Tag: Politics

The NYT laments the loss of a whole Democratic politicians’ generation.

Oh, my, but this is almost painful to read:

“In terms of governors, legislators and constitutional officers, the bench has been eviscerated during [President Barack Obama’s] tenure,” said [ousted Kentucky State Auditor Adam] Edelen, 40, who says it would be “too difficult” for him to beat [Senator Rand] Paul and plans to go back to the private sector. He called the loss of Democratic talent across the country “regrettable” and said, “It will have very long-term consequences.”

Almost.  What’s particularly entertaining about this particular article is that the Democrats in it all seem really, really enthusiastic about blaming it all on Barack Obama. Excuse me: “blaming us awful Republicans who blame Obama.” Seriously, though; there’s pretty much zero self-reflection there that possibly, just possibly, the reason that people voted for Democrats in 2006 and 2008 but not in 2010 or 2014 is because in 2006 and 2008 Democratic politicians avoided sounding like hyper-progressive partisan lunatics.

Or, more accurately: that in 2010 and 2014 nobody really believed the Democrats when they tried to sound normal.  Heck, even in 2012 the damage was less than you’d expect. In some places, the downticket races didn’t even slightly shift in the Democrats favor…

Tweet of the Day, This Venn Diagram Has Relevance Elsewhere edition.

This is a handy thing to remember:

We over/underestimate the difference between online opinion and public opinion at our peril. Not that this will stop anybody from doing that, of course. Probably not even me.

Massachusetts state legislature starts up process for the 2019 Democratic corruption scandal season.

I do not see how this could possibly end badly: “House leaders are preparing a set of new internal rules for floor debate Thursday that would abolish term limits for the speakership, unfettering House Speaker Robert DeLeo of the current restrictions that require him to step down in 2017, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.”  According to the Boston Globe, Speaker DeLeo was both a) behind the establishment of term limits (the previous Speaker was, shockingly, convicted for corruption charges) and b) unavailable for comment.  …Imagine my surprise.

No, really, my ability to cope with the universe is now in question.

Via

…and note his expectations, as well. Ryan and I have seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. Entertainingly, if you don’t live in the state in question…

You know, MY mother is happy to see me during the holidays.

And it’s not because she agrees with my politics: she doesn’t.  Mom is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat and Obama supporter.  But we don’t fight over politics over the Thanksgiving or Christmas tables.  Not coincidentally, my mother’s also someone who has never felt the need to embarrass and berate her children on CSPAN:

Brad and Dallas Woodhouse are now the champions of awkward CSPAN calls, after the politically divided brothers ended up taking a call from their mom.

[snip]

She’d called to take issue with something her kids said on air: That the brothers’ political bickering — you see, one is liberal, and the other is conservative — is typical of most families. “I don’t know many families that are fighting at Thanksgiving,” she said. “I’m hoping you’ll have some of this out of your system when you come here for Christmas. I would really like a peaceful Christmas.”

Continue reading You know, MY mother is happy to see me during the holidays.

Quote of the Day, There Are No Excuses For Failure edition.

This guy got it wrong on the first sentence:

The much-vaunted Democratic turnout machine didn’t fail Tuesday.

…The Democrats lost seven, soon to be nine Senate seats; at least a dozen House seats (I haven’t looked up the running total); dropped a net three governorships; and got likewise wrecked on the state level. The much-vaunted Democratic turnout machine failed Tuesday. It doesn’t particularly matter why it failed, either: which I know is a controversial statement to make, but I have a reason for saying that.  Basically, the problem here really is that the Democrats had no way of telling ahead of time that their machine wasn’t working properly.  Of course there was a flaw in the turnout models.  There’s always a flaw in the model.  The trick is being able to figure that out before the whole thing explodes.

Oh, well.  Somebody Else’s Problem.

Via

The AOSHQDD GoFundMe and the RedState Midterm Videocast.

  • The first is to help AOSHQDD to keep doing the voodoo that they do so well.  They have been doing a stellar job getting the results in before the AP, and managed to keep doing that even through a series of unfortunate events last Tuesday.  Won’t get into any of that, but they deserve the support.
  • As for the second… it was really, really good.  Except for that weird fat guy that they had on, starting at 10 PM or so.

DCCC cutting and running in New York-21 race.

The race in NY-21 is an open seat – Bill Owens is retiring, largely because it’s more dignified than losing – and the DCCC just pulled a planned major ad buy there:

 The cancellation could be a sign the Democratic super PAC is throwing in the towel on The Empire State’s 21st District. The television buy, scheduled for Oct. 7 through 20 and totaling $300,000, is in a district that is considered a top pickup opportunity for Republicans.

[snip]

The cancellation comes as national Republicans become increasingly bullish about their nominee, former White House aide Elise Stefanik. She picked up New York’s Independence Party nomination this week, and a recent poll showed her leading her opponent by 13 points.

The news that Elise Stefanik is winning in NY-21 is equally as surprising as the news that Chris Gibson has opened up a commanding lead over carpetbagger Sean Eldridge in NY-19. Which is to say: neither is surprising to me, but it’s going to come as one heck of a shock to the Democratic base in November. Those folks consider New York to be theirs; the idea that the Democratic gains of 2012 could be reversed, even partially will alarm many in the Democratic party.

But not as much as losing House seats in California would.  Keep watching that one…

Who’s covering state-level politics, anyway? Are they… suitable?

Eleanor Clift is very upset that nobody is covering state-level politics: “On a good day, state news is under-covered, especially compared to its importance. While multitudes of reporters in Washington chronicle the gridlocked Congress, the number of full-time reporters covering 50 statehouses has fallen to roughly 300, down from 500 in 2003, according to the Pew Research Center.” But is the situation that there is no coverage, or simply that the coverage is not by the right sort?

The decline in reporters working for mainstream or legacy media outlets has been filled in part by journalists hired by specialty news outlets like the Alaska Budget Report, which charges $2,397 for a year’s subscription, and the pro-free market Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Mark Jurkowitz, one of the authors of the Pew study, says the ideologically driven reporting tends to be on the right. Pew found only one organization in North Carolina identifying as progressive. “With resources stretched as thin as they are and reporters caught up in the day to day ping-pong, enterprise reporting or looking for scandal goes by the wayside.”

Continue reading Who’s covering state-level politics, anyway? Are they… suitable?

Quote of the Day, Early Presidential Entrants Often Don’t Finish The Race, You Know edition.

Here is a truth:

Hillary Clinton already wears the mantle of presumptive nominee for president. She’s an accomplished lawyer, a member of Walmart’s board of directors, a close adviser to her husband when he was president, a two-term senator from New York, and secretary of state. And yet, she is a horrible politician.

And before I am assured that the media will cover for her, let me remind folks: the media has its limits. If it didn’t, Hillary Clinton would be topping the bestseller list right now.  She… is not.

Via Hot Air Headlines.