The Emperior Has No Clothing!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Book of Obama: Chapter 13

His Excellency, The Most High, Master of the Nation, President Barack Hussein Obama (May He Reign Forever) spoke to the peons of the population.  None of this problem is MY fault, the Great One exclaimed.

"I blame Bush! He spent $1 Trillion in 8 years. And there was the Recession. We had to spend, spend, spend to Save the Nation. It is the fault of the Republicans. Those nasty TEA Partiers. It is the fault of everyone else. I am your King. Nothing is MY fault. It never is.

We need to make the rich give up their money. The Corporate CEOs with private jets need to give all their money to ME. The Billionaires and Millionaires have too much money, I need it more.  I need much more.

Although I am Omnipotent, I need your help.  If I don't get the debt ceiling raised, the world will come to an end.  The elderly will be forced to eat cat food.   The military will not be paid.  Veterans will starve while being thrown on the street. All this because the evil Republicans with their allies the rich fat cats, will not do as I order them to.

Every President for many years has gotten what I demand.  The Great Reagan spoke thus:

"Would you rather reduce deficits and interest rates by raising revenue from those who are not now paying their fair share, or would you rather accept larger budget deficits, higher interest rates, and higher unemployment? And I think I know your answer."

And yet these evil men will thwart MY plans, MY desires, what I want.  It is very simple.  Without this ceiling raise, we will DEFAULT on our debt.  The nation will be destroyed.  It will not be MY fault!  We have only a week.  I need you to call Congress and demand that they raise the ceiling.  Raise it enough so that We don't have to do this until after November 2012 (So I don't have to bring this up again until I am reelected!). Only you, the Middle Class, the Poor need to do this.  Together We can defeat the rich, the ignorant, the Republicans.

Thank you MY subjects.  I bless you!"

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
-----Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence

Thus the Anointed One spoke to the people.  And they would have listened to Him but for the voice of the House Speaker, Boehner of Tears.  He spoke quietly, passionately, and with a firm voice.  His words bespoke of the truth and the people listened:

"I am not a fat cat, I was just a small business owner before I came to Congress.  I am one of you, the Middle Class, the people who find all of this too complicated to understand.  But it isn't too complicated.  It is as easy as your own home budget.

The President wants us to raise the debt ceiling for the next 18 months. This is so He will not have to face this problem during an election. The President swears that if we don't raise the ceiling the nation will end. We will default on our debts, the old will starve, the military will not be paid and veterans will be homeless. This is a lie. None of this will happen. What will happen is that for the first time the nation will have to live within our means. We will have to cut spending. We will have to trim the fat.

The President refuses to cut the fat, the port, the earmarks. We had a deal, but the President threatened to veto it. We have another deal, but it forces the President to cut spending, and will only raise the debt ceiling for 6 months.

The President is acting childish. He is carrying on a temper tantrum: "Do it my way or face the consequences!" The President can quote Ronald Reagan, but he will never be Ronald Reagan. Nor does he understand what Reagan stood for.

We will call his bluff. The President will be taught the lesson of the Constitutionality of this issue. He will be denied. He believes to be our King. But he forgets. We are Americans! WE HAVE AND WILL HAVE NO KINGS!!!!

And with that, the American people awoke to the truth of the argument.  The did call the Congress telling them to stand firm, don't give in to Obama's demands.  If we can stop him now, he will be destroyed. And they remembered this:

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.

A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

---Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

Yes President Obama has become a Tyrant.  It is time to take down the tyrant.  Call your Congressman or woman.  E-mail him or her.  Let them remember what happened in 2010.  You put them into Congress and you can take them out.  Time is running out. the nation and our freedoms are at risk.  It is time to stop the Tax and Spend culture of the Presidents and Democrats now.

"I Don't Care Anything About Your Disability."

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

I am very concerned about the people of the 18th Congressional District of Texas.  You know that gerrymandered district so convoluted as to insure a re-election victory for Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee.

18th Congressional District of Texas

I do believe you remember Congresswoman Jackson Lee.  Here are just a few of her inspired comments:







Just a few of her many gaffs.

Now the good Congresswoman is going to feel the heat.  Her former legislative director, Mona Floyd, has filed a lawsuit in regard to the discriminatory working conditions.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's former legislative director is suing the Democratic congresswoman, claiming she made "humiliating" comments about her vision disability while refusing to do anything to accommodate her.

At one point, the lawsuit claims, the congresswoman told her: "I don't care anything about your disability."

The lawsuit, filed last month in District of Columbia federal court, seeks unspecified damages in the form of "back and front pay," as well as punitive damages. Former aide Mona Floyd claims Jackson Lee's treatment of her amounted to "unlawful discrimination" and contributed to her resignation last fall.

The suit states that Floyd suffers from "monocular vision," causing eye fatigue and reducing reading speed -- symptoms that worsen without adequate rest during the day.

Full Story

Congresswoman Jackson Lee's behavior towards her employees has been well documented since 2002.  Her temper tantrums, obscene language and abuse towards her employees would be considered grounds for dismissal in the Private Sector, but in Congress they are acceptable.  And so they are to the people of Houston.  They must be.  They keep electing this over the top, racist, egotistical fool of a woman.  I wonder what the people of Houston are smoking.  Or is it the simple fact that they are inbred idiots.  Dumber than the inbred idiots in Deliverance.  There has to be a valid reason for her continual re-election to Congress.

One day, hopefully in 2012, the good people of the 18th will awaken and realize that do to this woman's insane utterances they are the laughing stock of the nation.  And with that realization they will vote this woman out of office.  But until that time we must endure that which is unendurable:  The stupidity and hypocrisy of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

True Friends of Israel

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

The Emergency Committee for Israel has come out with a new ad that hits President Obama for (what else?) his stand on Israel.

ECI Thanks Israel's True Friends



Hat Tip Israel Matzav

Americans Prefer Cutting Spending Over Raising Taxes To Reduce Deficit

Yet another poll, by Gallup, tell our politicians what Americans expect from them and how they prefer Washington deal with the overwhelming national deficit.

73 percent of national adults understand that spending too much on federal programs that are either not needed or wasteful is the primary cause for our $14 trillion-plus national debt.

Only 22 percent believe that not raising enough money via taxes is to blame for the deficit.




When respondents were asked how they would prefer Congress attempt to reduce the federal budget deficit, 20 percent said only with spending cuts and 28 percent responded mostly with spending cuts, totaling 48 percent that want Washington to focus on cutting spending.

Despite the far left's howling about raising taxes being the be-all end-all of our deficit problems, only nine percent prefer the deficit be reduced mostly with tax increases and a mere two percent believe the deficit problem can be handled using only tax increases, totaling 11 percent of national adults prefer for Washington to use raising taxes to bring down our debt.

37 percent believe that spending cuts and tax increases together should be used.

The major partisan distinctions in response to this question reflect the choice between mostly/only spending cuts versus the equal use of spending cuts and tax increases. Republicans are most likely to favor the former; Democrats, the latter. Independents' views are between these two extremes. Relatively few Americans of any partisan identification favor mostly or only using tax increases to reduce the deficit.

Americans have been clearly informed of the positions the two political parties in Washington hold, having witnessed the very public battle over the recent budget deal passed where Republicans fought hard to include as many spending cuts as possible and Democrats fighting tooth and nail to limit those cuts.

According to another Gallup poll, 48 percent of Americans favor Republicans on the issue of the federal deficit with only 36 favoring Democrats. (via CNBC)

The federal budget was the only issue in which respondents clearly preferred one party over the other, with 48 percent favoring Republicans and 36 percent Democrats.

The poll found that Americans favored Republicans by smaller margins on four other issues: Afghanistan, the U.S. economy, immigration and jobs. Democrats held a small advantage on handling healthcare, the poll found.

When faced with poll after poll showing Americans know where the problems lie and showing preference to how Americans want the deficit reductions handled, the far left fall back to the position of "Americans are too stupid to really understand the problem". The mere 11 percent of the population that want only or mostly taxes increases, in their minds, are the only ones who truly have the brains to understand.

This is evidenced by an Yglesias post, which seems to be the meme the far left use whenever public opinion puts them so far into the minority.

His title "The Public At Least Thinks It Wants Spending Cuts To Be A Very Large Part of Deficit Reduction."

Arrogance be thy name.

According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll asking Americans about the direction of the country, 60 percent believe America to be on the wrong track going the wrong way with only 25 percent believing the opposite.

Rasmussen shows the number saying we are on the wrong track to 71 percent and CBS News/NY Times shows 70 percent say wrong track.

In 2010, midterms, Americans made a huge statement by giving the GOP a net gain in the House of Representatives which not only gave them control but was the largest net gain of seats seen in over 70 years.

Americans also handed Senate Republicans more seats, although Democrats still control the Senate (by a much smaller margin) and the White House.

During the budget recent budget battle, Speaker of the House, John Boehner, was quoted as saying "We control one-half of one-third of the government. We can't impose our will on another body. We can't impose our will on the Senate. All we can do is to fight for all of the spending cuts that we can get an agreement to."

While Congress controls the purse strings, no bill that passes the House of Representatives which includes massive spending cuts, as a plurality of the public prefers the deficit to be handled, can get to floor of the Senate because Harry Reid, a Democrat, is Senate majority leader and has the power to bring it to the floor and Democrats hold a small majority, so even if brought up, the GOP cannot get it passed.

If they did, the president, a Democrat himself, has the power to veto it.

This puts the choice directly into the hands of the American public in 2012. Are people like Yglesias correct in believing the Americans only "think" they know what they want, but don't "really mean" it?

I don't think so. I personally think Americans are smart. They understand the problems. They understand the solutions. Most importantly, they understand who is standing in the way of reaching those solutions.

In 2012, 23 Democratic Senate seats are in play and only 10 Republican held seats and the Democrat in the White House faces a reelection challenge.

Americans will have a clear choice of whether they wish to continue to see spending out of control or whether they want to see spending cuts without the massive battle over every dollar cut by a political party that seems to believe that spending more money than you have and continuing to borrow money is simply business as usual in Washington.

If they balanced their personal checkbooks in the same manner as they do Washington's, they would be paying more in overdraft fees to their banks than the whole budget itself.

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GOP's New House Rules A Good Start

The Politico reports on the unveiling of the new rules the GOP will be implementing for the House of Representatives come January when they take control from Democrats and John Boehner presumably takes the gavel from Nancy Pelosi.

Transparency and forcing legislatures to assume responsibility for their votes as well as cutting spending and making sure any new spending is offset without raising taxes to pay for it, seems to be the direction the newly unveiled rules are heading.

All promises made to voters and ones that Boehner and the GOP seem intent on keeping.

The new House Republican majority will force lawmakers to vote when they want to raise the nation's debt ceiling, publish committee attendance records, ban former members from lobbying in the House gym and require new mandatory spending to be offset by cuts to other programs.

Changes to House rules are the first step the newly empowered GOP will take to address the concerns of a lack of transparency that has been seen in the House of Representatives as well as the concerns of voters who expect the GOP to keep the promises made to elect them back into power.

"These reforms represent Republicans' first step in keeping the promises we outlined in the Pledge to America to change the way Washington works and address the people’s priorities: creating jobs and cutting spending,” Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement issued with the summary.

With all the news and one Democrat having admitted that he didn't even read the full text of the Obamacare health law before they passed it, along partisan party lines, the GOP will implement committee and House rules that will address that issue as well.

"[I]t shall not be in order to consider a bill or joint resolution which has not been reported by a committee until the third calendar day … on which such measure has been publicly available in electronic form,” reads one new rule.

On spending, Republicans unveil a CUT/GO rule in place of the failed PAY/GO the Democrats implemented then never even tried to enforce or abide by.

On the spending front, Republicans plan to implement a series of rules called CUT/GO — a conservative answer to the PAY/GO rules instituted by Democrats. Under CUT/GO, increases in mandatory spending would have to be offset by spending cuts in other programs. Mandatory spending refers to the autopilot portion of the budget covering Social Security, Medicare and other programs designed to make payouts based on eligibility criteria rather than a set dollar figure each year.

Under CUT/GO, offsets could not be achieved by raising taxes, according to the summary.

There are some other changes but these appear to be the major first steps in keeping the campaign promises that Republicans across the country made to constituents to be allowed another chance at controlling the House of Representatives.

It is a good start and it seems they are making sure to publicly acknowledge the need to keep those vows and are intensely aware that they are being watched by voters and are expected to do things differently than Democrats have been doing in the four years they have controlled both house's of Congress.

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Reapportionment Due To Census Favors Republicans

The 2012 Presidential election just got a lot harder for Barack Obama and the census report which is used to reapportion House seats just favored Republicans with good news.

The Hill:

New data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau shows sizable shifts in population from Democratic-leaning states in the Industrial Midwest to Republican-leaning states in the Sun Belt.

That translates to fresh political opportunity for Republicans who, after netting 63 House seats in the 2010 election, stand to solidify their majority in Congress during the upcoming round of redistricting.

NRO:

States gaining Congressional seats: Arizona (1), Florida (2), Georgia (1), Nevada (1), South Carolina (1), Texas (4), Utah (1), Washington (1).

States losing Congressional seats: Illinois (1), Iowa (1), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (1), New York (2), Ohio (2), Pennsylvania (1).

You’ll notice John McCain won five of the eight states gaining seats.

You’ll notice Barack Obama won eight of the ten states losing seats.

Weigel:

This is about as bad as it could get for Democrats, and as good as it could get for Republicans. The next GOP presidential candidate gets six free electoral votes from South Carolina, Texas, Utah. The Democratic caucus in the House is about to see internal warfare in the rust belt and northeast, as their members are forced into Thunderdome battle for the diminished number of seats. Only in Illinois, I think, will the Democrats be able to create a map that hurts the GOP's newly elected members and takes back a seat or two.

Klein:

In the short term, this is very good for Republicans. But is that true in the long term? A lot of these changes are driven by Hispanic immigrants. Texas gets more seats now, but the way it's getting those seats bring us closer to the day when Texas becomes a viable target for Democrats. Same goes for Arizona -- and that's a state where Hispanics are getting increasingly radicalized against the GOP. As Larry Littlefield pithily puts it, "It seems that most of the growth is in Blue portions of Red states."

So far as the next presidential election goes, that hurts Obama. If he gets 46 percent of the vote in Texas rather than 43 percent, he still gets exactly none of Texas's electoral votes. In total, this census takes six electoral votes from Barack Obama's 2008 haul. Insofar as there's a silver lining for Democrats, it's in the longer-term, as the underlying shift we're seeing towards more Hispanic voters looks likely to favor them.

What we can say is that the 2010 election was a good one for the Republicans to win. It flipped 19 state legislatures in their direction, and so Republicans will have control of the redistricting process in most of those states. That means they'll be able to maximize whatever advantages the census results have to offer.

I specifically quoted Klein here because he continues to perpetuate the myth of Hispanic voters being against conservative candidates and implies that will get worse. While it is true that the majority of Hispanic voters vote Democrat, in the 2010 midterm elections Republicans saw more support from Hispanics than in 2006 or 2008.

Wapo- Nov. 27, 2010:

The conventional wisdom has already settled like a blanket over Washington. Allegedly, Hispanics flocked to the polls to punish Republicans for the Arizona immigration law. They "saved" the Senate for Democrats. And on and on. The conventional wisdom, however, is wrong. The 2010 election actually paints a very bright picture of the Republican Party's relations with this country's growing Hispanic population.

Exit polls reported by CNN and updated this week reveal that a historically robust 38 percent of Hispanic voters cast ballots for House Republican candidates in 2010 - more than in 2006 (30 percent) and 2008 (29 percent). In fact, since 1984, Republican House candidates have only won a higher percentage of the Hispanic vote in one election: 2004. This level of Hispanic support for Republican candidates came despite widespread pre-election claims by advocates for illegal immigration that the Arizona law and a pro-rule-of-law stand would undercut Hispanic support for Republicans.

Journalist Shikha Dalmia admitted in Forbes that the 2010 election "casts severe doubts" on the assumption that Hispanics will necessarily be advocates for illegal immigration. "Anti-immigration sentiment," she wrote, is "driven by economic and other fears that have to be addressed anew for every generation regardless of its ethnic make-up."

Hispanics certainly share these fears with all other American workers, and Hispanic workers face the impact of illegal immigration head-on. Among native-born Hispanics without a high school degree, 35 percent are either unemployed, are so discouraged that they have left the labor force or are forced to work part time.

Many Hispanics indeed voted for the very Republican candidates most identified as having a pro-enforcement or anti-amnesty stance. And these Republicans generally did as well as, or better than, the Republicans running for the same positions in the previous election. According to exit polls reported by CNN:

l 55 percent of Hispanic voters in Florida voted for Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek (compared with 41 percent for the Republican Senate candidate in 2006);

l 50 percent voted for Rick Scott over Alex Sink for governor (compared with 49 percent voting for the Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2006);

l 38 percent voted for Rick Perry over Bill White for governor of Texas (up from 31 percent voting for Perry in 2006);

l 30 percent voted for Sharron Angle over Harry Reid in the Nevada Senate race (compared with 27 percent voting for the Republican candidate against Reid in 2004);

l 29 percent voted for Carly Fiorina over Barbara Boxer in the California Senate race (up from 23 percent for the Republican candidate against Boxer in 2004).

l 28 percent voted for Jan Brewer over Terry Goddard for governor of Arizona (compared with 26 percent voting for the Republican candidate in the 2006 governor's race);

Republicans are gaining support with Hispanics and Democrats, while still seeing more support than Republicans, have seen it at a lower rate than previously... so that is one myth down.

Back to the reapportionment, National Journal has a good piece and FiveThirtyEight does as well.

No matter how it is spun, Republicans and Conservatives just got a nice Christmas gift in this census report.

Merry Christmas!!!

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The 111th Congress Goes Out With Lowest Approval Ratings In 36 Years

[Update] Help stop the Omnibus bill that Reid is trying to shove through, go here, scroll to the bottom and start dialing please.

As the 111th Congress goes out with the new 112th Congress ready to take the reins in January, Gallup finds that the Democratically controlled Congress has hit the lowest point in job approval in 36 years.

Only 13 percent of Americans approve of the the job performance of the current Congress and 83 percent disapprove.

I bet these numbers would have been lower had Gallup waied just one more week!!

The prior low approval rating for Congress was 14% in July 2008 when the United States was dealing with record-high gas prices and the economy was in recession.

The current results are based on a Dec. 10-12 Gallup poll, conducted as Congress is finishing work on an important lame-duck session. The session has been highlighted by the agreement on taxes forged last week by President Obama and Republicans in Congress. The tax deal preserves the 2001 and 2003 income tax rates for all Americans for two years, revises the estate tax, extends unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed for a year, and reduces payroll taxes for American workers. It is expected to pass despite vocal opposition from some lawmakers.

Americans are generally more positive than negative toward the deal, but many Democrats in Congress oppose it.

I suppose those numbers could have been lower had Gallup waited a week so the reality of the newly unveiled Senate Omnibus bill could have set into American's minds.

News reports show it is a $1.1 trillion bill with 6,600 earmarks costing approximately $8 billion.

Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas issued a statement in regards to this mess of an omnibus bill:

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, responded in a statement, saying that after neglecting to pass a budget, "today we learn Senate Democrats now want to sandwich them together, totaling almost 2,000 pages, and jam them through in the waning moments of this lame duck session before anyone can read them. This political end-around reveals just how quickly my colleagues across the aisle have already forgotten the voters' message in November."

Though none of the spending bills has passed the Senate, all the individual appropriations bills have been through the full committee process. In an afternoon release, the Appropriations Committee website listed all of the requested earmarks, winnowed into separate categories that go into making up the 12 separate annual spending bills.

If Republicans want to see the projected approval rating jump in January as they take control of the House of Representatives and five additional senators are seated in the Senate, they must block this bill, force Democrats to pass a stop gap bill to keep government running until January or February, then introduce the appropriate spending bills without the massive pork aka earmarks when Republicans control the House.

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How Much Time Will Congress Waste On Bush Tax Cut Fight When Everyone Knows What The End Game Will Be?

It appears that Democrats will be playing a little political theater for their liberal base, the whole time knowing what the outcome will be and what the end game will result in.

The lame duck session is now in session and there are issues to be dealt with before next year where Republicans take control of the House of Representatives and the weakened Democratically controlled Senate comes back from vacation to start work again.

From recent comments from Democratic sources such as Harry Reid, it appears that the Bush tax cuts will be extended temporarily for everyone, middle class and the wealthy, yet media is touting a "battle" before such a compromise is had.

Congressional Democrats, under pressure from their liberal wing, are preparing to put up a fight over tax relief for wealthier Americans before they agree to any compromise with Republicans that could extend the Bush-era breaks.

If the compromise position to extend all Bush tax cuts temporarily is proposed immediately, Republicans have already indicated they will vote for it and in order to stop the tax cuts from expiring on everyone, Democrats indicate they also will vote for it.

But nothing is that easy in Congress, so they are going to pretend to battle it out just to temporarily extend them all anyway.

The focal point on taxes will be breaking the impasse between Republicans who want all the Bush-era tax cuts to be made permanent and Democrats who, like Mr. Obama, want to make them permanent only for families with income under $250,000. Although both sides are digging in now, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D., N.D.) said the compromise path was clear.

"What's likely to happen is there will be an extension of the tax cuts for everybody for a period of time," Mr. Dorgan said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

Why waste what little time Congress has during the lame duck session fighting over an issue that most already have said they have a compromise for?

Answer, so Democrats can tell their liberal base "we tried."

(Corrections made to this post)

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Republican Ann Marie Buerkle The First Woman To Represent New York's 25th District

The count just went up for Republicans in the House of Representatives to 63 net seats gained, the largest turnover from Democratic to Republican seats in over 70 years in a midterm election which handed control of the House to Republicans.

A sixth Democratic House seat in New York fell to Republicans on Tuesday when freshman incumbent Dan Maffei conceded he could not overcome his opponent's narrow lead.

The Republican, Ann Marie Buerkle, will be the first woman to represent central New York's 25th Congressional District.

Maffei, who defeated Dale Sweetland to win the seat in 2008, called Buerkle to concede Tuesday, ending three weeks of ballot inspections, recounting and court wrangling.

"I want to thank him for doing what is in the best interests of the district," she told the Syracuse Post Standard. They agreed to work together for a "seamless transition."

Until the newly elected Representatives take over in January, Democrats still hold control of the House of Representatives during the lame duck session.

More about a Gallup poll of Americans telling Congress what their priorities are for the lame duck session in a previous post.

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Extending Bush Tax Cuts And Keeping Estate Taxes From Increasing Most Important To Americans

Gallup:

[Of these, taxes appear to be Americans' highest priority. That could be in part because tax rates would change significantly for 2011 if Congress does not act by the end of this year. The income tax cuts that were a centerpiece of the Bush economic plan are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts to extend them. Most in Congress seem to support at least a temporary extension, though there is disagreement as to whether any extension should apply to upper-income Americans, in addition to middle-income Americans.

Also, Congress suspended the estate tax for this year, but it is scheduled to go back into effect in 2011 at a higher rate than previously was the case, unless Congress votes otherwise.]

Keeping estate taxes aka death taxes from increasing significantly topped the list with 56 percent of Americans saying that is very important, 26 percent saying it is somewhat important to deal with during the lame duck session of Congress, and 50 percent saying that extending Bush tax cuts in some form is very important with 31 percent saying it was somewhat important, came in second.

All other questions came in below 50 percent in the "very important" category with unemployment benefits at 48 percent, somewhat important 28 percent, START treaty at 40 percent,very important,33 percent saying somewhat important, DADT repeal at 32 percent,very important, 24 percent somewhat and DREAM Act at 31 percent, very important and 29 percent somewhat.

The breakdown along political lines is interesting with Republicans and Independents on opposite ends of the spectrum than Democrats.

(Click to enlarge)

Republicans' and Democrats' priorities differ most on extending the income tax cuts and extending unemployment benefits. In general, independents' priorities mirror those for all Americans.

Americans know what they want to see accomplished during the lame duck session of Congress (after midterms and before the newly elected Representatives and Senators are seated), now let's see if the still Democratically controlled Congress bothers to listen to the will of American voters or if they continue to push their own agenda until the GOP takes control of the House of Representatives and newly appointed Senators take their positions in the Senate, in January.

Midterm voters gave the GOP 62 net seats in the House of Representatives (and still counting as races are called), six additional seats in the Senate leaving it controlled by Democrats with far less of a majority, and hundreds of state legislative seats.

[Update] Change that to 63 House seats for the GOP since today incumbent Democrats Dan Maffei conceded in New York's 25th Congressional District race, making Republican Ann Marie Buerkle the first woman to represent that district.

(Corrections have been made to this post)

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Thank You Democrats For Electing Nancy Pelosi As Minority Leader

Right about now the RNC, Republicans in the House, Senate and across the country are popping the champagne and toasting Democrats for electing Nancy Pelosi in as the minority leader for the 112th Congress, after she successfully presided over the worst loss for Democratic party in midterm elections in the last 70+ years.

CBS reports:

The 70-year-old Californian was opposed by Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina in her bid to become minority leader in the new Congress. Shuler argued that Pelosi needed to go after presiding over the loss of the chamber earlier this month.

"We've obviously come off the biggest loss that we've had for the Democratic party in almost a century," Shuler, a former professional football player, said yesterday. "And to go back and put the exact leadership into place is probably not the right thing for our party."

But Pelosi had little trouble repelling the challenge from Shuler, one of the relatively-conservative Blue Dog Democrats who saw their numbers decimated in the midterms. The vote was 150 for Pelosi to 43 for Shuler.

In a sign of Pelosi's strength, Democrats voted 129-68 to proceed to a vote today over objections from those who sought a delay in order to have more time to mount a viable challenge to Pelosi.

Considering Pelosi has been Speaker of the House since 2006 and latest reports show that under her leadership, despite economic hardships across the country, Congressional members personal wealth expanded exponentially, it only makes sense that they keep her (tongue in cheek folks!!).

OpenSecrets:

Despite a stubbornly sour national economy congressional members’ personal wealth collectively increased by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics of federal financial disclosures released earlier this year.

And while some members’ financial portfolios lost value, no need to bemoan most lawmakers’ financial lot: Nearly half of them -- 261 -- are millionaires, a slight increase from the previous year, the Center’s study finds. That compares to about 1 percent of Americans who lay claim to the same lofty fiscal status.

And of these congressional millionaires, 55 have an average calculated wealth in 2009 of $10 million or more, with eight in the $100 million-plus range.

PS Those names include Democratic and Republican members of Congress

From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank Democrats for giving the GOP the biggest gift since the midterm elections.

More at The Hill.

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Illinois 8th District- Republicans Pick Up Another House Seat

The votes have been tallied in one of the House races that had yet to be called and the Tea Party backed Republican Joe Walsh wins an upset over three-term sitting Democratic Representative Melissa Bean.

Bean conceded after the absentee and provisional ballots were counted and she fell short by 291 votes out of more than 200,000 cast.

The Hill and Chicago Sun Times.

This gives Republicans over 60 seats gained in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections from November 2, 2010.

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Senate Democrats May Be Forced To Go On Record Regarding Earmarks

Republicans have hashed it out and now stand united to give American voters what they want and the Senate Republican Conference will approve a two year ban on earmarks aka pork barrel projects for their members and a bipartisan proposal by Sens Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Tom Coburn, R-Oklam will be put forth to the whole Senate as an amendment to another bill which will force Senate Democrats to go on record voting to continue placing earmarks in bills or to vote against it.

McCaskill released a statement Monday applauding the dramatic reversal of Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, in support of a ban on pet projects. In that statement, McCaskill, a close ally of the White House who has never requested an earmark since she was elected to Congress in 2006, said, "I'm glad that Republican leadership is coming around to this idea; now it's my Democratic colleagues turn to get on board."

Coburn and McCaskill are not expected to get a vote on their amendment, which was filed late, but a senior Senate GOP aide said the two could request a roll call vote on their motion to take up the amendment. That, the aide said, would serve as an "on the record vote" on the ban.

Polling done on government spending has found the majority of Americans believe the government should not be spending as they currently do.

In an AP/GFK poll found that 50 percent found that the higher priority should be put on "Reducing the federal budget deficit by cutting spending, even if that means the government could not enact new programs on education, health care reform, and the development of alternative energy sources."

A series of surveys, taken Sept. 12-15, 2010, sponsored by Public Notice and conducted by the Tarrance Group and Hart Research found that a "vast majority" of likely voters were "outraged" over government spending while a majority told the pollsters that government spending would affect how they voted on November 2, 2010.

We all saw how that vote turned out, with the GOP seeing a 60 seat gain in the House to take control, a 6 seat gain in the Senate (only a third of the Senate was in play) and hundreds upon hundreds of seats taken on a state level.

Make no mistake, cutting out earmarks will not, in any way, solve our deficit problems or reduce spending to a point where we can sustain ourselves, but it is a start and more importantly, Congressional members that vote to ban earmarks until we have spending under control are showing that they heard the American public during the midterms and are willing to listen and act accordingly.

Those that do will continue to receive support from the public and those that do not are showing they didn't get the message in 2010 and we then can act accordingly in the 2012 elections.

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Why I quit...

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Desert Storm vet explains decision to leave Air Force after 22 years.

By MIKE BANZET

I never expected to write this letter, but my Mom e-mailed me to get information about my career for a writeup on Veterans Day, and as this is the first such holiday in 22 years when I will not be on active duty, I felt compelled to let you know why I decided to quit.

Quit is a strong word, I know. Everyone I’ve talked to has repeated that I’ve had a marvelous career and that I’ve retired with honor. Maybe that’s true on paper; I guess that it’s reflected by the record. But that’s not how I feel. I feel like I’ve quit. And because I’m not a quitter, I feel I have to explain why — not that anyone is asking, but because perhaps they don’t know to ask.

Briefly, my career had been a representation of the promise of this country. Starting out on the lowest rung of the rank ladder as an F-4G Wild Weasel crew chief, continuing on F-16s and the F-117A Stealth fighter in Desert Storm, then a small part of Desert Fox as a nuclear Maintenance Officer and finally a pilot that took part in numerous deployments in Southern Watch, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. I finished up an awesome year on the ground in Iraq, and was selected to receive a coveted “Definitely Promote,” assuring me of promotion to lieutenant colonel. They don’t pass out many of those. My dreams were right in front of me. All I had to do was grab them. And then I retired. Why?

Atlas Shrugged.

I had chosen, freely, to place my life between those that would do harm to the U.S. and those whom I would protect: her citizens. I had always believed in the best of America and the people of her lands; that despite occasional missteps there was a general “rightness” to our way. I lived that belief for 22 years, leading and following warriors into combat. I’m certainly no war hero; my brothers in arms have seen far more combat, more intense and personal than I. But I have become acquainted with death in a way that I hope you never do. My last tour, on the ground in Iraq was where my heart started to be hardened towards you, the electorate, and culminated in this letter, written two days before our elections. And here’s why.

You’ve elected officials who, for partisan points, spoke openly that the “…war is lost.” I happened to be in a dining facility in Baghdad that day, filled with the (mostly) young faces of (mostly) Army men and women. CNN was on the TVs, and things got very quiet when this elected official continued on, railing that the mission that some of these very people were here to do, had “…failed.” Yet, they would be donning their body armor, strapping on med kits and weapons, mounting HMMVs or MRAPs and heading outside the wire, ensuring that the newborn democracy in Iraq, purchased with so many lives, would be safe another night. The newly re-invigorated insurgents would be waiting, teeth bared back in a hateful smile, gripping the IED detonator, the RPG launcher, or the AK-47s to ply their trade with new energy, because the Senate Majority Leader had said they were winning.

You elected officials who continually defame and berate military members, whether it is the observation that if you’re not too bright, you’ll get “…stuck in Iraq” (this from a guy who has two Purple Hearts for self-inflicted wounds, and known for throwing someone else’s medals away in protest), or the calling of combat Marines cold-blooded killers (in a war; before trial). You’ve elected officials in the role of commander-in-chief who “loathe” the military, while using ROTC deferments and special treatment to avoid military service that the less “connected” take as a responsibility. On the basis of “change,” you elected someone who had close, ongoing associations with people who were part of an organization that tried to kill us [U.S. military] on our own soil.

You elected officials that promised to take property from some Americans, and give it to you, merely because they had more than you did. Those Americans that these officials have labeled as the “rich” are your neighbors, who provide jobs and pay far more in taxes than you ever will. That means they are already subsidizing your lifestyle choices; you just want more of their property without the responsibility of risking your wealth and labor to get it. You would rather hire someone to take it from them. And you have.

Yet these same officials from this same party are the wealthiest group of people in both the House and Senate. They have offshore accounts, forbid unions in their businesses and use every tax loophole they can find with their armies of accountants. But you keep sending them back to those jobs, because they promise to steal from some Americans and give to you.

You elect officials who openly embrace illegal activity; but they don’t have to live with the consequences. Other Americans pay the price. You support “sanctuary cities” and open defiance of federal law, including supporting administrations who sue our sister states as they desperately try to control a crime epidemic by supporting federal law. You support an administration that leads a party that gives a standing ovation to the leader of a country that exploits our kindness and actively encourages law-breaking in our country while insulting our fellow citizens who dare to try to enforce the law. Check out your elected officials; did they stand and applaud the racist diatribe of the president of Mexico? Did they join the attorney general and the head of Homeland Security in applauding this gaping hole in (homeland) security and law? Do you have locks on your doors? Why?

You elect officials who are openly racist, decrying that “White folks’ greed drives a world in need…” and that their own grandmother was a “…typical white person.” Someone who sits in admiration as their pastor (small p; no capital letters for racists), in a church he attended for 20 years, slanders the United States as the “…U.S. of KKK America” and delights that the 9/11 “…chickens have come home to roost.” Someone who refused to denounce a paramilitary, racist organization that placed its members in front of polling places armed with billy clubs, and yelling racist, threatening epithets. On video. And the Attorney General did nothing.

Oh, wait. The Justice Department is now apparently, under sworn testimony, the Department of Racial Payback. And you continue to support the party that supports this blatantly racist behavior because they say that they will stick it to “the man” on your behalf. A Nation of Cowards? I don’t think so; the courage of this breathtaking racism is without equal in modern times. One would think that you would use your votes to eradicate these racist policies from the U.S. But that assumes eradicating racism is your aim. It’s not, or you would be as incensed at this blatant racism as you would if sheet-covered whites were there. But longtime Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd’s old gang has been rightfully disgraced and shamed into a virtual non-existence. Thank goodness that 52 percent of you discourage that kind of behavior.

But you don’t. You support the tactic of using the epithet of “racist” as the cudgel of choice for racists who don’t like policies that conservatives advocate. Don’t like illegal activity? Racist. Your party insists that to provide a photo ID — proving you are who you say you are — is not only too much of a burden to ask a voter to bear, but it’s racist as well. This not only terribly insulting to all races, but when the burden of proof to rent the DVD “Second Hand Lions” (amazing movie!) is higher than that required to vote for someone who has control of nuclear weapons or deploying men and women into harm’s way, there is something wrong.

It doesn’t end there. Don’t like a particular female’s policies? Sexist. Yet, you support politicians who prey on 20-year old interns, seduce underage male interns, and, as a double bonus, support a person for the Supreme Court who says she is “wiser” than white people because of her race and sex. And any opponent of hers must be sexist and racist. Yet the prevailing double standard makes “bitch” an acceptable term for a conservative grandmother with the temerity to want to stop illegal activity. And “whore” is acceptable terminology for any conservative woman.

Sarah Palin seems to be a nice person, the kind you would love to have as a neighbor, regardless of her policies; but you insist that she is stupid and vile. She is ignorant and inexperienced, clearly not ready for anything, as holding a variety of elected and appointed positions culminating in the governorship of Alaska clearly doesn’t hold up against… an organizer of race-based communities. Sexist, if a conservative said those words about a liberal, but because she is not pro-killing-little-kids, 52 percent of you decided she was worth vicious ad hominem attacks that continue to this day. Not just saying that you disagree, but saying she is evil. You support it all. All because the folks that practice this abhorrent behavior promise to give you free health care stolen from other Americans who haven’t paid their ill-defined “fair share.”

My oath was this: “I, Mike, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

I took that oath seriously. But you have responsibilities, too. You should take them seriously.

Mike Banzet, a retired major in the U.S. Air Force, is a 1986 graduate of Flathead High School in Kalispell, Montana.

When I first read this letter I knew I had to post it in its entirety, without any embellishes or comments from me.  Major Banzet's words speak louder, clearer, with an eloquence that stands alone without overt embellishments.

It is a shame that men and women who serve our nation find themselves disillusioned and repelled at the level of revulsion directed at them by many of the esteemed Members of Congress.  Many of which never served a day of their lives in uniform, let alone in a combat zone.  These respected public servants are not fit to lick the shoes of Major Banzet, let alone speak against them.

Let the words of Major Banzet be a wake-up call to us all.  For if the Major Banzet's leave our military disillusioned and disheartened, we will be faced with the reality of a second class military incapable of defeating our weakest foe and unable to defend this nation from those who would destroy it from within.  A military the former Soviet Union wanted us to have and their fellow travelers are trying to turn into the new reality.


In Tribute To The Men And Women Of the US Air Force


Wild Blue Yonder

The Morning After A Tsunami.: Messages, Understanding And Exit Polls

There were massive gains for the GOP in the House of Representatives where Republicans won control and gains in the Senate but control still is held by Democrats. The GOP has also gained at least16 legislative chambers. (Some sources say more)

The biggest thing to celebrate is the gavel has been ripped out of Nancy Pelosi's hands, as of January, when Republicans fully take control of the House of Representatives, Pelosi will no longer be Speaker of the House.

With that said, while there is much to celebrate, there were some deep disappointments for Republicans, such as Harry Reid keeping his Senate seat and the position of Senate Majority Leader.

Let us start with the good news. While a few races have still not been called for the House, listed below, the GOP saw gains that have not been seen since 1948. This has been the biggest sweep in decades and a clear message to the current Obama administration.

House Races not called yet and status as of 11/3 12:22 PM ET:

Arizona District 7- Raul Grijalva (D) 49% / Ruth McClung (R) 46%
Arizona District 8- Gabrielle Giffords (D) 49% / Jesse Kelly (R) 48%
California District 11- David Harmer (R) 47% / Jerry McNerney (D) 47%
California District 20- Andy Vidak (R) 51% / Jim Costa (D) 49%
Georgia District 2- Sanford Bishop (D) 51% / Mike Keown (R) 49%
Illinois District 8- Joe Walsh (R) 49% / Melissa Bean (D) 48%
Kentucky District 6- Ben Chandler (D) 50% / Andy Barr (R) 50%
Michigan District 9- Gary Peters (D) 49% / Rocky Raczkowski (R) 48%
Texas District 27- Blake Farenthold (R) 48% / Solomon Ortiz (D) 47%
Washington District 9- Adam Smith (D) 18% / Dick Muri (R) 16%

Until all these races are decided and called, the amount of House seats the GOP gained cannot be figured, but with the races that have already been called, the GOP has netted a gain of over 60 seats.

The largest gain for any party since 1948.

Senate Races not called as of 11/3 12:22 PM ET:

Alaska- Lisa Murkowsky (I) 41% / Joe Miller (R) 34% / Scott McAdams (D) 24%
Colorado- Michael Bennet (D) 47 % - 771,939 Votes/ Ken Buck (R) 47% - 766,371 Votes
Washington- Patty Murray (D) 50%- 722,396 Votes/ Dino Rossi (R) 50% -708,391 Votes

The Morning After

John Boehner, the presumed new Speaker of the House, gave his speech last night regarding the GOP takeover of the House of Representatives. Text of speech below, courtesy of Examiner.

Let me just say this, it's clear tonight who the winners really are. And that's the American people. It's the American people's voice that was heard at the ballot box - the American people's voice. And listen, I'm going to be brief because we've got real work to do; and frankly, this is not a time for celebration.

Not when one out of ten of our fellow citizens is out of work, not when we've buried our children under a mountain of debt, not when our congress is held in such low esteem.This is a time to roll up our sleeves- a time to look forward with determination and to take the first step towards building a future for our kids and our grand kids.

Across the country right now, we are witnessing a repudiation of Washington, a repudiation of big government, and a repudiation of politicians who refuse to listen to the American people. Of course this campaign is not over yet; to the folks out West where the polls may still be open. - and this is a time to seize that moment and make sure your voice is heard - to reject the spending sprees, the bail-outs, the back room deals and all that nonsense and to join your fellow Americans in putting Washington on notice. Because for far too long, Washington’s been doing what’s best for Washington, not what’s best for the American people. And tonight, that begins to change.

With their voices, the America people are demanding a new way forward in Washington. I'm here to tell you, tonight, that our new majority will be prepared to do things differently - to take a new approach that hasn't been tried in Washington before - or by either party.

It starts with cutting spending, instead of increasing it; reducing the size of government, instead of increasing it; and reforming the way congress works and giving the government back to the American people. And for all those families who were asking, 'Where are the jobs?', it means ending the uncertainty in our economy and helping small businesses get back to work.

The people's priorities will be our priorities; and the people's agenda will be our agenda. This is our pledge to American and this is our pledge to you. While our new majority will serve as your voice in the People's House, we must remember it's the president who sets the agenda for our government.

The American people have sent an unmistakable message to him tonight, and that message is - change course. We hope President Obama will now respect the will of the people, change course and commit to making changes that they are demanding. And to the extent that he's willing to do that, we're ready to work with him.

But make no mistake, the president will find in our new majority the voice of the American people as they have expressed it tonight. Standing on our principles, checking Washington's power and leading the drive to a smaller, last costly and more accountable government here in Washington, DC.

These are the principles our new majority will stand for and we hope that Mr. President, you'll stand with us in the hard work that lies ahead. Because we are humbled by the trust that the American people have placed in us, and we recognize that with this trust comes the responsibility to listen, and listen we will.

Let's start right now by recognizing that this is not a time for celebration but a time to roll up our sleeves and go to work. We can celebrate when small businesses begin hiring again. We can celebrate when a spending binge here in Washington has stopped. And we can celebrate when we have a government that has earned the trust of the people that it serves. When we have a government that honors the Constitution and stands up for the values that have made America - America - things like economic freedom, individual liberty and personal responsibility.

Listen, I hold these values dear because I've lived them. I spent my whole life, chasing the American Dream. Alright. Listen, I've let a lot of you know, I started out mopping floors, waiting tables and tending bar in my dad's tavern. I put my, myself through school working every rotten job there was and every night shift I could find. And I poured my heart and soul into running a small business. And when I saw how out of touch Washington had become with core values of this great nation, I put my name forward and ran for office.

So I'm going to thank my wife, Debby, my girls Lindsey and Tricia and my eleven brothers and sisters and all my friends and neighbors in Ohio for giving me the chance to serve and the opportunity to stand before you - ready to lead. Thank all of you. God bless you and God bless our great country.

Emphasis mine.

Republicans need to remember those words carefully. While polls should never be a be-all-end-all determining factor, a polling pattern showing a majority of Americans want something or are totally opposed to something, should matter, should be heeded, because politicians are elected with the presumption that they will represent us, their constituents.

That is something Washington politicians have forgotten and hopefully last night's election has brought that front and center.

Barack Obama will be making a speech shortly and his tone will be a very good indicator of how the next two years play out and whether he understands the message that was sent last night.

Republicans need to make their case to the American people with every piece of legislation and make sure the majority of Americans is on board with what they pass through the House.

If they do so, and the Democratically controlled Senate or Barack Obama stands in the way, by not voting, or voting along partisan lines to reject such legislation or in Obama's case, vetoes legislation that Americans want... then 2012 will be just as brutal for Democrats.

If Republicans forget why they were given this second chance, 2012 will be just as brutal for the GOP..

Evan Bayh, a Democratic Senator from Indiana, who is retiring from the Senate in January, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times, where he stated the problems as he saw them and continued on to discuss how to move forward for the Democratic party.

It is clear that Democrats over-interpreted our mandate. Talk of a “political realignment” and a “new progressive era” proved wishful thinking. Exit polls in 2008 showed that 22 percent of voters identified themselves as liberals, 32 percent as conservatives and 44 percent as moderates. An electorate that is 76 percent moderate to conservative was not crying out for a move to the left.

We also overreached by focusing on health care rather than job creation during a severe recession. It was a noble aspiration, but $1 trillion in new spending and a major entitlement expansion are best attempted when the Treasury is flush and the economy strong, hardly our situation today.

And we were too deferential to our most zealous supporters. During election season, Congress sought to placate those on the extreme left and motivate the base — but that meant that our final efforts before the election focused on trying to allow gays in the military, change our immigration system and repeal the George W. Bush-era tax cuts. These are legitimate issues but unlikely to resonate with moderate swing voters in a season of economic discontent.

Exit Polls Tell The Story:

CBS:

Just 45 percent approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president in these preliminary exit polls, while 54 percent disapprove. Congress receives an approval rating of just 25 percent, while 73 percent say they disapprove of the job Congress is doing.

More than 62 percent of voters cite the economy as the most important issue right now -- significantly overshadowing any other issue. As many as 88 percent say the economy is in bad shape, while more than 86 percent are worried about the direction the economy will take in the next year. Four in 10 voters say they are worse off financially than they were two years ago.

Just 35 percent say the country is headed in the right direction, and 62 percent said it is on the wrong track.

You can see state by state exit polls at CNN election Center.

Exit Polls On Obamacare

Forty-eight percent support canceling the changes that the Obama administration and Congress made to the health care system. Thirty-one percent say they want the new health care law expanded, and just 16 percent say they want to leave the laws as is. (Wapo)

Rasmussen:

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of those who voted in today’s elections nationwide favor repeal of the national health care bill passed by congressional Democrats in March, including 48% who Strongly Favor it.

Rasmussen Reports telephone surveying nationwide after the polls closed found that 40% are opposed to repeal, with 32% who Strongly Oppose it.

Will Obama Understand The Message Americans Sent?

According to an article in The Politico, some think a shakeup of the Obama administration is in order and some believe Barack Obama will take heed of the message that was sent, while others see indications that Obama had ear plugs in last night and did not hear the message.

Obama has had weeks to brace for the worst, unlike Clinton, who was blindsided by the ’94 results. But some of Obama’s allies fear he will take Tuesday’s results too much in stride. That perception was fueled by Axelrod, who told a gathering of Democrats earlier this week that he didn’t interpret Tuesday’s expected debacle as a rejection of the president.

“I’m not sure [Obama] gets it yet,” said one person close to the president.

It Is Still 2010, The New Majority Is Not In Control Yet

Whether Barack Obama, the Democratically controlled Senate and the newly taken over House of Representatives, all get along, find common ground and are able to work together is something we will not know until January 2011.

Until then we have a Democratically controlled House, Senate and White House, during a lame duck session and Republicans may have the fight of a lifetime on their hands in keeping any major controversial legislation from passing along straight party line votes.

Should Democrats attempt jamming controversial legislation through congress, then Barack Obama should refuse to sign it because as last night should have taught him clearly, voters will remember and his 2012 reelection bid will be on the line here.

(Addition information was added to this post)

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GOP Seizes Control Of The House of Representatives

It is official, the GOP has taken enough seats, even before the rest of the states are counted, to have won control of the House of Representatives.

An insurgent Republican Party seized control of the House of Representatives Tuesday, capturing enough seats before midnight to secure a majority in the chamber even before returns came in from the West Coast. The Senate, however, seemed likely to remain just outside the GOP's reach.

More tomorrow.

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Midterm Election Day 2010: All Day Blogging

Page #2- Senate Seats In Play
Page #3- Election Day 2010- Interesting Links
Wake up America Cross Posted From Marston Chronicles- Our Final Predictions for Today's Elections


These three posts with all day live coverage will be on top all day.

Wake up America will be keeping an eye on the results throughout the evening and they will be posted at this link, continuously updated.

The House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House is all controlled by Democrats and the stakes are high for the midterm 2010 elections.

Tonight will tell whether the American voters prefer to have checks and balances to stop any one party's agenda from becoming laws of the land or whether the American voters feel America is on the right track and wish to leave control in the hands of the Democrats.

Extensive polling leading up to election day 2010 has indicated a massive wave for the GOP in the House to take control and modest wins in the Senate where only about of a third of the seat are even part of the election, making it unlikely the GOP will take control of the Senate.

Polls are fine indicators, but the final poll, the only poll that matters or is counted, is today's vote, the election itself.

Change of format folks. -Click here for House results as precincts report, continuously updated so keep refreshing.

Will continue to update as we see races being called in favor of a certain candidate.

Projected winners so far are :


Alabama District 1- Jo Bonner (R)
Alabama District 2- Martha Roby (R)
Alabama District 3- Mike Rogers (R)
Alabama District 4- Robert Aderholt (R)
Alabama District 5- Mo Brooks (R)
Alabama District 6- Spencer Bachus (R)
Alabama District 7- Terri Sewell (D)

Alaska District 1- Don Young (R)

Arkansas District 1-Rick Crawford (R)
Arkansas District 2-Tim Griffin (R)
Arkansas District 3- Steve Womack (R)
Arkansas District 4- Mike Ross (D)

Arizona District 1- Paul Gosar (R)
Arizona District 2- Trent Franks (R)
Arizona District 3- Ben Quayle (R)
Arizona District 4- Ed Pastor (D)
Arizona District 5- David Schweikert (R)
Arizona District 6- Jeff Flake (R)
Arizona District 7-
Arizona District 8-

California District 1- Mike Thompson (D)
California District 2- Wally Herger (R)
California District 3- Dan Lungren (R)
California District 4-Tom McClintock (R)
California District 5- Doris Matsui (D)
California District 6- Lynn Woolsey (D)
California District 7- George Miller (D)
California District 8- Nancy Pelosi (D)
California District 9- Barbara Lee (D)
California District 10- John Garamendi (D)
California District 11
California District 12- Jackie Speier (D)
California District 13- Pete Stark (D)
California District 14- Anna Eshoo (D)
California District 15- Mike Honda (D)
California District 16- Zoe Lofgren (D)
California District 17- Sam Farr (D)
California District 18- Dennis Cardoza (D)
California District 19- Jeff Denham (R)
California District 20
California District 21- Devin Nunes (R)
California District 22- Kevin McCarthy (R)
California District 23- Lois Capps (D)
California District 24- Elton Gallegly (R)
California District 25- Buck McKeon (R)
California District 26- David Dreier (R)
California District 27- Brad Sherman (D)
California District 28- Howard Berman (D)
California District 29- Adam Schiff (D)
California District 30- Henry Waxman (D)
California District 31- Xavier Bacerra (D)
California District 32- Judy Chu (D)
California District 33- Karen Bass (D)
California District 34- Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)
California District 35- Maxine Waters (D)
California District 36- Jane Harman (D)
California District 37- Laura Richardson (D)
California District 38- Grace Napalitano (D)
California District 39- Linda Sanchez (D)
California District 40- Ed Royce (R)
California District 41- Jerry Lewis (R)
California District 42- Gary Miller (R)
California District 43- Joe Baca (D)
California District 44 - Ken Calvert (R)
California District 45- Mary Bono Mack (R)
California District 46- Dan Rohrabacher (R)
California District 47- Loretta Sanchez (D)
California District 48- John Campbell (R)
California District 49- Darrell Issa (R)
California District 50- Brian Bilbray (R)
California District 51- Bob Filner (D)
California District 52- Duncan D. Hunter (R)
California District 53- Susan Davis (D)


Colorado District 1- Diana DiGette (D)
Colorado District 2- Jared Polis (D)
Colorado District 3- Scott Tipton (R)
Colorado District 4- Cory Gardner (R)
Colorado District 5- Doug Lamborn (R)
Colorado District 6- Mike Coffman (R)
Colorado District 7- Ed Perlmutter (D)

Connecticut District 1- John Larson (D)
Connecticut District 2-Joe Courtney (D)
Connecticut District 3- Rosa DeLauro (D)
Connecticut District 4- Jim Himes (D)
Connecticut District 5- Chris Murphy (D)

Delaware District 1- John Carney (D)

Florida District 1- Jeff Miller (R)
Florida District 2- Steve Southerland (R)
Florida District 3- Corrine Brown (D)
Florida District 4 - Ander Crenshaw
Florida District 5- Richard Nugent (R)
Florida District 6 - Cliff Stearns (R)
Florida District 7- John Mica (R)
Florida District 8- Daniel Webster (R)
Florida District 9- Gus Bilirakis (R)
Florida District 10- Bill Young (R)
Florida District 11-Kathy Castor (D)
Florida District 12-Dennis Ross (R)
Florida District 13-Vern Buchanan (R)
Florida District 14-Connie Mack (R)
Florida District 15- Bill Posey (R)
Florida District 16- Tom Rooney (R)
Florida District 17- Frederica Wilson (D)
Florida District 18- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R)
Florida District 19- Ted Deutch (D)
Florida District 20- Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)
Florida District 21- Mario Diaz-Balart (R)
Florida District 22- Allen West (R)
Florida District 23-Alcee Hastings (D)
Florida District 24- Sandra Adams (R)


Georgia District 1- Jack Kingston (R)
Georgia District 2-
Georgia District 3- Lynn Westmoreland (R)
Georgia District 4- Hank Johnson (D)
Georgia District 5- John Lewis (D)
Georgia District 6- Tom Price (R)
Georgia District 7- Rob Woodall (R)
Georgia District 8- Austin Scott (R)
Georgia District 9- Tom Graves (R)
Georgia District 10- Paul Broun (R)
Georgia District 11- Phil Gingrey (R)
Georgia District 12- John Barrow (D)
Georgia District 13- David Scott (D)

Hawaii District 1- Colleen Hanabusa (D)
Hawaii District 2- Mazie Hirono (D)

Iowa District 1- Bruce Braley (D)
Iowa District 2- Dave Loebsack (D)
Iowa District 3- Leonard Boswell (D)
Iowa District 4- Tom Latham (R)
Iowa District 5- Steve King (R)

Idaho District 1- Raul Labrador (R)
Idaho District 2- Mike Simpson (R)

Illinois District 1- Bobby Rush (D)
Illinois District 2- Jesse Jackson (D)
Illinois District 3- Daniel Lipinski (D)
Illinois District 4- Luis Gutierrez (D)
Illinois District 5- Mike Quigley (D)
Illinois District 6- Peter Roskam (R)
Illinois District 7- Danny Davis (D)
Illinois District 8-
Illinois District 9- Jan Schakowsky (D)
Illinois District 10-Robert Dold (R)
Illinois District 11-Adam Kinzinger (R)
Illinois District 12-Jerry Costello (D)
Illinois District 13-Judy Biggert (R)
Illinois District 14-Randy Hultgren (R)
Illinois District 15-Tim Johnson (R)
Illinois District 16-Donald Manzullo (R)
Illinois District 17-Bobby Schilling (R)
Illinois District 18-Aaron Schock (R)
Illinois District 19-John Shimkus (R)

Indiana District 1- Peter Visclosky (D)
Indiana District 2- Joe Donnelly (D)
Indiana District 3- Marlin Stutzman (R)
Indiana District 4- Todd Rokita (R)
Indiana District 5- Dan Burton (R)
Indiana District 6- Mike Pence (R)
Indiana District 7- Andre Carson (D)
Indiana District 8- Larry Bucshon (R)
Indiana District 9- Todd Young (R)

Kansas District 1- Tim Huelskamp (R)
Kansas District 2- Lynn Jenkins (R)
Kansas District 3- Kevin Yoder (R)
Kansas District 4- Mike Pompeo (R)

Kentucky District 1- Ed Whitfield (R)
Kentucky District 2- Brett Guthrie (R)
Kentucky District 3- John Yarmuth (D)
Kentucky District 4- Geoff Davis (R)
Kentucky District 5- Hal Rogers (R)
Kentucky District 6-

Louisiana District 1- Steve Scalise (R)
Louisiana District 2- Cedric Richmond (D)
Louisiana District 3- Jeff Landry (R)
Louisiana District 4- John Fleming (R)
Louisiana District 5- Rodney Alexander (R)
Louisiana District 6- Bill Cassidy (R)
Louisiana District 7- Charles Boustany (R)

Mass District 1- John Olver (D)
Mass District 2- Richard Neal (D)
Mass District 3- Jim McGovern (D)
Mass District 4- Barney Frank (D)
Mass District 5- Niki Tsongas (D)
Mass District 6- John Tierney (D)
Mass District 7- Ed Markey (D)
Mass District 8- Mike Capuano (D)
Mass District 9- Stephen Lynch (D)
Mass District 10- Bill Keating (D)

Maryland District 1- Andy Harris (R)
Maryland District 2- Dutch Ruppersberger (D)
Maryland District 3- John Sarbanes (D)
Maryland District 4- Donna Edwards (D)
Maryland District 5- Steny Hoyer (D)
Maryland District 6- Roscoe Bartlett (R)
Maryland District 7- Elijah Cummings (D)
Maryland District 8- Chris Van Hollen (D)

Maine District 1- Chellie Pingree (D)
Maine District 2- Mike Michaud (D)

Michigan District 1- Dan Benishek (R)
Michigan District 2- Bill Huizenga (R)
Michigan District 3- Justin Amash (R)
Michigan District 4- Dave Camp (R)
Michigan District 5- Dale Kildee (D)
Michigan District 6- Fred Upton (R)
Michigan District 7- Tim Walberg (R)
Michigan District 8- Mike Rogers (R)
Michigan District 9-
Michigan District 10- Candice Miller (R)
Michigan District 11- Thaddeus McCotter (R)
Michigan District 12- Sander Levin (D)
Michigan District 13- Hansen Clarke (D)
Michigan District 14- John Conyers (D)
Michigan District 15- John Dingell (D)

Minnesota District 1- Tim Walz (D)
Minnesota District 2- John Kline (R)
Minnesota District 3-Erik Paulsen (R)
Minnesota District 4- Betty McCollum (D)
Minnesota District 5- Keith Ellison (D)
Minnesota District 6- Michelle Bachmann (R)
Minnesota District 7- Collin Peterson (D)
Minnesota District 8- Chip Cravaack (R)

Missouri District 1- Lacy Clay (D)
Missouri District 2- Todd Akin (R)
Missouri District 3- Russ Carnahan (D)
Missouri District 4- Vicky Hartzler (R)
Missouri District 5- Emanuel Cleaver (D)
Missouri District 6- Sam Graves (R)
Missouri District 7- Billy Long (R)
Missouri District 8- Jo Ann Emerson (R)
Missouri District 9- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R)

Mississippi District 1- Alan Nunnelee (R)
Mississippi District 2- Bennie Thompson (D)
Mississippi District 3- Gregg Harper (R)
Mississippi District 4- Steve Palazzo (R)

Montana District 1- Denny Rehberg (R)

North Carolina District 1- G.K. Butterfield (D)
North Carolina District 2- Renee Ellmers (R)
North Carolina District 3- Walter Jones (R)
North Carolina District 4- David Price (D)
North Carolina District 5- Virginia Foxx (R)
North Carolina District 6- Howard Coble (R)
North Carolina District 7- Mike McIntyre (D)
North Carolina District 8- Larry Kissell (D)
North Carolina District 9- Sue Myrick (R)
North Carolina District 10- Patrick McHenry (R)
North Carolina District 11- Heath Shuler (D)
North Carolina District 12- Mel Watt (D)
North Carolina District 13- Brad Miller (D)

North Dakota District 1- Rick Berg (R)

Nebraska District 1- Jeff Fortenberry (R)
Nebraska District 2- Lee Terry (R)
Nebraska District 3- Adrian Smith (R)

New Hampshire District 1- Frank Guinta (R)
New Hampshire District 2- Charlie Bass (R)

New Jersey District 1- Robert Andrews (D)
New Jersey District 2- Frank LoBiondo (R)
New Jersey District 3- John Runyan (R)
New Jersey District 4- Chris Smith (R)
New Jersey District 5- Scott Garrett (R)
New Jersey District 6- Frank Pallone (D)
New Jersey District 7- Leonard Lance (R)
New Jersey District 8- Bill Pascrell (D)
New Jersey District 9- Steve Rothman (D)
New Jersey District 10- Donald Payne (D)
New Jersey District 11- Rodney Frehlinghuysen (R)
New Jersey District 12- Rush Holt (D)
New Jersey District 13- Albio Sires (D)

New Mexico District 1- Martin Heinrich (D)
New Mexico District 2- Steve Pearce (R)
New Mexico District 3- Ben R. Lujan (D)

Nevada District 1- Shelley Berkley (D)
Nevada District 2- Dean Heller (R)
Nevada District 3- Joe Heck (R)

New York District 1- Timothy Bishop (D)
New York District 2- Steve Israel (D)
New York District 3- Peter King (R)
New York District 4- Carolyn McCarthy (D)
New York District 5- Gary Ackerman (D)
New York District 6- Gregory Meeks (D)
New York District 7- Joseph Crowley (D)
New York District 8- Jerrold Nadler (D)
New York District 9- Anthony Weiner (D)
New York District 10- Edolphus Towns (D)
New York District 11- Yvette Clarke (D)
New York District 12- Nydia Velazquez (D)
New York District 13- Mike Grimm (R)
New York District 14- Carolyn Maloney (D)
New York District 15-Charles Rangel (D)
New York District 16- Jose E. Serrano (D)
New York District 17- Eliot Engel (D)
New York District 18- Nita Lowey (D)
New York District 19- Nan Hayworth (R)
New York District 20- Christopher Gibson (R)
New York District 21- Paul Tonko (D)
New York District 22- Maurice Hinchey (D)
New York District 23- Bill Owens (D)
New York District 24- Richard Hanna (R)
New York District 25- Daniel Maffei (D)
New York District 26- Christopher Lee (R)
New York District 27- Brian Higgins (D)
New York District 28- Louise Slaughter (D)
New York District 29- Thomas Reed (R)

Ohio District 1- Steve Chabot (R)
Ohio District 2- Jean Schmidt (R)
Ohio District 3- Mike Turner (R)
Ohio District 4- Jim Jordan (R)
Ohio District 5- Bob Latta (R)
Ohio District 6- Bill Johnson (R)
Ohio District 7- Steve Austria (R)
Ohio District 8- John Boehner (R)
Ohio District 9- Marcy Kaptur (D)
Ohio District 10- Dennis Kucinich (D)
Ohio District 11- Marcia Fudge (D)
Ohio District 12- Pat Tiberi (R)
Ohio District 13- Betty Sutton (D)
Ohio District 14- Steve LaTourrette (R)
Ohio District 15- Steve Stivers (R)
Ohio District 16- Jim Renacci (R)
Ohio District 17- Timothy Ryan (D)
Ohio District 18- Bob Gibbs (R)

Oklahoma District 1- John Sullivan (R)
Oklahoma District 2- Dan Boren (D)
Oklahoma District 3- Frank Lucas (R)
Oklahoma District 4- Tom Cole (R)
Oklahoma District 5- James Lankford (R)

Oregon District 1- David Wu (D)
Oregon District 2- Greg Walden (R)
Oregon District 3- Earl Blumenauer (D)
Oregon District 4- Peter DeFazio (D)
Oregon District 5- Kurt Schrader (D)


Pennsylvania District 1- Robert Brady (D)
Pennsylvania District 2- Chaka Fattah (D)
Pennsylvania District 3- Mike Kelly (R)
Pennsylvania District 4-Jason Altmire (D)
Pennsylvania District 5- Glenn Thompson (R)
Pennsylvania District 6- Jim Gerlach (R)
Pennsylvania District 7- Patrick Meehan (R)
Pennsylvania District 8- Michael Fitzpatrick (R)
Pennsylvania District 9- Bill Shuster (R)
Pennsylvania District 10- Thomas Marino (R)
Pennsylvania District 11- Lou Barletta (R)
Pennsylvania District 12- Mark Critz (D)
Pennsylvania District 13- Allyson Schwartz (D)
Pennsylvania District 14- Mike Doyle (D)
Pennsylvania District 15- Charles Dent (R)
Pennsylvania District 16- Joseph Pitts (R)
Pennsylvania District 17- Tim Holden (D)
Pennsylvania District 18- Tim Murphy (R)
Pennsylvania District 19- Todd Platts (R)

Rhode Island District 1- David Cicilline (D)
Rhode Island District 2- Jim Langevin (D)

South Carolina District 1- Tim Scott (R)
South Carolina District 2- Joe Wilson (R)
South Carolina District 3- Jeff Duncan (R)
South Carolina District 4- Trey Gowdy (R)
South Carolina District 5- Mich Mulvaney (R)
South Carolina District 6- Jim Clyburn (D)


South Dakota District 1- Kristi Noem (R)

Tennessee District 1- Phil Roe (R)
Tennessee District 2- John Duncan (R)
Tennessee District 3- Chuck Flieschmann
Tennessee District 4- Scott DeJarlais (R)
Tennessee District 5- Jim Cooper (D)
Tennessee District 6- Diane Black (R)
Tennessee District 7- Marsha Blackburn (R)
Tennessee District 8- Stephen Fincher (R)
Tennessee District 9- Steve Cohen (D)

Texas District 1- Louie Gohmert (R)
Texas District 2- Ted Poe (R)
Texas District 3- Sam Johnson (R)
Texas District 4- Ralph Hall (R)
Texas District 5- Jeb Hensarling (R)
Texas District 6- Joe Barton (R)
Texas District 7- John Culberson (R)
Texas District 8- Kevin Brady (R)
Texas District 9- Al Green (D)
Texas District 10- Michael McCaul (R)
Texas District 11- Mike Conaway (R)
Texas District 12- Kay Granger (R)
Texas District 13- Mac Thornberry (R)
Texas District 14- Ron Paul (R)
Texas District 15- Ruben Hinojosa (D)
Texas District 16-Silvestre Reyes (D)
Texas District 17- Bill Flores (R)
Texas District 18- Sheila Jackson Lee (D)
Texas District 19- Randy Neugebauer (R)
Texas District 20- Charlie Gonzalez (D)
Texas District 21- Lamar Smith (R)
Texas District 22- Pete Olsen (R)
Texas District 23- Lloyd Doggett (D)
Texas District 24- Kenny Marchant (R)
Texas District 25- Lloyd Doggett (D)
Texas District 26- Michael Burgess (R)
Texas District 27-
Texas District 28- Henry Cuellar (D)
Texas District 29- Gene Green (D)
Texas District 30- Eddie Bernice Johnson (D)
Texas District 31- John Carter (R)
Texas District 32- Pete Sessions (R)

Utah District 1- Rob Bishop (R)
Utah District 2- Jim Matheson (D)
Utah District 3- Jason Chaffetz (R)


Virginia District 1- Robert Wittman (R)
Virginia District 2- Scott Rigel (R)
Virginia District 3- Bobby Scott (D)
Virginia District 4- Randy Forbes (R)
Virginia District 5- Robert Hurt (R)
Virginia District 6- Bob Goodlatte (R)
Virginia District 7- Eric Cantor (R)
Virginia District 8- Jim Moran (D)
Virginia District 9- Morgan Griffith (R)
Virginia District 10- Frank Wolf (R)
Virginia District 11- Peter Welch (D)

Vermont District 1- Peter Welch (D)

Washington District 1- Jay Inslee (D)
Washington District 2-
Washington District 3- Jamie Herrera (R)
Washington District 4- Doc Hastings (R)
Washington District 5- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R)
Washington District 6- Norm Dicks (D)
Washington District 7- Jim McDermott (D)
Washington District 8- Dave Reichert (R)
Washington District 9-

West Virginia District 1- David McKinley (R)
West Virginia District 2- Shelley Moore Capito (R)
West Virginia District 3- Nick Rahall (D)

Wisconsin District 1- Paul Ryan (R)
Wisconsin District 2- Tammy Baldwin (D)
Wisconsin District 3- Ron Kind (D)
Wisconsin District 4- Gwen Moore (D)
Wisconsin District 5- Jim Sensenbrenner (R)
Wisconsin District 6- Tom Petri (R)
Wisconsin District 7- Sean Duffy (R)
Wisconsin District 8- Reid Ribble (R)


Wyoming District 1- Cynthia Lummis (R)


House:

There are 435 House races. Democrats currently hold a 255-178 advantage over Republicans, with two vacancies (one held by each party).

The GOP needs to net 39 House seats to take control of the House of Representatives.

Senate:

There are 37 Senate races. Democrats currently hold a 57-41 advantage in this chamber, with both independents (Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders) caucusing with the Democrats.

The GOP needs to net 10 Senate seats to take control of the Senate.

Related:

Townhall- Election Center 2010 Live Results

House Results

Senate Results





Page #2- Senate Seats In Play
Page #3- Election Day 2010- Interesting Links
Wake up America Cross Posted From Marston Chronicles- Our Final Predictions for Today's Elections


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