(CNSNews.com) - John Allison, who for two decades served as chairman and CEO of BB&T, the nation's 10th largest bank, told CNSNews.com it is a “mathematical certainty” that the United States government will go bankrupt unless it dramatically changes its fiscal direction.
Allison likened what he sees as the predictable future bankruptcy of the United States to the problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose insolvency he also said was foreseeable to those who studied their business practices and financial situation.
“I think the first thing we have to realize is where we’re going and to face it objectively,” Allison told CNSNews.com, when asked about the trillion-dollar-plus deficits the federal government has run for three straight years, the more than $13 trillion in federal debt, and the $61.9 trillion long-term shortfall the government faces (according to the analysis of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation) if the government is to pay all the benefits it has promised through entitlement programs.
“If you run the numbers, on all those numbers that you just talked about, which I think are accurate, very accurate, in 20 or 25 years, the United States goes bankrupt,” said Allison. “It’s a mathematical certainty.
“It reminds me very much of that story I told you about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae,” said Allison. “We were running the numbers, and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae went bankrupt, and we got there. In 20 or 25 years, the United States goes bankrupt.
“Now, countries don’t go bankrupt the way companies do,” said Allison. “They don’t file bankruptcy. They usually hyper-inflate. They print a bunch of paper money, or they become Third World economies like Argentina--unless we change direction. So, we absolutely have to change direction. And the irony of that is it requires an interesting combination. It requires both discipline, but it also requires a focus on growing our economy. And it means a fundamental philosophical change from where we are today, from the idea of redistributing wealth to the idea of creating wealth.”
In his interview with CNSNews.com Allison said that when belonged to the Financial Services Roundtable they examined Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and determined they were going bankrupt. Congressional leaders, however, did not heed their analysis.
“I was on a committee, a Financial Services Roundtable, for nine years trying to do something about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae,” said Allison.
“You couldn’t help but see it coming,” he said. “You ran the numbers, particularly the last several years, and it was mathematically certain Freddie and Fannie were going bankrupt.”
“We met with Congress. We met with [House Financial Services Chairman] Barney Frank and [Senate Banking Chairman] Chris Dodd and they absolutely wouldn’t see it,” said Allison.
Allison became president of BB&T in 1987 and was elected chairman in 1989. He remained CEO through 2008. He is now distinguished professor of practice at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. By 2009, according to rankings done by SNL Financial, BB&T had grown into the nation's 10th largest bank.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Olbermann Suspended From MSNBC But Why?
Nice Deb - CBS News, Political Hotsheet reports the glorious news:
Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay from MSNBC for making donations to three Democrats in violation of NBC’s ethics policy.
“I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night,” Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, said in a statement. “Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”
Olbermann, who does not hide his liberal views, has acknowledged donations of $2,400 each to Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords during this election cycle.
NBC’s ethics policy generally bars political activity, including contributions, without the approval of the president of NBC News, Steve Capus, according to a 2007 story on MSNBC.com.
Ed Morrissey doubts the suspension will last past the weekend.
See also
Olbermann Watch: Olbermann Caught! Gave Thousands to Dem Candidates Then Anchored Election Coverage!
The Blog Prof: MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann suspended without pay for Democrat campaign contributions
I don’t get this one. MSNBC has suspended Keith Olbermann because he contributed to several Democrat campaigns. Apparently, MSNBC wants to maintain it’s image as a non-biased news organization. Which engenders this response from me: WHAT?!? Are they kidding? The man’s 8pm show ought to be listed as an in-kind contribution to the DNC. Good grief. Really – is this a big deal? The cat’s been out of that bag so long ago that it’s dead.
Drew says: Schadenfreude overdose.
Newsbusters: BREAKING: MSNBC Suspends Keith Olbermann Indefinitely
Tweet ‘o the day: @Doc_0: Olbermann suspended? Hey, this “Restoring Sanity” thing is really catching on!
AnnCoulter‘s having too much fun on Twitter:
Olberdork indefinitely suspended????? very sad. I will miss watching the pompous, know-nothing fruitcake.
—
I can’t believe they’d treat a graduate of Cornell’s agricultural college this way.
—
(LOL!)
Great – now, how are we supposed to know who the Worst Person in the World is? Thanks, MSNBC!
MORE:
Egad…A disturbing replacement idea has emerged….
Michelle Malkin: Support Olbermann? No freaking way; Poll added: Who should replace Olbermann?
I like RS McCain’s take: Stunning Discovery: Shadowy Corporate Donors Contribute to Political Campaigns
I was not shocked to learn that MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann had contributed to Democrats. What truly shocked me? Finding out that NBC has an “ethics policy”!
See Da Techguy for some “serious snarkitude”.
UPDATE:
Hot Air: TV Newser: “Insiders” say Olbermann won’t be back
Allah makes some great points:
What bugs me about suspending Olby for “ethics” infractions is that, if only in a nominal way, it lets MSNBC go on pretending that its commentators are journalists. It’s like when a major paper runs a “news” story that’s obviously slanted to the left and which happens to contain a spelling error. They’ll happily issue a correction for the misspelling but the bias goes unmentioned; that’s their way of signaling to readers that they’re scrupulous about accuracy even while they’re dropping hatchet jobs on conservatives while professing impartiality all the while. As Ed noted earlier, it’s a sick joke to suggest that Olby throwing a few thou to Democratic candidates is an unpardonable journalistic sin while that horror show that MSNBC happily aired on Tuesday night is just good reportorial funsies for the viewers at home. I don’t care how many posters of Murrow Olby has on his wall: He’s not a reporter, he’s not a journalist, and no one but no one but no one thinks that he is, so why are journalistic ethics being applied to him?
Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay from MSNBC for making donations to three Democrats in violation of NBC’s ethics policy.
“I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night,” Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, said in a statement. “Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”
Olbermann, who does not hide his liberal views, has acknowledged donations of $2,400 each to Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords during this election cycle.
NBC’s ethics policy generally bars political activity, including contributions, without the approval of the president of NBC News, Steve Capus, according to a 2007 story on MSNBC.com.
Ed Morrissey doubts the suspension will last past the weekend.
See also
Olbermann Watch: Olbermann Caught! Gave Thousands to Dem Candidates Then Anchored Election Coverage!
The Blog Prof: MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann suspended without pay for Democrat campaign contributions
I don’t get this one. MSNBC has suspended Keith Olbermann because he contributed to several Democrat campaigns. Apparently, MSNBC wants to maintain it’s image as a non-biased news organization. Which engenders this response from me: WHAT?!? Are they kidding? The man’s 8pm show ought to be listed as an in-kind contribution to the DNC. Good grief. Really – is this a big deal? The cat’s been out of that bag so long ago that it’s dead.
Drew says: Schadenfreude overdose.
Newsbusters: BREAKING: MSNBC Suspends Keith Olbermann Indefinitely
Tweet ‘o the day: @Doc_0: Olbermann suspended? Hey, this “Restoring Sanity” thing is really catching on!
AnnCoulter‘s having too much fun on Twitter:
Olberdork indefinitely suspended????? very sad. I will miss watching the pompous, know-nothing fruitcake.
—
I can’t believe they’d treat a graduate of Cornell’s agricultural college this way.
—
(LOL!)
Great – now, how are we supposed to know who the Worst Person in the World is? Thanks, MSNBC!
MORE:
Egad…A disturbing replacement idea has emerged….
Michelle Malkin: Support Olbermann? No freaking way; Poll added: Who should replace Olbermann?
I like RS McCain’s take: Stunning Discovery: Shadowy Corporate Donors Contribute to Political Campaigns
I was not shocked to learn that MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann had contributed to Democrats. What truly shocked me? Finding out that NBC has an “ethics policy”!
See Da Techguy for some “serious snarkitude”.
UPDATE:
Hot Air: TV Newser: “Insiders” say Olbermann won’t be back
Allah makes some great points:
What bugs me about suspending Olby for “ethics” infractions is that, if only in a nominal way, it lets MSNBC go on pretending that its commentators are journalists. It’s like when a major paper runs a “news” story that’s obviously slanted to the left and which happens to contain a spelling error. They’ll happily issue a correction for the misspelling but the bias goes unmentioned; that’s their way of signaling to readers that they’re scrupulous about accuracy even while they’re dropping hatchet jobs on conservatives while professing impartiality all the while. As Ed noted earlier, it’s a sick joke to suggest that Olby throwing a few thou to Democratic candidates is an unpardonable journalistic sin while that horror show that MSNBC happily aired on Tuesday night is just good reportorial funsies for the viewers at home. I don’t care how many posters of Murrow Olby has on his wall: He’s not a reporter, he’s not a journalist, and no one but no one but no one thinks that he is, so why are journalistic ethics being applied to him?
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
African-American Consevatives Scott-West Headed To Capital Hill
While Democrats managed to hang on to the majority of the Senate there will be no African-American members among them. Roland Burris, the only current African-American senator, is retiring. None of the three African-American candidates — Democrats Kendrick Meek, Alvin Greene and Mike Thurmond — won on Tuesday, according to CNN.
Only six black senators have ever served in the U.S. Senate: three Republicans and three Democrats — including President Barack Obama.
On the House front however, CEDRIC RICHMOND, a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives since 2000, defeated the one-term Republican incumbent Anh “Joseph” Cao in the heavily Democratic New Orleans district, 58 percent to 39 percent.
Richmond, a 37-year-old African-American, had been expected to beat Cao, whose 2008 victory—for the seat long held by Democrat William Jefferson—was considered an anomaly, after Jefferson was accused of corruption. Cao, who immigrated from Vietnamese in 19TK, was the first Vietnamese American to serve in Congress and the first Republican elected from his district since 1891. Richmond, a New Orleans native, was the youngest person ever elected to the Louisiana legislature at age of 26 (Courtesy of New America Media).
HANSEN CLARKE, a Democratic state senator, MICHIGAN/U.S. CONGRESS (13th DISTRICT) won the seat formerly held by Rep. Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick (mother of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick), whom he defeated in a primary challenge. His opponent in the November 2 election, John Hauler, business development director for an electronics firm and a tea party activist, had pitched a plan making Detroit a tax-free zone for 10 years.
Clarke, 53, is the son of a Bangladeshi immigrant father and African-American mother who worked as a school-crossing guard to support the family after his father died. Before running for elected office, Clarke served as chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers (Courtesy of New America Media).
Black Republicans also celebrated wins on Tuesday. Retired Lt. Colonel Allen West win in Florida’s 22nd District and South Carolina State Rep. Tim Scott’s victory in that state’s 1st Congressional District is also the first time two black GOP members will serve in Congress since 1996 reports CNN.
Scott defeated Democrat Ben Frasier in an open contest to replace retiring Republican Rep. Henry Brown to the first black GOP in Congress since former Oklahoma Congressman J.C.
Now let’s check out the slant on these two victories from Fox News. We love how they go out of their way to emphasize how race is not an issue and never has been in the conservative political realm. Oh hell. let’s go ahead ‘n’ call it the Tea Party. Read the following:
West defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Ron Klein shortly after Scott’s victory Tuesday. It was West’s second contest against Klein, losing to the incumbent in 2008.
Watts, elected to office in 1994′s sweeping GOP congressional gains, became the lone black Republican Member when former Congressman Gary Franks of Connecticut lost reelection in 1996, and Watts held the helm for three more terms before deciding not to seek reelection in 2002.
Watts notably did not join the Congressional Black Caucus given its overly Democratic leanings, and he balked at the suggestion among racial peers that he sold out his race. In 1997 the congressman famously denounced black leaders with archaic agendas, dismissing them as “race-hustling poverty pimps” on Fox News’s “Hannity and Colmes.”
An Atlanta native, West served in the Army for 22 years, including tours of duty in both Iraq wars and in Afghanistan. His campaign platform, “Restoring American Exceptionalism,” echoed this election cycle’s popular conservative sentiments of limited government, creating a business-friendly tax environment, and extending the Bush era tax cuts.
Scott hails from South Carolina and served the state in local office for 15 years. Scott’s agenda reflects many of the same views, including strengthening the borders against illegal immigration and focusing our military efforts to defeat violent Jihad.
Both men won tonight despite historically low black participation in the GOP and constant efforts by the left to discredit conservative movements like the Tea Party as racist. But the Republican Party had 14 viable candidates in House races this cycle, and the party intensified its outreach efforts to the black community this cycle.
WHATEVES. It should also be noted that a record number of African-American Republicans were on the ballot for congressional seats on Tuesday, more than have run since reconstruction, according to the Republican National Committee.
Only six black senators have ever served in the U.S. Senate: three Republicans and three Democrats — including President Barack Obama.
On the House front however, CEDRIC RICHMOND, a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives since 2000, defeated the one-term Republican incumbent Anh “Joseph” Cao in the heavily Democratic New Orleans district, 58 percent to 39 percent.
Richmond, a 37-year-old African-American, had been expected to beat Cao, whose 2008 victory—for the seat long held by Democrat William Jefferson—was considered an anomaly, after Jefferson was accused of corruption. Cao, who immigrated from Vietnamese in 19TK, was the first Vietnamese American to serve in Congress and the first Republican elected from his district since 1891. Richmond, a New Orleans native, was the youngest person ever elected to the Louisiana legislature at age of 26 (Courtesy of New America Media).
HANSEN CLARKE, a Democratic state senator, MICHIGAN/U.S. CONGRESS (13th DISTRICT) won the seat formerly held by Rep. Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick (mother of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick), whom he defeated in a primary challenge. His opponent in the November 2 election, John Hauler, business development director for an electronics firm and a tea party activist, had pitched a plan making Detroit a tax-free zone for 10 years.
Clarke, 53, is the son of a Bangladeshi immigrant father and African-American mother who worked as a school-crossing guard to support the family after his father died. Before running for elected office, Clarke served as chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers (Courtesy of New America Media).
Black Republicans also celebrated wins on Tuesday. Retired Lt. Colonel Allen West win in Florida’s 22nd District and South Carolina State Rep. Tim Scott’s victory in that state’s 1st Congressional District is also the first time two black GOP members will serve in Congress since 1996 reports CNN.
Scott defeated Democrat Ben Frasier in an open contest to replace retiring Republican Rep. Henry Brown to the first black GOP in Congress since former Oklahoma Congressman J.C.
Now let’s check out the slant on these two victories from Fox News. We love how they go out of their way to emphasize how race is not an issue and never has been in the conservative political realm. Oh hell. let’s go ahead ‘n’ call it the Tea Party. Read the following:
West defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Ron Klein shortly after Scott’s victory Tuesday. It was West’s second contest against Klein, losing to the incumbent in 2008.
Watts, elected to office in 1994′s sweeping GOP congressional gains, became the lone black Republican Member when former Congressman Gary Franks of Connecticut lost reelection in 1996, and Watts held the helm for three more terms before deciding not to seek reelection in 2002.
Watts notably did not join the Congressional Black Caucus given its overly Democratic leanings, and he balked at the suggestion among racial peers that he sold out his race. In 1997 the congressman famously denounced black leaders with archaic agendas, dismissing them as “race-hustling poverty pimps” on Fox News’s “Hannity and Colmes.”
An Atlanta native, West served in the Army for 22 years, including tours of duty in both Iraq wars and in Afghanistan. His campaign platform, “Restoring American Exceptionalism,” echoed this election cycle’s popular conservative sentiments of limited government, creating a business-friendly tax environment, and extending the Bush era tax cuts.
Scott hails from South Carolina and served the state in local office for 15 years. Scott’s agenda reflects many of the same views, including strengthening the borders against illegal immigration and focusing our military efforts to defeat violent Jihad.
Both men won tonight despite historically low black participation in the GOP and constant efforts by the left to discredit conservative movements like the Tea Party as racist. But the Republican Party had 14 viable candidates in House races this cycle, and the party intensified its outreach efforts to the black community this cycle.
WHATEVES. It should also be noted that a record number of African-American Republicans were on the ballot for congressional seats on Tuesday, more than have run since reconstruction, according to the Republican National Committee.
Charles Krauthammer: GOP To Take "De Facto" Control Of Senate
Nice Deb - Just because Republicans failed to win enough Senate Seats to knock the deplorable and inexplicably re-elected Reid out of the majority, it doesn’t mean that they will be in the same feeble position they were in from 2009-2011. Charles Krauthammer, on Fox News this morning, said Republicans have won “de facto control” of the U.S. Senate, and now with “de jure” control of the House, they are in a perfect position, tactically.
The message voters delivered on Election Night was so strong, Krauthammer said, that Senate Democrats will continue to distance themselves from President Barack Obama’s policies for fear of political repercussions.
“I think there will be great resistance to any advance of the Obama agenda, and I think there will a lot of sympathy among these Democrats, the ones who are now up for reelection in two years for example, for an extension of the Bush tax cuts, for even a nibbling away of some of the edges of Obamacare,” he said.
Some of the Democratic senators coming into the new Congress, such as West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, who defeated Republican John Raese, actually ran in open opposition to the president’s policies.
There has been a shift of power in Congress, there is no doubt about that, but Krauthammer says we didn’t really want control of both Houses:
… because then Obama could do a Truman, where he ran against the do-nothing Congress and won re-election,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist said. “If you put too much of the actual, official power to the Republicans, it makes them responsible.
Conservative voters can still watch closely, and hold Republicans accountable for any jelly-spined, RINOish behaviors we detect. We didn’t elect them to compromise with the Democrat Socialists who survived Tuesday’s onslaught.
But they shouldn’t be blamed for Obama’s economy if he rejects all of their remedies.
See Also:
Senator DeMint has some excellent advice for freshman Senators in his WSJ oped, this morning:
Congratulations to all the tea party-backed candidates who overcame a determined, partisan opposition to win their elections. The next campaign begins today. Because you must now overcome determined party insiders if this nation is going to be spared from fiscal disaster.
Many of the people who will be welcoming the new class of Senate conservatives to Washington never wanted you here in the first place. The establishment is much more likely to try to buy off your votes than to buy into your limited-government philosophy. Consider what former GOP senator-turned-lobbyist Trent Lott told the Washington Post earlier this year: “As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.”
Don’t let them. Co-option is coercion. Washington operates on a favor-based economy and for every earmark, committee assignment or fancy title that’s given, payback is expected in return. The chits come due when the roll call votes begin. This is how big-spending bills that everyone always decries in public always manage to pass with just enough votes.
But someone can’t be bribed if they aren’t for sale. Here is some humble advice on how to recognize and refuse such offers.
The message voters delivered on Election Night was so strong, Krauthammer said, that Senate Democrats will continue to distance themselves from President Barack Obama’s policies for fear of political repercussions.
“I think there will be great resistance to any advance of the Obama agenda, and I think there will a lot of sympathy among these Democrats, the ones who are now up for reelection in two years for example, for an extension of the Bush tax cuts, for even a nibbling away of some of the edges of Obamacare,” he said.
Some of the Democratic senators coming into the new Congress, such as West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, who defeated Republican John Raese, actually ran in open opposition to the president’s policies.
There has been a shift of power in Congress, there is no doubt about that, but Krauthammer says we didn’t really want control of both Houses:
… because then Obama could do a Truman, where he ran against the do-nothing Congress and won re-election,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist said. “If you put too much of the actual, official power to the Republicans, it makes them responsible.
Conservative voters can still watch closely, and hold Republicans accountable for any jelly-spined, RINOish behaviors we detect. We didn’t elect them to compromise with the Democrat Socialists who survived Tuesday’s onslaught.
But they shouldn’t be blamed for Obama’s economy if he rejects all of their remedies.
See Also:
Senator DeMint has some excellent advice for freshman Senators in his WSJ oped, this morning:
Congratulations to all the tea party-backed candidates who overcame a determined, partisan opposition to win their elections. The next campaign begins today. Because you must now overcome determined party insiders if this nation is going to be spared from fiscal disaster.
Many of the people who will be welcoming the new class of Senate conservatives to Washington never wanted you here in the first place. The establishment is much more likely to try to buy off your votes than to buy into your limited-government philosophy. Consider what former GOP senator-turned-lobbyist Trent Lott told the Washington Post earlier this year: “As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.”
Don’t let them. Co-option is coercion. Washington operates on a favor-based economy and for every earmark, committee assignment or fancy title that’s given, payback is expected in return. The chits come due when the roll call votes begin. This is how big-spending bills that everyone always decries in public always manage to pass with just enough votes.
But someone can’t be bribed if they aren’t for sale. Here is some humble advice on how to recognize and refuse such offers.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
House-Senate Mid-Term Elections Porjections " Republican Win House 49 - Senate 7"
After months of partisan wrangling, it is finally time for the voters to deliver their decision on the 2010 mid-term elections in the Congress, as Republicans seem to have the edge today.
Republicans need to gain a net of 39 seats to charge of the House and 10 seats to take over the Senate. Political experts think the first is almost a given, while the latter is still a longshot.
It isn't difficult to get to 39 seats for a GOP takeover, as most political experts are expecting the Republicans to be back in charge of the House.
The big question is how many seats will the GOP win.
One Republican lawmaker told me yesterday that his guess is 55 seats - that's one more than what Republicans won in 1994.
Others though see the chance for a much larger haul - 60, 70, even 80 seats or more. If the "wave" is that high, then a number of unsuspecting Democrats will likely get swept out tonight, as happened in 2006 to then-Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), even though Democrats didn't even target him.
"You're going to see somebody like that fall this time," says Henry Olsen, an elections expert at the American Enterprise Institute.
"On my list, I have what I call 'Super Upset Specials'," as Olsen and many others around here try to figure out who might be at risk on a night like this.
I should resist making any predictions like that, but I will say that I wonder if the GOP advantage in the state of Michigan could mean that a longtime Democratic lawmaker will go down to defeat.
Where are Democrats at risk of losing seats? I don't mean to be flip - but 'just about anywhere' is the answer, from New England to Blue Dogs in the South, to the Midwest and West.
As of today, Republicans have no seats in New England in the U.S. House. They have a chance to change that in Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Republicans have only two of the 29 seats in the New York delegation. They have a chance to increase that dramatically.
In key states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, the losses could approach a half dozen seats in each state if the wave is big enough for the GOP.
Virginia could see at least three Democrats go down. Meanwhile, Blue Dog Democrats are at risk in Virginia, North & South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.
In Florida, Republicans think they can win four seats from the Democrats.
Texas could deliver as many as two to four seats for the GOP.
Indiana has three seats at risk, three or four more in Illinois, several in Michigan and Wisconsin could go to the GOP. Iowa has some GOP longshots.
Missouri has two seats that might shift, Arkansas has two or three, depending on the size of the Republican gains. Another one could go in Louisiana.
All three freshman Democrats in New Mexico are at risk, as are maybe four or five Democrats in Arizona. It probably didn't help to have arguments yesterday on the Arizona immigration law, a reminder for voters one day before the elections.
Democrats could lose the only House seat in both of the Dakotas, one in Kansas, three or four in Colorado, maybe one in Utah, another in Nevada and one in Idaho.
The Pacific Coast isn't immune either, as maybe three Democrats are at risk in California, another one or two in Oregon and a couple of seats in Washington State.
What about the GOP? Don't they have some seats at risk? Oh yeah, four or five tops - in Delaware, Louisiana, Hawaii, Illinois and south Florida. You can see how one-sided this election looks at this point.
So will the GOP win big? We'll see what the voters decide.
As for my election coverage tonight, I will be on with live reports starting through the evening, and then at 11pm EDT, I will be hosting several hours of election coverage, focusing on the race for Congress. Please check back on my blog all night, as I will be posting comments as the results unfold.
Republicans need to gain a net of 39 seats to charge of the House and 10 seats to take over the Senate. Political experts think the first is almost a given, while the latter is still a longshot.
It isn't difficult to get to 39 seats for a GOP takeover, as most political experts are expecting the Republicans to be back in charge of the House.
The big question is how many seats will the GOP win.
One Republican lawmaker told me yesterday that his guess is 55 seats - that's one more than what Republicans won in 1994.
Others though see the chance for a much larger haul - 60, 70, even 80 seats or more. If the "wave" is that high, then a number of unsuspecting Democrats will likely get swept out tonight, as happened in 2006 to then-Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), even though Democrats didn't even target him.
"You're going to see somebody like that fall this time," says Henry Olsen, an elections expert at the American Enterprise Institute.
"On my list, I have what I call 'Super Upset Specials'," as Olsen and many others around here try to figure out who might be at risk on a night like this.
I should resist making any predictions like that, but I will say that I wonder if the GOP advantage in the state of Michigan could mean that a longtime Democratic lawmaker will go down to defeat.
Where are Democrats at risk of losing seats? I don't mean to be flip - but 'just about anywhere' is the answer, from New England to Blue Dogs in the South, to the Midwest and West.
As of today, Republicans have no seats in New England in the U.S. House. They have a chance to change that in Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Republicans have only two of the 29 seats in the New York delegation. They have a chance to increase that dramatically.
In key states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, the losses could approach a half dozen seats in each state if the wave is big enough for the GOP.
Virginia could see at least three Democrats go down. Meanwhile, Blue Dog Democrats are at risk in Virginia, North & South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.
In Florida, Republicans think they can win four seats from the Democrats.
Texas could deliver as many as two to four seats for the GOP.
Indiana has three seats at risk, three or four more in Illinois, several in Michigan and Wisconsin could go to the GOP. Iowa has some GOP longshots.
Missouri has two seats that might shift, Arkansas has two or three, depending on the size of the Republican gains. Another one could go in Louisiana.
All three freshman Democrats in New Mexico are at risk, as are maybe four or five Democrats in Arizona. It probably didn't help to have arguments yesterday on the Arizona immigration law, a reminder for voters one day before the elections.
Democrats could lose the only House seat in both of the Dakotas, one in Kansas, three or four in Colorado, maybe one in Utah, another in Nevada and one in Idaho.
The Pacific Coast isn't immune either, as maybe three Democrats are at risk in California, another one or two in Oregon and a couple of seats in Washington State.
What about the GOP? Don't they have some seats at risk? Oh yeah, four or five tops - in Delaware, Louisiana, Hawaii, Illinois and south Florida. You can see how one-sided this election looks at this point.
So will the GOP win big? We'll see what the voters decide.
As for my election coverage tonight, I will be on with live reports starting through the evening, and then at 11pm EDT, I will be hosting several hours of election coverage, focusing on the race for Congress. Please check back on my blog all night, as I will be posting comments as the results unfold.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Nuke Sen. Harry Reid
JustOneMinute - The Politico explains that Harry Reid may be the last man standing in the way of using Yucca Mountain as a national nuclear waste repository. Dems like Obama pandered on this during the primaries and afterwards. Obama's commitment to science did not extend to a commitment to the science of using Yucca Mountain; instead he backed Reid's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and Definitely Don't Complete the Necessary Studies" ploy, but with Reid out there will be new power brokers needing pandering.
One more reason to put Harry high on the list of Dems to whom you most want to wave good-bye.
One more reason to put Harry high on the list of Dems to whom you most want to wave good-bye.
Voters Abandoning President Obama In Droves?
Jerome Corsi - Polls are showing the American public has rejected President Obama's leftist politics, as the tea-party movement has gained momentum and independent voters are breaking hard to support Republicans, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports.
"Although President Obama and the Democrats have attempted to demonize the tea-party movement, the American public is moving away from the big government tax-and-spend politics of the radical new left that has now taken over the Democratic Party," Corsi wrote. "Republicans, however, should be cautious to realize the realignment of voters is at its base a reaction against incumbents as a whole."
Corsi noted that the tea-party movement will turn next on Republicans, if the Republican Party after the Nov. 2 mid-term election turns out to be a center-left party typified by politicians such as South Carolina's Lindsay Graham.
What is brewing below the surface in American politics is a states' rights movement unseen in this nation since the days of the Civil War, he explained.
"Relying on tools such as the Ninth and 10th Amendments, tea-party patriots are ready to push back against the expansion of federal authority into all aspects of American life," he wrote.
Corsi shared results from a new poll issued by the Pew Research Center that shows a major shift away from the Democratic party in 28 different categories of voters.
In 2006, 17 categories favored Democrats, helping the Democrats sweep to majority control in both the House and the Senate.
Now, in 2010, 23 of the 28 categories favor Republicans. Even more important, 22 of the 28 categories support Republicans by 49 percent or more.
The poll shows a dramatic shift of the electorate away from Democrats and toward Republicans in the last four years.
"Although President Obama and the Democrats have attempted to demonize the tea-party movement, the American public is moving away from the big government tax-and-spend politics of the radical new left that has now taken over the Democratic Party," Corsi wrote. "Republicans, however, should be cautious to realize the realignment of voters is at its base a reaction against incumbents as a whole."
Corsi noted that the tea-party movement will turn next on Republicans, if the Republican Party after the Nov. 2 mid-term election turns out to be a center-left party typified by politicians such as South Carolina's Lindsay Graham.
What is brewing below the surface in American politics is a states' rights movement unseen in this nation since the days of the Civil War, he explained.
"Relying on tools such as the Ninth and 10th Amendments, tea-party patriots are ready to push back against the expansion of federal authority into all aspects of American life," he wrote.
Corsi shared results from a new poll issued by the Pew Research Center that shows a major shift away from the Democratic party in 28 different categories of voters.
In 2006, 17 categories favored Democrats, helping the Democrats sweep to majority control in both the House and the Senate.
Now, in 2010, 23 of the 28 categories favor Republicans. Even more important, 22 of the 28 categories support Republicans by 49 percent or more.
The poll shows a dramatic shift of the electorate away from Democrats and toward Republicans in the last four years.
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