive in benefits.

Anonymous said...

I should start collecting Jay's howlers:

Really.

Really?

Can you please point me to anything written by Keynes or anyone for that matter, that one principal tenets central to Keynesianism is war spending?

Thanks in advance.

Randy said...

Revenant: It will be interesting to see what happens after the theoretically independent redistricting committee does its job, once the subsequent inevitable court challenges are resolved. I don't think that the GOP can blame everything on the 2001 gerrymander, though. They won 32 seats in the state assembly in 2002 and then promptly began losing a few supposedly solid R districts, ending up the decade with only 28 seats. That said, combining all votes cast for either D or R in all 80 districts, the GOP garnered about 46% of the two-party vote in 2010. That's a pretty solid number, so they should gain seats after the next reapportionment, but their recent track record doesn't inspire confidence.

AlphaLiberal said...

Uh, this post you're citing is factually wrong. The numbers for Wisconsin are not the "gains" which are seats above the party's previous numbers.

Instead, they are the total numbers.

"Wisconsin House (+26) and Wisconsin Senate (+16),"

If Republicans had GAINed 16 seats, they would have every seat in the Wisconsin state Senate.

OTOH, I doubt there is only 1 R in the California chamber.

This is a) overstating the R victory and b) mixing up numbers. The author seems hopelessly confused.

former law student said...

Can you please point me to anything written by Keynes or anyone for that matter, that one principal tenets central to Keynesianism is war spending?

War spending is one type of government spending. In the Keynesian model, government spending makes up for weak private sector spending, increasing the demand for labor, which results in full employment.

Look at Nazi Germany, which created jobs through rearmament spendiing. This let them pull out of the Depression by 1936, years before the war began.

Then look at the US over 1940-41. Unemployment shrank to under a million as the US built military goods as the "Arsenal of Democracy." Resulting demand for consumer goods reached the point where rationing was implemented, in mid 1942. War bonds became a way to siphon off consumers' surplus cash, which had too few goods to chase.