tagged w/ Midterm Elections
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Another crazy week in history.
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SAN ANTONIO -- U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz has conceded defeat to Republican challenger Blake Farenthold after a manual recount failed to make up the about 800 votes he trailed by.
Ortiz said late Monday that he called to congratulate Farenthold, a political newcomer, and that the two would meet next week in Washington.
Farenthold said the 73-year-old lawmaker was "very gracious." Ortiz paid a $23,500 deposit for a manual recount after unofficial results showed he trailed Farenthold by 799 votes of the about 106,500 cast across the Texas 27th Congressional district.
But he conceded after the final 15,000 votes were recounted Monday in Brownsville and didn't change the final election result.
http://www.ksat.com/politics/25885538/detail.htmlSAN ANTONIO -- U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz has conceded defeat to Republican challenger... more
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Politico reports that six US House races remain undecided. Currently, "Democratic incumbents" lead in two of the contests and "trail in four others." CA11 Rep. Jerry McNerney (D) leads David Harmer (R) "by over 1,700 votes." CA20 Rep. Jim Costa (D) leads Andy Vidak (R) by 2,422 votes. Randy Altschuler (R) holds a 272-vote lead over NY1 Rep. Tim Bishop (D) after the Incumbent "picked up 111 votes as election officials tallied votes in Southampton and Smithtown." Ann Marie Buerkle (R) now leads NY25 Rep. Dan Maffei (D) by "303 votes as Onondaga County" continues "to count ballots." Renee Elmers (R) "continued to lead" NC2 Rep. Bob Etheridge (D) "as local election officials began a district-wide recount – a process that is expected to be completed Friday." Blake Farenthold (R) leads TX27 Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D) by 792 votes "as a district-wide manual recount" continues.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45380.htmlPolitico reports that six US House races remain undecided. Currently, "Democratic... more
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I just can't stand the current guy!
I like the current guy!
I will vote for anyone who isn't the current guy!
I want the current guy to be reelected!
(time elapses)
Yay! The current guy lost!
Damn! The current guy lost!
Whoo Hoo!!! Yes!!! I cannot contain my glee!!! We won!!! We won!!!
AUUGGGHHH!!! No!!! I cannot contain my anger!!! We lost!!! We lost!!!
Click the link below for more...
http://trickyrelativity.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/anti-americanism/I just can't stand the current guy!
I like the current guy!
I will vote for... more
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First things first. This is a post-election wrap-up. Not a post-apocalyptic wrap-up. Yeah, the GOP did well. After a change in administrations, the minority party won a bunch of House seats in the following midterm electionFirst things first. This is a post-election wrap-up. Not a post-apocalyptic wrap-up.... more
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When Republicans attacked FDR, trying to lay the cause of the Depression at his feet, he FOUGHT BACK with COURAGE:
“…although I rubbed my eyes when I read it, we have been told that it was not a Republican depression, but a Democratic depression from which this Nation was saved in 1933 - that this Administration this one today - is responsible for all the suffering and misery that the history books and the American people have always thought had been brought about during the twelve ill-fated years when the Republican party was in power.
Now, there is an old and somewhat lugubrious adage which says: "Never speak of rope in the house of a man who has been hanged." In the same way, if I were a Republican leader speaking to a mixed audience, the last word in the whole dictionary that I think I would use is that word "DEPRESSION."
I have been watching in anguish as Barack Obama squanders his mandate and the Democratic Party majority by capitulating to the same Republican ideas that put the American Dream on the ropes for the past 30 years. The America People want a fighter who takes action – not someone who agrees to policies meant to cut the “uppity” American worker down to size in the name of being “polite.”
Here is an open letter to Barack Obama from a liberal Democrat who donated time and money to help get him elected with the hope that he would use his office to save the disappearing middle class from the Republican-induced slide into serfdom - not play nice with Republicans for the sake of a "Team of Rivals" ego trip.
Read the whole letter here:
http://republicandirtytricks.com/barack-obama-capitulation-democrats-cant-believe/When Republicans attacked FDR, trying to lay the cause of the Depression at his feet,... more
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Politico reports, "The bodies aren't even cold yet in the House, but the Democratic Party has already opened up a bitter debate over who's to blame." One thing "all sides agree on: The White House blew it." Politico notes comments by outgoing Sen. Evan Bayh, who said "it is clear that Democrats over-interpreted our mandate," and "called the decision to focus on health care in a bad economy 'overreach.'"
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44673.htmlPolitico reports, "The bodies aren't even cold yet in the House, but the... more
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by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger
Flickr/Gage SkidmoreThe votes are in, and while some close races are still being tallied, there is a clear winner from the 2010 elections: Secret corporate cash.
Such unaccounted for political donations may end up allowing those accused of wrongdoing to go free. As Joshua Holland details for AlterNet, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission may have provided a lifetime supply of get-out-of-jail-free cards to corporate criminals.
The Kentucky senate race serves as a prime example. The Democratic candidate, Jack Conway, is currently Kentucky’s attorney general. Conway is also currently prosecuting a nursing home for allegedly covering up the sexual abuse of one of its residents.
But that nursing home is owned by Terry Forcht, a millionaire who gives prodigiously to right-wing causes. He poured money into Karl Rove’s organization, American Crossroads GPS, which ran ads backing Conway’s Republican opponent, Rand Paul. Guess who came away with the victory last night?
As Holland emphasizes, the mid-term elections are just how the first phase of the justice system’s corruption plays out. Eventually the mere threat of attack ads could be enough to prevent needed prosecutions. Corporate bigwigs could literally get away with murder, and pay for it only through attack ads.
Think this is bad? Just wait for 2012
As David Corn details for Mother Jones, the Supreme Court’s ruling has put American democracy in grave danger. This year’s big spending is just a warm-up for the 2012 presidential election. Karl Rove has already pledged to keep running attack ads after the mid-terms, and there’s no doubt that he’ll make good on that. As Corn emphasizes, this issue doesn’t just affect how campaigns are financed—it will permanently reshape the very nature of American elections.
The permanent, neverending campaign will become even more permanent and neverending. These big-and-secret-money groups will be working 24/7, opposing and discrediting President Barack Obama and the Democrats in the so-called off-year and then revving up for the 2012 presidential and congressional elections. The negative ads never have to stop.
That, ultimately, is the major take-away from last night’s elections. Not the number of seats Republicans picked up in the House, or the Tea Party’s ability to infiltrate the Senate, but the formal incorporation of American politics. With literally no limits on the amount of money they can spend to influence elections, corporations and secret billionaires are going to be tipping the democratic scales wherever they smell profit.
That means it will be much, much harder for politicians of any ideological stripe to solve society’s problems. The richest corporations have the most political purchasing power, and the companies with the most money are those that have thrived under the status quo—however destructive that state of affairs may be to society at large. This money will go to keeping things the way they are—not toward creating jobs, improving education, expanding access to health care, stopping ecological catastrophe or anything else.
Citizens United 101
We spoke with Jesse Zwick of The Washington Independent about the nuts and bolts of Citizens United and secret campaign cash. In the below video, Zwick details the potential impact of secret money—and how citizens and legislature can curb the effects of this historic ruling.
Bare-bones, anti-Citizens United legislation might still have a shot
So what can be done? Earlier this year, Republicans successfully filibustered legislation that would have forced corporations to disclose their political spending and require front-groups to divulge the identities of their donors. But as Jesse Zwick emphasizes for The Washington Independent, there’s still one more opportunity to push a bare-bones version of the bill through Congress. Democrats will retain their broad Congressional majorities until January 2011, when the candidates elected last night formally take up office. If Democrats see which way the corporate wind is blowing, they’ll flex their political muscles one last time to get a disclosure bill through Congress. There are many things that people are reluctant to do in public that they have the political right to do. If lawmakers can remove the anonymity from corporate and elite political spending, some of the Citizens United damage could be reversed.
If not, 2012 is going to be even uglier than last night.
But wait, there’s more!
* Amie Newman of RH Reality Check reports that a last-minute mailer funded by outside group The Citizens for Responsible Spending attacked Washington state Sen. Rodney Tom, citing his pro-women’s rights and pro-LGBT positions. Tom ended up losing his seat last night.
* California upheld its environmental protection law by defeating Proposition 23, despite the fact that oil companies funneled nearly $10 million to pass the measure, reports Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones.
* As Dave Gilson details for Mother Jones, outside spending worked overwhelmingly in favor of Republican candidates in key races.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the mid-term elections and campaign financing by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit The Media Consortium for more articles on these issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger
Flickr/Gage SkidmoreThe votes are in, and... more
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The Hill reports that Democrats "who voted for their party's signature domestic achievement dropped like flies throughout the evening, adding credence to Republicans' claim that the American public wants them to repeal healthcare reform." Kate Pickert. writing for Time says, "There's no doubt that voting for the Affordable Care Act made lots of Democratic incumbents vulnerable," but "it's difficult to attribute losses to a single issue" since "exit polls indicate jobs and the economy were far more important to voters."
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/11/02/mixed-results-on-the-health-reform-referendum/The Hill reports that Democrats "who voted for their party's signature... more
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Politico notes that "Republicans picked up 10 governorships Tuesday and could win a few more if the final votes break their way. Not a single Republican incumbent lost, but two sitting Democratic governors from key states did: Ohio's Ted Strickland and Iowa's Chet Culver." Adds Politico, "The GOP pickups were a major blow to President Barack Obama on an already tough night. In addition to Ohio and Iowa, Republicans seized the governorships in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Nevada, Kansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma." Florida "is too close to call but leans Republican. And with almost all the votes counted in Illinois, Democrat Pat Quinn was essentially tied with his Republican challenger, Bill Brady."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44596.htmlPolitico notes that "Republicans picked up 10 governorships Tuesday and could win... more
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Media analysts are describing yesterday's elections (in which Republicans gained around 60 House seats, at least six in the Senate and 10 or more governorships) as a significant blow to President Obama, who, the reports, telephoned Speaker-to-be John Boehner "shortly after midnight to congratulate him." Stories last night and this morning cast the election results as a stark warning to the President, a mere two years ahead of the next presidential race, with some analysts blaming him for the Democrats' changing political fortunes.Media analysts are describing yesterday's elections (in which Republicans gained... more
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It was a grim night for Barack Obama and the Democrats as they lost control of the House of Representatives and barely hung on to their majority in the Senate. But it was a good night for the newcomers the Tea Party as they have so far won two seats in the Senate, two seat in the House of Representatives and one governor's post in South Carolina.
Tea Party winners
Rand Paul emerged victorious as a Republican Senator-elect for the southern state of Kentucky.Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, is another Tea Party favorite who will be a new senator. He easily won a three way race in Florida, which has been hit hard by high unemployment and a crumbling housing market.Indiana Republicans, state representative Marlin Stutzman and Todd Young, a Marine veteran, were among the Tea Party winners in the House.Nikki Haley, who received campaign help from another Tea Party favorite, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, won the South Carolina governor's race.
Tea Party losers
The perhaps most famous Tea Party candidate outside the US, the "I'm-not-a-witch Christine O'Donnell lost her bid in becoming Delaware's new Senator. O'Donnell became famous for her witch craft claims and denials and for a video shown on MTV where campaigns against masturbation (check the videos below for a giggle). In New York state the Tea Party's Carl Paladino crashed out against his Democratic opponent Andrew Cuomo. Paladino was initially enthusiastically backed by the Tea Parties but then became embroiled in a series of damaging revelations, including details of racist and sexist emails he circulated among friends. He also had a contretemps with a journalist."Any of my missteps were just me. It's just being human. How can you not misstep in an election process like this?" he said.
Christine O'Donnell's anti masturbation video
Christine O'Donnell - "Dabbled in witchcraft"
Christine O'Donnell - "I am not a witch" campaign
It was a grim night for Barack Obama and the Democrats as they lost control of the... more
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Burned out on corporate media election coverage? Frustrated by ABC’s choice of Andrew Breitbart as a commentator? Watch the returns roll in with GRITtv and Free Speech TV instead. November 2nd, from 8PM to 2AM EST, right here on our site or on Free Speech TV on DISH Network and DIRECTv.
Laura will be co-anchoring here in New York with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, and Thom Hartmann, David Sirota, Gloria Neal and Marc Steiner will host around the country. The historic coverage will feature analysis and commentary from social activists, community organizers and thought leaders, including Herb Boyd, Rosa Clemente, Jim Hightower and John Nichols. There will also be correspondents’ reports from The Nation, Mother Jones and Yes Magazine and special guest appearances by NAACP’s Ben Jealous, filmmaker Michael Moore, former Denver mayor Wellington Webb and many more.
Join the conversation! Chat with us on Facebook or tweet at us on Twitter using hashtag #FSVote–and send your questions for FSTV guests using hashtag #FSTVQ.
http://codepink.org/blog/2010/11/fstv-live-election-coverage-video/Burned out on corporate media election coverage? Frustrated by ABC’s choice of... more
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by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger
Today is the first election in American history in which corporations have been allowed to spend their own money to buy political favors. This legalized corruption comes courtesy of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which injected massive amounts of corporate cash and unprecedented levels of secrecy into American politics.
And all of this crazy corporate spending will not be restricted to elections. That’s right. As Jesse Zwick reports for The Washington Independent, two front-groups founded by GOP strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie plan to keep running ads attacking Democrats well after the elections are over.
As Zwick emphasizes, this is actually a way to help keep one of the organizations, known as American Crossroads GPS from breaking the law. Many groups that spend money on elections register as 501(c)(4) organizations, which must devote no more than half of their activity to political operations. In return for limiting their political activity—advocacy or condemnation of specific candidates—they don’t have to disclose who their donors are. So groups like American Crossroads GPS plan to run “issue ads” focusing on the budget deficit and immigration reform this fall to balance out the ads directed at specific candidates that they’ve already run.
Under the Citizens United ruling, so long as corporations or wealthy elites launder their political expenditures through a front-group, they can give as much as they want without ever being held publicly accountable. But the high court’s decision also allows these front-groups to keep their actual expenditures secret as well. It’s not just that we don’t know who is funding them—in many cases, we also don’t really know what they’re funding.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s foreign dues
The secrecy surrounding anonymous donors may very well extend to foreign corporations. As Harry Hanbury emphasizes in this video for GRITtv, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—a lobbying front-group for the largest American corporations—is facing heavy scrutiny over is foreign contributions. Nearly $900,000 in annual dues to the Chamber come from foreign firms, and the Chamber aggressively courts foreign donors who might benefit from weak U.S. laws—particularly environmental laws. The Chamber insists that it’s playing by the rules, but Hanbury catches them lying twice about the nature of the group’s foreign funding.
California’s environmental laws for sale
Corporations aren’t just targeting federal elections to influence public policy. As Tara Lohan explains for AlterNet, big oil companies have financed a campaign to repeal California’s carbon emission reduction law. Two major polluters—Valero and Tesoro—have spent a combined $7 million boosting the repeal, while Koch Industries—a major Tea Party funder—has kicked in about $1 million as well. A full 70 percent of the $10.7 million that has been spent to bolster the anti-environment ballot initiative has come from out-of-state sources.
Even the Tea Party’s worried
When the Tea Party Patriots received an anonymous $1 million donation for get-out-the-vote efforts, left-wing bloggers weren’t the only people upset about it. As Stephanie Mencimer reports for Mother Jones, some of the Tea Party Patriots’ own members were nervous: Who was funding this operation, and where was the money going?
We’ll probably never know, because the Tea Party Patriots aren’t legally obligated report their donors or expenses. The group has only disclosed $15,000 worth of expenditures of the $1 million donation, $10,000 of which was re-granted to another organization run by the father of Tea Party Patriots leader Mark Meckler. The remainder is anybody’s guess.
But wait, there’s more!
* Writing for In These Times, Sam Ross-Brown highlights a potential legislative solution to some of these campaign finance shenanigans. The Fair Elections Now Act would limit individual campaign contributions to $100, and match them by a factor of four-to-one, increasing the spending power of ordinary citizens and helping to level the distorted playing field created by Citizens United.
* Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones details who got hit the hardest this election season in the final push leading up to Election Day: Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) got some of the biggest expenditures. This year also smashed previous campaign expenditures, coming in at $443 million.
* Suzy Khimm reports on voter intimidation tactics for Mother Jones from a McDonald’s fast food franchise in Ohio’s 16th district. Employees were told to vote for Republicans or their wages would go down. McDonald’s may have been emboldened by Citizens United even though such tactics are still clearly illegal.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the mid-term elections and campaign financing by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit The Media Consortium for more articles on these issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger
Today is the first election in American... more
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THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE...
TO MOVE FORWARD...NOT BACKWARDS.
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Most people don't. Most people largely miss what is really going on. The truth is, you have been hand feed notions and ideas, you have been "played", which lobbyists and some politicians stand to profit and benefit from if you buy it.
Your widespread disgust and frustration with "government" and those in Washington is naive and uninformed at the very best.
Truth is, there are many good people in Washington, many of whom you voted for in 2008. You fail to fully see the harsh reality and the flexible morality of many many people, certainly you are also guilty of the same. If you weren't also guilty of flexibly morality, a weak grip on right and wrong, you wouldn't be deceived by such tactics.
You have been feed a portion of the truth leaving a portion of your intellectual process in the hands of a biased media, stroking your ego you draw conclusions based on what you claim to know and understand, but don't.
Simply, the midterms elections amounts to this:
One group in Washington has an agenda which favors corporations, but deceives ya'll by claiming it's really for smaller government. This is the Republican party and it's marketing off-shoot, the Teabaggers.
The other group still represents level headed Americans who aren't deceived, be it intelligence, mental health, intuition or good luck informing their decision making process.
That's it! That's all there is to it. Everything else is Bull Sh#t! Say no more.Most people don't. Most people largely miss what is really going on. The truth... more
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