Archive for the ‘ Candidates ’ Category

There are a series of primaries happening tonight and it reminded me that the 2010 mid-term elections are almost here.  While the Massachusetts Senate election drew a lot of attention, it was a special election and not part of the election cycle for the rest of the nation.  With one-third of the Senate seats, all of the House seats, and 36 Governor seats up for grabs, this mid-term election cycle should be interesting and exciting.

In the Massachusetts Senate 2010 special election, the nation was surprised to see Scott Brown win to fill the vacancy left by the death of Ted Kennedy.  What other surprises are we in for this year?  Could Vice President Joe Biden’s seat go to a Republican?  How about the Pennsylvania Governorship?  Will the Democrats lose control of the Senate?  There are many scenarios waiting to unfold by November this year.

The one race I am really interested in is the Nevada Senate race where Majority Leader Harry Reid currently trails the two Republican primary candidates.  Republicans Danny Tarkanian and Sue Lowden have both been polling around 10 points higher than Reid in recent weeks, even though he has been raising and spending millions of dollars in his quest for six more years in office. 

As I did with the 2008 Presidential primaries and election, I will track these races to the best of my ability so you can stay up to speed.  Obviously I won’t be able to track all of the House races, but I will highlight some of the more interesting ones as we go along.  I will, however, create a tracking post for the Gubernatorial and Senate races so we can see who the individual candidates are and track to see how well the parties do when the election day arrives.

Speaking of parties, I will also track down as many of the third-party candidates as well.  The Libertarian, Constitution, Green, and Reform parties often attempt to create a beachhead in national politics during the Congressional races.  And while we are talking parties, I’m looking forward to see if the Tea Party movement will put up their own candidates this year, or if they will simply be placing their weight behind various Conservative or other candidates.

The Massachusetts 2010 election served as our springboard into the mid-term elections this year.  It is time to turn our attention away from a single state and start watching the races nation wide.  How will the balance of power shift in ten months?  Stay tuned to find out.

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Scott Brown

Leah L. Burton presents Scott Brown ~ Another Hatriot Runs for Office as a ?Moderate? posted at God’s Own Party?.

Examining if Scott Brown is a stealth religious-right Republican, and what his connection is with Sarah Palin.

Scott Spiegel presents Dems Weigh Options: Senate-Packing, Queen Olympia, Mass Kidnapping posted at Scott Spiegel.

Exploring the options Congressional Democrats have in regards to Health Care Reform now that Scott Brown won the election.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Joe "Vote 60" No Mo’ posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.

A poem about Joe Lieberman and his loss of influence following Scott Brown’s victory (making him the Republican’s 41st vote).

Related articles:
Rough Fractals – "Election Day"
Gigabum – "No easy rescue plan for health care"
Liberal Values – "Brown Defeats Coakley, Benefiting From Mindless Rage"
Len Penzo – "Black Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #30"

National Security

The Angry Anarchist presents 3D Scanners ? What Asses! posted at The Angry Anarchist – Opinion . Uncensored . That IS Anarchy.

Covering the implementation of the new 3-D scanners in airports.

Allen Scott presents My No Nonsense Plan for Homeland Security posted at A View from the Nest.

REMARKS:  A little tongue and cheek absurdity addressing the absurd.

Contributing members:

If you wish to be a contributing member, please visit the Political Blog Listing for more information.


Economy

Steve Mustanski presents Obama Proposes New Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee posted at Conservative Patriot HQ.

Exploring the proposed "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee," who would be impacted by it, and how it can hurt the economy.

eWorldVu – "Big Bank Reform Means Buy More Bank Of America"
QandO – "Warren Buffet – Bank Levy Makes No Sense"
SENATUS – "Shelby Seeks Hearings on Obama Bank Risk Proposal"

Obama’s First Year

ella moss presents 1 YEAR OLD PRESIDENCY « Zodiac Times posted at Zodiac Times.

REMARKS:  Obama’s bum rap .

Related articles:
Chicagoray’s Views and News – "Obama’s First Year: By the Numbers (Kind Of)"
 Just Politics..? – "Obama: Add Some Carter and Clinton, Then Stir"

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Congratulations to Senate-elect Scott Brown on an astounding victory last night.  He performed better than I though, coming in with a 5% lead over his competitor Martha Coakley.  Not only did he win the election, he won the seat held by Ted Kennedy for 46 years.  But I think some people are jumping ahead of themselves at the moment and proposing the following:

That’s right.  The dust hasn’t even settled from yesterday’s election and people are already wondering if he will run for President.  What is this rush for instant escalation in political power following an election?  The same question was brought up when Bob McDonnell won the election for Governor of Virginia last year.  Is the Republican party seriously in need of a leader?  Is the media seriously looking for the face of the Obama opposition?

Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for either of those questions.  But for the Republicans who are already clamoring over Brown hoping that he will put his hat in the right, let me remind you of something.  One of the biggest complaints Republicans had over then-Senator Obama was that he had very little national/political experience.  This was the same argument made by Democrats over Sarah Palin.

True, Brown has 18 years of political experience within the Massachusetts political environment, meaning he isn’t new to the limelight.  He has served in the Army National Guard, providing him with leadership experience and serving abroad.  But much of this is localized experience.  If we reflect back on the 2008 election, candidates had started campaigning as early as 2006.  If that climate repeats itself for the 2012 election, campaigning will begin this year (probably right after the midterm elections).  That means Brown would only have 10 months as a US Senator before seeking the nomination of the Republican party.

That is too fast, especially for a politician that we don’t fully know yet.  Give Brown time to serve in office and, if he feels the urge, then run for office in 2016.  In the mean time, let the man focus on the pending issues that are awaiting him when he is sworn in next week.

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Much like the Virginia and New Jersey Governor’s races last year were watched carefully as if they were a referendum on President Obama’s performance to date, the same is true in Massachusetts with the special election to fill the Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy.  The initial impression was that Martha Coakley was going to easily slip in and finish out the rest of Kennedy’s term.  After all, what was the likelihood that a Republican would win in the Massachusetts, let alone Ted Kennedy’s seat?

Scott Brown was elected to the state Senate in 2004 after serving six years in the state House of Representatives.  He won his Senate seat in a special election when the incumbent resigned.  If he were to win tomorrow, this would be the second Senate seat he has won during a special election (interesting talking point). 

Up until last month, he was trailing behind Coakley by double-digit points in the polls, but a series of gaffes by his Democratic candidate and a mismanaged campaign has allowed him to close the gap.  In fact, some late polls this week and weekend show Brown leading by up to 9 points.  But the only poll that counts is the one tomorrow … when the voters make their pick.

I’m not sold on the latest polls showing Brown is in the lead.  He has definitely closed the gap and picked up many independent voters, but will that be enough to overcome the “Kennedy seat” mindset?  Currently, all the House and Senate seats from Massachusetts are held by Democrats, meaning Brown’s victory would be a coup for the Republicans.  This would be the third major upset for the Democrats after sweeping power in 2008 and could foreshadow things to come.

Can he do it?  Maybe, but I’m thinking Coakley carries this by less than 2%.

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Scott Brown

Leah L. Burton presents Rebiblican Candidate Watch UPDATE: January 8, 2010 posted at God’s Own Party?.

The author is covering three Republican candidates currently running in the 2010 elections:  John Tanner, Bradley Byrne, and Scott Brown.

DWSUWF presents Scott Brown in Massachusetts: Hope or Delusion? posted at Divided We Stand – United We Fall.

REMARKS:  Scott Brown is doing some very smart things. Challenging Massachusetts voters to rethink the notion that this senate seat is an entitlement of the Democratic Party was exactly the right thing to do. In addition, he is soft pedaling the commitment required by voters, noting there are only three years left in the term. Saying in effect – Just try it out for while. If you don’t like it you don’t have to buy. Very smart salesmanship – first deal with the
objection, then
make it easy to sign on the dotted line.

Related articles:
Political Lore – "Scott Brown May Actually Win Massachusetts"
The New Clarion – "A Symbolic Incident"

Terrorism in Detroit

TheWashingtonMistress presents Yemen bomber arrested for Euthanasia posted at THE WASHINGTON MISTRESS.

REMARKS: This is a satirical article about the underwear bomber from Yemen and his "desire to euthanize" Detroit.

Scott Spiegel presents Liberal Syntax: A Noun, a Verb, and a Bush Smear posted at Scott Spiegel.

Comparing the first years of Bush and Obama in regards to national security. Sites how Obama chose to ignore the lessons under Bush, and how that made it more probably for the Ft. Hood and Detroit incidents to happen.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Rudy "Noun and a Verb and a 9-11" Giuliani Loses His Mind posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

A poem about Rudy Giuliani’s comment about there being no domestic terrorist attacks in the United States under Bush.

Related articles:
Chicagoray’s Views and News – "Yemen al-Qaeda link to Guantanamo Bay prision (And how Libs Fought to Set Them Free?)"
Connecting.the.Dots – "Presidential Testosterone"

Contributing members:

If you wish to be a contributing member, please visit the Political Blog Listing for more information.


Economy

Nick Ottens presents Capitalism Under Persecution posted at Atlantic Sentinel.

REMARKS: Defenders of capitalism have become scarce and capitalism itself, a forgotten ideal.

Wenchypoo presents D-I-Y Economic Reform–Starving the Evil Piggies posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.

Ten ways for you (and the government) can save money by doing tasks yourself.  This is a good read with some common sense points.

Related articles:
QandO – "By George The Stimulus Worked!  We Say So!"
Cato @ Liberty – "America vs. Europe"
Liberal Values – "David Axelrod Compares Government Spending Under Democrats vs. Republicans"

Miscellaneous

Steven and Debra presents Government False-flag Operations and Operation Northwoods posted at The END TIMES Hoax.

REMARKS:  Could our very own government be the enemy?

Scott Spiegel presents Reid to African Americans: "I Come Too Far From Where I Started From" posted at Scott Spiegel.

Exploring Harry Reid’s racially sensitive comments about Obama during the 2008 campaign, and comparing it to what was said by Trent Lott.

gaston delesdandroux presents » Book Review: An American’s Story by Gaston Delesdandroux – Blogger News Network posted at Blogger News Network.

REMARKS:  Review of my book about my time in the US Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a Cryptographer reviewed by Simon Barret. The politics of the Vietnam War and the Cuban Crisis are detailed. FREE COPIES to give away of this eBook. Thank you for your consideration.

David presents Jay Leno Reportedly Returning to Tonight Show posted at HollyWood Celebrities.

Covering the Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno battle over the Tonight Show.

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