Oh My! DeMint: Michael Steele Is Reason Why GOP Didn't Take Senate Too

There is a growing movement to oust Michael Steele out of the RNC Chair. Yesterday, Jim DeMint (R-SC) added his voice to the chorus:

The lack of a well-organized voter mobilization effort by the Republican National Committee could have cost the GOP “a few Senate seats,” Sen. Jim DeMint suggested Sunday.

Partly as a result, the South Carolina Republican suggested he wouldn’t support a second term for controversial RNC Chairman Michael Steele, saying on "Fox News Sunday" “I’m looking for some alternatives right now.”

“I haven’t decided who would support," DeMint said, "but we need a strong national Republican organization to help organize the energy of the tea parties and the other citizen activism that we are seeing out there right now. We need to make sure that we have a lot of boots on the ground.”

The senator said, “I appreciate Michael Steele’s service.” But he added the party’s get-out-the-vote effort lagged under Steele, asserting “where we lost a few Senate seats, our ground game was not as strong as it could have been. We were actually out manned on the ground.”

I actually think that it is a bit unfair to blame Steele for not taking back the Senate. There was hardly anyone before election day that thought that the Republicans would be able to overcome the 9-seat deficit to take back the Senate. Only 1/3 of the Senate was up and about half of those we'ree Republican incumbents. They would've had to flip almost all Democratic incumbents to do it. Three of those seats that were lost were from very heavily blue states of California, Delaware, and Connecticut, and Colorado leans Democratic most of the time. The only loss that was a complete waste of a seat was Sharron Angle's loss to Harry Reid in Nevada.

Now, he has been prone to gaffes during his 1st year, but he has seemed to have toned it down, over the past few months. I don't know, if I would agree with it, but his departure seems more and more likely with every passing day.

Top GOP Black Candidate(Allen West-FL) Slams Obama Over How Black Panther Voter Intimidation Case Was Handled

One of the black GOP candidates running for the House this November had some stark criticism for Obama regarding his handling of the Black Panter voter intimidation case:

One of the GOP's handful of black candidates for Congress condemned President Barack Obama of exploiting race for political gain.

Allen West, the Republican challenging Rep. Ron Klein (D) in Florida's 22nd congressional district, sharply criticized the Obama administration for having allegedly declined prosecuting the New Black Panther Party on voter tampering charges for political reasons.

For an Administration that promised a new era in race relations, Obama and the Democrats in Congress have demonstrated that race will continually be exploited for political gain, West, who is one of two African-American Republicans running for Congress who have survived their primaries, said in a statement.

West was picking up on a meme that's made its way through conservative blogs in recent days, based on whistleblower claims made by a former Justice Department employee. Charges against the Black Panthers for their actions on Election Day 2008 weren't pursued because of racial politics, the employee charged. The Justice Department says charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.

West drew on his own history with race to condemn the Black Panthers, as well as other black Democrats, who he said had remained silent when he'd been called racially-ringed names during the course of his campaign.

The dye has been cast in this election cycle - Democrats and their liberal progressive socialist allies will continue to play the race card when it is politically expedient, West said. I demand an investigation of the New Black Panther Party and the placement of it, along with any extremist group, onto the Terrorist Watch List if warranted. If that it not done prior to my taking the oath of office as a United States Congressman, it will happen soon thereafter.

Jerry Brown and Chris Mathews Talk Down to Voters During Hardball Interview

Jerry Brown, who is the Democrat that is running against Meg Whitman in the California gubernatorial election, was on Chris Mathews’ Hardball program. During the interview, both Mathews and Brown had some derogatory things to say about the right. While this, on its own, is not really shocking news, it is still noteworthy.

From the beginning, Mathews called Meg Whitman an outsider. At about the 1:36 mark, Mathews calls Whitman, along with Dubya and Palin, "know-nothings" especially about government. He goes to insult Americans by questioning why the hell they would ever vote for Bush:

What is it in the American psyche or character that says that if you don't know anything you're somehow an average person or average guy, and you have horsesense. What is about people that they keep picking people like George W Bush to be president? And you see someone like Sarah Palin have fans. Why would anybody like somebody who the campaign manager for John McCain said, "She doesn't know anything."? Why is not knowing anything; why is the know-nothing candidate like Meg Whitman, a person who doesn't have any government experience, have the appeal to be even with you in the polls, the person who doesn't know anything about government?

Listening to the video you can really hear the venom come out of Mathews’ mouth as he spits the name Bush and Palin.

Mathews continues to show his disdain for the everyday Californian by calling them amateurs and wondering if letting them vote on specific issues is really a good thing? After all, most people can’t be as smart as the politicians are. So, we can’t possibly know what is good for us. Right, Chris?:

The people of California haven't had alot of faith in politicians over the last 20-30 years. They've gotten their fingers in actual legislature, not just saying who should do it but doing it themselves...Has that been good for California, all this effort to keep refining and refining and messing with it as amatuers? Has it been a good political system for California?

The real gem comes from Jerry Brown at about 6:15:

Don't you just say that unions are a powerful force. Wall St. destroyed $11 Trillion worth of wealth. That's pretty powerful. No union could ever do that. (M-Yeah, I know) Then, there is the teabaggers. There is the Chamber of Commerce. (M-giggles)

Now, Chris did ask a good question about unions there, and but Brown quickly dismissed that question and changed the topic to those who he really blames for the recession. All Mathew can say about that is, “Yeah, I know”. First of all, unions have destroyed the auto industry in Detroit, which in turn helped tank the market. That is an over trillion dollar industry in itself. So, unions are just as influential in the long run as the evil stock brokers are.

Second, TEABAGGERS?!? Really? Haven’t the Democrats gotten past using juvenile insults, yet? I guess not. Of course, Chris doesn’t challenge him on that he only giggles like a junior high school boy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sarah Palin’s PAC Releases Video With “Campaign Feel”

This video just came out on Sarah Palin’s YouTube channel. It doesn’t mention a candidate by name. This seems to be a generic spot is for the many female GOP candidates running for federal office this November. but it, also, feels like she may be testing the waters and laying the groundwork for herself 4 years from now.

It’s probably both:



Exit question: What is Sarah Palin’s fascination with Mama Grizzlies?

Obama Continues to Drive Seniors Away As He Pushes Obamacare

Senior citizens used to lean towards the Democrats, but the Age of Obama has seen a shift of their allegience back to the Republicans:

While senior voters were nearly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats during the 2008 presidential election, there has been a "striking" shift toward the GOP in recent months, said Tom Jensen, communications director at Public Policy Polling in Raleigh, N.C.

A poll two weeks ago found Republicans winning on a generic ballot among seniors, after recent polling had found that 46 percent of seniors identify themselves as Republicans, 33 percent as Democrats and 22 percent as independents. "Almost every poll we do when we break it down by age, President Obama is least popular with seniors. That is definitely the age group that he is having the most problem with," Mr. Jensen said. "If not for those senior citizens, Democrats would have the lead on a generic ballot. But overall, American voters say 45 to 41 that they will vote Republican next year and it's the seniors who are making that happen.

What is fueling this shift? Obamacare has been turning off seniors for the past few months ever since Obama started pushing his health care plan, and the left-leaning AARP has been paying the price for the seniors' move to the GOP.

With 2010 inching closer, this will become a problem for Democrats, especially those in more moderate districts:

"What makes it even a bigger implication for the midterm elections is because seniors cast a much larger percentage of votes in midterms than they do in presidential years," he said. "Not only are they leaning more Republican these days but they are also likely to be a much bigger slice of the electorate in 2010 than they were in 2009."

Indeed, while seniors historically vote in full force in midterm elections, President Obama's administration will find itself struggling to deal with this class of voters in 2010, said Andrea Campbell, a professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has written about senior political engagement.

New Jersey: GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Leads Incumbent Democrat By 13, Obama Policies Tested

New Jersey Gubernatorial race is off to quick start for the Republican nominee:

New Jersey Governor: Christie (R) 51% Corzine (D) 38%

Fresh from his primary victory over Steve Lonegan, Republican Chris Christie enjoys a double-digit lead over Democrat Jon Corzine in the New Jersey Governor's race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Christie with 51% of the vote while Corzine is supported by 38%. Last month, before the primary, it was Christie with 47% of the vote and Corzine with 38%. The slight increase in support for Christie may reflect a temporary bounce from his primary victory.

The poll goes on to point out that while the wildly unpopular Democratic governor is down by double digits, New Jersey is traditionally solid blue. It will still be an uphill climb for Christie.

However, the ballooning state budget deficits, high unemployment, and bad economy could diminish the urge for Jersians to remain loyal to the Democratic party.

This is another test of voter reaction and approval of Obama and the Democrats' policies and effectiveness. While the first test, the NY-20 House election, was technically a failure for the Republicans, it was very close, and the Democratic now-Congressman Murphy beat the GOP candidate by only about 400 votes. Basically, it was 50.2% to 49.8%.

The New York election was an important test, but it was a win in a very liberal state albeit a more conservative district than most in the state. However, it was really to early to gage Obama's policies or the public's thoughts on them. Murphy mostly rode Obama's wave of momentum and honeymoon popularity.

Now, more time has passed, and people have become increasingly wary of the government's spendapalooza and bailing out of every business that comes to them. The upcoming elections will show how well the voters are receiving the One, especially if the Republicans win in this normally Democratic stronghold.

Does Chris Dodd Buying First 2010 Election Campaign Ad Show His Desperation?

Dodd must be desperate. Not only is he getting started with the 2010 elections pretty early, but he is also bringing in the biggest dog of them all into his Senate battle right off the bat:

Christopher Dodd hopes to get a boost from President Obama as he airs the first TV ad in his 2010 re-election bid.

The 30-second spot set to air statewide in Connecticut on Friday features Obama praising the Democrat for his work crafting the new credit card reform bill that the president signed into law last week. Dodd chairs the Senate Banking Committee.

After all of the trouble that Dodd has had with his scandals, especially regarding AIG and Countrywide, he is way behind his Republican counterpart in the latest polls:

He faces the toughest re-election fight of his five terms in the Senate. A Quinnipiac University Poll released this week showed Dodd trailing former Republican congressman Rob Simmons 45-39 percent. Dodd is one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats facing re-election next year.

This will definately be one to watch over the next year and a half.

Far-Left Groups Pulling Blue Dogs Further Left Could Hurt Dems In 2010

Democratic leader tempers expectations for 2010
By BEN EVANS Associated Press Writer
Apr 2, 10:09 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Liberal groups targeting moderate congressional Democrats should "beware of forming a circular firing squad" that could hurt the party in 2010 elections, says the head of the Democrats' House campaign efforts.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said at a news conference Wednesday he has personally talked with certain individuals from liberal organizations who have begun raising money to finance challenges to centrist Democrats. He warned the efforts threatened to split the party and allow Republicans to pick up seats.

The Maryland congressman is trying to defuse heady expectations in his party for more gains in next year's midterm elections. He spoke after too-close-to-call results in this week's election for a vacant Democratic seat in New York.

Van Hollen presided over his party's 2008 House campaign, which added 18 seats to the Democrats' majority. While there will be some opportunities for knocking off House Republicans in 2010, he said the focus will be on "playing defense" to protect freshmen Democrats and other vulnerable members who won by close margins in November.

Noting that the president's party has traditionally lost seats in midterm elections, Van Hollen said Democrats' fortunes in 2010 rest largely on how the public judges President Barack Obama's handling of the economy.

"Our prospects are obviously tied to how well the president is doing," he said.

The election Tuesday was for the House seat vacated in January when New York Gov. David Paterson appointed Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand to the Senate to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Democratic candidate, political newcomer Scott Murphy, was locked in a tight race with longtime Republican state legislator Jim Tedisco in a district that has a Republican advantage of about 75,000 voters. The race will be decided by absentee ballots.

Murphy ran as a strong supporter of Obama's economic policies, while Tedisco criticized Murphy for supporting Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan.

Democrats currently have a 76-seat advantage in the House.

© 2009 The Associated Press.

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My Thoughts

I have no problem with this. MoveOn, ACORN, and the like can do this for the next four years for all I care. It'll just bring their real socialist agenda into the light, and the American people will reject it as they always have. This is still a center-right not left country, and they will find this out shortly, if they continue to overreach and push America into a more socialist system.