313 thoughts on “Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In?”

  1. Check with me in November 2012 and see if this comes true.

    1). 2012 will be the first non-wave election since 2004.

    2). Obama will win because of the improving economy, and Republicans will hold on to the House for exactly the same reason.

    3). Republicans will pick up 0-2 seats in the Senate.

    If you look at it, the past three election cycles have been very unusual. We haven’t had a wave election when a president has won his second race since 1948. One thing I figured out from two years ago – when many of us were predicting how the Dems were going to pick up even more seats in 2010, we were ignoring history.

    I’ve decided not to do that this time around.  

  3. It’s over 15 million in debt and they are trying to negotiate delay repaying the first installment of 5 million for another year with the bank.  Undoubtedly, that will up their loan interest.

  5. If he wants to, I think the likliest successful comeback has to be Ron Klein. Allan West is obviously not cut out to be a long term congressman, and the new redistricting guidelines almost guarantee that Dems should get another South Florida district.

  6. These days it is very common for people to not run races where they will be thrashed because it hurts their talking head marketability.  So I’m wondering… what the hell was Steele thinking?

    If he came in third even I’d accept that he went in thinking he had a fair shot, but instead he looks like Gene McCarthy in 1976, someone once viable but now a joke.

    How tone deaf clueless is this guy to be humiliated like this?

  8. Does Tim Kaine staying on as DNC chair mean that he won’t run for Senate if Webb retires? Is there any history of party chairman resigning to run for office?

    Also, relatedly, Webb has been acting like a douchenozzle lately. I don’t know why a Democratic senator from Virginia would attack his own president if he had any intention of running for reelection. I mean, Virginia’s not really a liberal state, but c’mon

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/…

  9. This may be insensitive and not appropriate to discuss right now, but I was wondering what impact the Tucson shooting would have on Giffords’ reelection chances. She won only 49% of the vote last November running as a moderate Dem against a Tea Party candidate.

    Could the sympathy generated from the people especially in the 8th district give her the safest path to reelection? Is there any precedent where a Congressman/woman experienced some traumatic event that led to an outpouring of sympathy that resulted in an easy reelection?

  10. The guy has serious gaffes.  He’s new to the State Senate, is given a coveted Chairmanship over the Senate Ag Committee (apparently in CA, the minoriy party can hold chairmanships as well, although much fewer), and blows it all with sour grapes.  He says that the budget deficit is not their (the GOP’s) problem.

    http://www.calitics.com/diary/…

    And with that, the gavel is taken from him quickly after it was given.

  12. She was one of the Republicans running to replace Steve Buyer (R).  She got 3% of the vote in the GOP primary.

    Now, she’s been arrested for intimidation in the form of veiled death threats on Facebook to judges and politicians.

    “One day, I will have my revenge on your seeking so much revenge on me. Jane, Tom, Matt, Chris, Steve, Monte, Eric, Vickie, Carol, Larry, Debbie, William (Bill), Mike, Penny, etc.,” she wrote in one post.

    In another posting, she threatened to blow up their offices.

    “Right below that, it said, ‘I won’t have to lift a finger. One day you are sitting in your office…kaboom!” Allen said. “Yeah, I do believe that they will finally get it one of these days. Someday, somebody will, they will be sitting there and something will happen, they will finally get it.”

  14. http://www.cookpolitical.com/c…

    Virginia leans Republican? North Carolina likely Republican?

    Post mid-term polling from PPP (RV-LV hybrid), Obama job approval, best GOP performance and my state rating (based on these numbers and recent history):

    VA (50-45) Romney and Huckabee both trail by 5 (Tossup)

    MT (41-54) Romney leads by 11 (Rep Fav)

    MO (43-52) Huckabee leads by 7 (Leans Rep)

    MA (55-40) Romney trails by 9 (Safe Dem)

    MI (50-45) Romney trails by 4 (Leans Dem)

    MN (49-46) Romney trails by 5 (Leans Dem)

    OH (42-49) Huckabee trails by 1 (Tossup)

    WI (47-46) Romney trails by 4 (Leans Dem)

    FL (45-49) Romney trails by 2 (Tossup)

    NC (46-49) Huckabee leads by 1 (Tossup)

    PA (46-49) Huckabee trails by 3 (Tossup)

    NV (50-46) Romney trails by 1 (Tossup)

    NJ (51-43) Romney trails by 15 (Safe Dem)

    IA (50-43) Huckabee trails by 4 (Leans Dem)

    An important caveat is that since most of these polls were in the field national approval for the president has ticked up by at least a couple of points and into clear positive territory.

     

  16. UT, WY, ID, NE (barely), KS (barely) AR, KY, TN, LA, MS, AL

    I can’t decide about Texas. It would be one or two points either way. You will notice I do not have Alaska.

  17. (depending on when they get a critical mass of like-minded posters)

    I see they already have some excellent diaries posted — of special interest here is the different perspective they have on TX-Sen, along with redistricting in PA and OH.

    Any D here who wants to make sure they’re not in an “echo chamber” would do well to read what they have there — and come to your own conclusions.

    1. He’s largely stuck to strictly conservative positions, coming out against gay marriage during the RNC chair debate and suggesting that anyone who favors a woman’s right to choose is “not a Republican.”

      Good to know he indirectly thinks Snowe, Collins, Capito, Kirk, Murkowski, Biggert, Bono Mack, Dent, Lance, and Stivers are not Republicans.

  22. Anyone know what to do when a question mark pops up after I have uploaded an image to a diary? I used to the correct form i think (img src=”imageblahbah.com”) except ( ) =< > etc. Is it not compatible on a Mac? What to do?

    1. Senate Democrats tend to stick with seniority as what determines chairmanships. I’d be fine with dumping that practice, but until they do, Jack Reed will replace Carl Levin. And Reed is both younger than Webb, and holds a much safer seat.

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