2014 Election
May 14, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
For me, the IRS scandal, though certainly a big deal, currently ranks behind two bigger deal stories — immigration reform and Benghazi. I view the Schumer-Rubio bill as a long-term political game-changer and, indeed, nation-changer. And Benghazigate implicates the president, high ranking administration officials, and the president’s likely successor as standard bearer of the Democratic Party. By contrast, we do not know that the president had anything to with the
»
May 9, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Mark Sanford apparently was outspent three or four to one and, of course, carried considerable baggage. But, as this memo from Sanford’s pollster explains (full disclosure, my daughter works for him) good campaigners tend to beat not-so-good campaigners and genuine fiscal conservatives tend to beat fake fiscal conservatives in conservative districts. Oh, and debating a cardboard cut-out of Nancy Pelosi helped change a conversation that needed to be changed.
»
May 7, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Despite a hysterical nationwide campaign by the Democratic Party on behalf of its candidate, former governor Mark Sanford has easily defeated Elizabeth Colbert Busch, who is best known for being the sister of a comedian. CNN reports that with 70% of the vote counted, Sanford holds a commanding 54%-45% lead. So the race wasn’t close after all. The polls showed this special election as a very tight contest. Public Policy
»
May 5, 2013 — John Hinderaker
When Jim DeMint resigned from the Senate to lead the Heritage Foundation, Governor Nikki Haley appointed Tim Scott to fill the remainder of DeMint’s term. That opened up Scott’s House seat, and a special election to fill it is in progress. We and many others were disappointed when former governor Mark Sanford won the Republican primary. He is now running against Elizabeth Colbert Busch, whose principal claim to fame is
»
April 28, 2013 — John Hinderaker
People who don’t regularly communicate with the Democratic Party have no idea what a cesspool of hatred that organization is. It has one means, and one means only, of rallying its supporters to contribute money and to vote: that is to personalize every issue, and to demonize every opponent with smears that would make an honest man or woman blush. This email is typical; the Democrats sent out several, almost
»
April 23, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Sen. Max Baucus has announced that he will not seek reelection. Baucus has served in the Senate since December 1978. Clearly, his retirement should improve the prospects for a Republican pick-up in Montana next year.
»
April 17, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Max Baucus, who helped write the Obamacare legislation, said today that he sees a “huge train wreck” ahead due to problems in implementing that law. Baucus addressed this comment to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during a routine budget hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, which he chairs. Baucus expressed concern that new health insurance marketplaces for consumers and small businesses will not open on time in every
»
April 17, 2013 — John Hinderaker
After his gun control proposals were defeated today in the Senate, President Obama gave a speech in the Rose Garden, surrounded by Joe Biden, Gabrielle Giffords, and Newtown parents. He went on what can charitably be described as an angry rant. If only he had shown this much emotion about, say, Benghazi! As usual, Obama’s approach was to demonize those who disagree with him: “The gun lobby and its allies
»
April 12, 2013 — Scott Johnson
A recording of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell meeting with his campaign staff on February 2 was released to David Corn at Mother Jones. Corn was last seen bringing us Mitt Romney’s meditations on the “47 percent.” Corn has already turned that scoop into a pamphlet-length ebook titled, logically enough, 47 Percent. For the Democrats, it was 100 percent gold. This time around, Corn fetched fool’s gold and seemed not
»
April 9, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Washington is abuzz over Mother Jones’s publication of secretly-recorded audio of a meeting between Senator Mitch McConnell and a small group of his campaign advisers. McConnell and his aides are heard discussing the potential candidacy of actress Ashley Judd, and suggesting ways in which she could be vulnerable. (Judd has since announced that she will not seek the Democratic nomination to run against McConnell.) Politico, like many other outlets, tried
»
April 3, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Rep. Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge doctor elected to Congress in 2008, is set to announce his candidacy for the Senate. He will become the first major Republican challenger to Sen. Mary Landrieu. As a Democratic Senator from a Red State, Landrieu is inherently vulnerable. However, according to a PPP poll from February, she currently leads all prospective Republican challengers. Her lead over Cassidy in the PPP poll was 10
»
March 30, 2013 — John Hinderaker
The 2012 election, in which nearly every traditional rule about presidential politics was broken, showed that we have entered a new era. One feature of this new era is the permanent campaign. Until now, there has always been some respite–growing shorter over the years, admittedly–between the end of one campaign and the beginning of the next. The Democrats have now obliterated that gap; the 2014 Congressional campaign began on the
»
March 25, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) does not plan to run for re-election in 2014, according to this report by Reuters. Johnson has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow. Mitt Romney carried South Dakota by 18 points last year. But we shouldn’t assume that, therefore, the South Dakota Senate seat will be an easy pick-up. Romney carried North Dakota and Montana comfortably, yet the Dems elected Senators in both states, including a
»
March 19, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
A poll released Tuesday by the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund finds that our friend Rep. Tom Cotton leads Sen. Mark Pryor by 8 points in a projected 2014 contest for the Pryor’s Arkansas Senate seat. The poll also finds that Pryor is viewed favorably by only 36 percent of Arkansas voters. I should add that Tom has not made a decision about whether to run for
»
March 19, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Perhaps this qualifies: Political analysts Larry Sabato and Kyle Kondik find it more likely that the Democrats will lose the Senate in 2014 than that they will win the House. They write: Based on historical measures, it would take a massive popular preference for Democrats to overcome their logistical disadvantage, perhaps an almost unheard-of lead of 13 points in the generic ballot questions pollsters use (“will you vote Democratic or
»
March 19, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Geraldo Rivera says he is excited about the prospect of running for the Senate from New Jersey. As a Republican! Who knew? Geraldo says he feels the need to give back by serving the people. Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. So what do you think about the prospect of Rivera running for the Senate?
»
March 16, 2013 — John Hinderaker
CPAC is drawing to a close. The speakers who got the most press, and the most enthusiastic receptions, were mostly those you would expect: Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was also well worth listening to, and to some, I suspect, surprisingly hard-hitting: There has been talk about a primary challenge to McConnell next year by someone ostensibly more conservative. We conservatives
»
