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Subscribe to RSSDemocrats control the Senate by a 53-47 majority. Two years ago, Republicans seized control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 mid-term election and hold a 240 to 192 majority.
In Florida, two-term Democratic Senator Bill Nelson faced minor opposition in his primary, but was expected to be in for a tough re-election battle in November against the Republican primary winner, U.S. Representative Connie Mack.
Mack, the son of a former senator, easily won the Republican primary over three other candidates and could edge out the incumbent Nelson in a general election, according to a recent poll. But political analysts said Nelson has ample resources to attack Mack.
"Tonight's results really show that a lot of Republicans are voting for the candidate they think will have the best chance of beating the Democrat" and putting aside negative concerns about individual candidates, said University of South Florida political analyst Susan MacManus.
Because of population shifts over the past decade, Florida added two congressional seats, but the redrawn districts pitted two incumbent Republicans against each other. Republican John Mica, a 20-year veteran, easily beat Sandy Adams, a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, in a central Florida district.
The Cook Political Report considers seven of the 23 Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate seats to be toss-ups. Nelson's re-election chances were seen as particularly tough. Three of the 10 Republican-held seats up for election this year are toss-ups.
"It's a 50-50 ball game right now," said Cook Political Report analyst Jennifer Duffy. "When I look at the map, I find it improbable that any party would have 52 (Senate) seats, with 51 more probable."
A 50-50 tie in the Senate would give control of the chamber to the candidate who wins the presidency - Democratic President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Wisconsin race
A wild card in the Senate will be if former Maine Governor Angus King, an independent, wins the seat of retiring Republican Olympia Snowe. King has said he will not declare which party he will side with until after the November vote.
Wisconsin and Connecticut voters set the stage to fill U.S. Senate seats being vacated by retiring Democrat Herb Kohl and Joseph Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin, a seven-term U.S. representative and avowed liberal, ran unopposed in her party's primary. Former four-term Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson beat businessman and political neophyte Eric Hovde and two other candidates for the Republican nomination.
Thompson may benefit in the general election from Romney's choice over the weekend of Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate, analysts said.
However, Ryan is a polarizing figure in Washington, where he led his party's push to cut domestic spending, lower taxes and scale back the size of the federal government as chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee.
The Connecticut contest was won by favorite Linda McMahon, a professional wrestling executive. McMahon is seeking another chance after she lost a Senate race two years ago despite spending $50 million.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Representative Christopher Murphy was favored to win the primary and has already been targeted by McMahon's campaign ads.
In June, a Quinnipiac University poll found Murphy with a slight lead over McMahon if the two candidates face each other in the November general election.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, was predicted to be heavily favored in November against the winner of the Republican contest. The party-endorsed candidate, Republican state representative Kurt Bills, was leading handily with more than half the vote counted.
(Additional reporting by Edith Honan in New York, David Bailey in Minneapolis and David Adams, Tom Brown and Barbara Liston in Florida.; Writing by Andrew Stern. Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Christopher Wilson)
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Selecting the right candidate in the primaries is one thing, but let’s see how determined the people are, returning the country back to prosperity.
Amerikan Politics = The best candidate money can buy! BOTH PARTIES! What the people think, just is not important!
The reason Paul Ryan want to cut budgets is because he can't add that well.
@Another
2 can play that game, I guess.
The Democrat-Liberal-Socialist agenda they are so proud of:
1. Tax Policy - Tax the job creators into poverty. Tax them for income they have earned, and money they have saved, so we can all be "fair." Problems arise that all of the job creators have the ability to leave the USA, so either tax them out of the country (taking all of their investments and jobs with them) or tax them so they have to take welfare like everyone else!
2. Wage Policy - Isn't that what the liberals are doing? How is creating stagnative growth AT BEST going to increase wages and create better living wages in the USA?
3. Trade Policy - Create trade barriers so it would be very costly to get anything made. Want that Ford? Guess what, Government just increased it's cost by 20%! (They want you to buy GM instead....)
4. Healthcare Policy - Create a government welfare system (very cost effective by the way!) where it doesn't reward those that are dedicated to becoming a doctor, but instead keeps everything "fair" by rewarding bad practices and bad medicine and punishes good. If you don't believe me, why is it that Obamacare wants to treat every hospital/doctor the same? Not all of them are the same, believe it or not, but some of them are better than others!
5. Education System - Add more counsolers than teachers so if anyone "feels bad" they have at least 3 people to go to, instead of 1. Also, think that throwing more money at people solves our inherent education problems.
6. Infrastructure System - Refuses to invest in defense. You know, to keep people from blowing up the country.
7. Enviornmental System - Overregulates to the point that going to the bathroom would cause sanctions from the government. (Cause, you know, methane)
8. Energy Policy - Instead of drilling and using domestic oil/gas/coal to help lower the costs of everyday energy needs, ship them to other countries that are willing to pay a slightly higher price. Which has happened often in this country lately. Explain why oil exports in the USA are higher than imports the last 2 years!
9. Civil Rights Policy - Repress the rights for anyone who isn't Democrat-Liberal-Socialist. Need an example? Accusing a private citizen from not paying taxes for the last 10 years without proof, and condiming them in public. Also, suing states for requiring their citizens to show proof of state citizenship by showing government-issued ID (some can be for free), especially if those states are Republican.
10. Social Policy - Divide the American people on economic issues (class-warfare, welfare, sustainability of the government, etc.)
11. Political Method - Instill fear in the American public through manufactured accusations (like killing people and not paying taxes) and created "civil disorder" through division of classes. Then attack political opponents by claiming to be more "patriotic" and they have better ideas for the country, then accuse the opposition of being "racist, bigoted, evil-minded people" if the opposition's fact-founded opinions are different than their own conjecuter wishfullness dreamland-of-opinion. "Wouldn't it be nice if everyone was poor like me?" -type of thinking.
Why do you support Socialism? It has been proven not to work (if one person doesn't "fall in line" with everyone else, it all fails!)
Hey Dude from nowhere: Good come back! People have posted most if not all those points previously but they fall on deaf ears. Hope you don't mind if I copy and save your post for later use. Gave you a vote.
Go ahead.
Maybe if you post it enough, they might actually take the time to read it.
Accepting it would be another thing though. That might take time and more failed policies from the left.
Personally, I don't even want to take the risk of Obama just so I can say "I told you so" 4 years from now. I would like to see him out of office today!
"A wild card in the Senate will be if former Maine Governor Angus King, an independent, wins the seat of retiring Republican Olympia Snowe. King has said he will not declare which party he will side with until after the November vote."
Lol.....seriously??
"what are your policys sir?"
"Sorry, thats goanna have to wait till after the election"
Vote him out before he gets in.
I'm sorry, Dude from Nowhere, but you're making it very easy for me to refute most of your points.
Oh, yeah? Because cutting taxes for them worked out so well last decade. Back in the '50s and '60s, the tax rate for the "job creators" was staggeringly higher than it is today. Did they become poor? HELL NO. You know what happened? Incomes soared across ALL brackets. The poor became less poor, the rich became richer. This decade, with the tax cuts, the rich have become richer but the poor have become poorer. Why do you hate the poor? Why do you wish ill to tens of millions of Americans?
The old "if you tax the job creators, they will stop creating jobs" myth was debunked a long time ago. Plus, if you believe in it, you're tacitly condoning their holding their employees hostage to tax rates. "Yeah, try raising my personal income taxes, Uncle Sam, and I'll lay off a couple dozen people." Is that what the far right calls "patriotism"?
So janitors don't "earn" their income. Neither do waiters. Or HVAC technicians. Or teachers. Or small-business owners who make less than $250,000/yr. Or local accountants. No, those people certainly didn't "earn" the few bucks they earn a year. Take $15,000 out of their annual income of $35,000 (making their net salary a whopping $20,000), and that only hurts them as little as it hurts the wealthy to give $1,500,000 to their country out of $3,500,000/yr (which leaves them with a mere $2,000,000 to get by).
So, first you make the implication that they are good, noble, hard-working folks who are caring enough to provide us with jobs and lots of tax dollars. But then you make the implication that their hatred for this country is so deep and visceral that they'd leave in a heartbeat at so much as a suggestion that they should pay a little more than their poorer, less liquid fellow Americans. Make up your mind.
Funny you should mention cost-effectiveness, seeing as we're the only developed country in the world that doesn't have universal healthcare and/or a single-payer system AND, not coincidentally, we're by far the developed country that spends the most on healthcare as a percentage of its GDP. Don't go down the cost-effectiveness road, pal, because that's a battle you're going to lose.
That's cheap demagogy. What exactly is it about universal healthcare that inherently rewards poor care and punishes good care? Countries like Switzerland, Canada, Australia and France have excellent care. How is that consistent with your theory?
And we're trying to get read of the Department of Education :lol:
(Counselors. Counselors.)
Yeah, so the solution is to let it fall apart from within. Powerful, compelling logic there.
What we should regulate is the amount of fallacies one is allowed to cram into such few words. Are you even remotely aware of the amount of carcinogens that would be in our food and medicine if there existed no regulation? Some people are able to see the different shades of gray, you know? Just because I don't want my water to be peppered with Arsenic doesn't mean I want to regulate your bathroom habits. Stop being so childish.
Because we're closer than ever to achieving energy independence, that's why. Because under the Obama administration, the percentage of the energy we use that is imported has gone down to levels not seen in years. Because, as much as you'd like Obama to be an awful president hellbent on destroying this country, some good things have actually happened under his watch, domestic-energy consumption among them.
How is that different from (or, for that matter, NOT worse than) accusing a private citizen of lying about his place of birth without proof and condemning him in public despite the fact that he showed his birth certificate?
Also, what's so wrong about wanting the man who wants us to make him the world's most powerful individual to give us proof that he is an honest, law-abiding citizen?
Seeing as at least 75% of Americans (per the most recent surveys) agree that the rich should pay more in taxes, at least Democrats are on the side of the majority, and not of the privileged few. That kind of is why they call themselves "Democrats," you know? Democracy? The power of the people?
Uh... I'm sorry, but how many times has Obama been called "un-American" by Fox News, Limbaugh, Coulter, Savage, Beck, et al, and how many times has Romney been called "un-American" by the liberal media? Do you REALLY, GENUINELY think that Republicans don't like to claim they are more patriotic? (Despite readily threatening to leave the country or lay off their employees if their tax cuts are let expire...)
And just in case anyone is tempted to bring it up, I'm obviously aware that I wrote "get rid of the Department of Education" incorrectly, and it wasn't even a homophone. For Christ's sake, people, if I can spell "tacitly," I can spell "rid" :D
wtw kc= the negs of your comments shows very clearly that, although we, vote as free people of this country, All of the negs have sold their votes to romney!
Judas sold christ for 30 pcs of silver, would you know, the going rate for votes is. I treasure my vote and I vote for the person, who will help us. not for someone that will outsorce, jobs to hurt people. To make millions, is good, but when it is tanted with the blood of america, THATS BAD.
France is about to have a 75% tax hike. They do have an unbelievable healthcare system but we didn't look at it and try to take the good things out of it. We managed to take money from medicare to start obamacare, and can't fund the rest of the program.
*** Obama's 3 years
CBS, MSNBC, ABC, and CNN is conveniently forgetting Obama's first three years, (with Pelosi/Ried controlling congress the first two years.)
$5.2 Trillion in NEW debt, America's financial downgrade, longest period of above 8% unemployment, food stamps 110% increase, poverty levels record increase, gas prices increased from $1.82/gal to over $3/gal, driving a wedge between Hispanics and whites, increasing Americans on the public dole to 47%, driving black unemployment to 14.8%, half of all college graduates unable to find employment.
All in three years.
"years ago, Republicans seized control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 mid-term election"
They "seized control"? Funny, I thought an election was held where the American voters enthusiasticly removed Democrats from our government.
I suppose it's easier for liberal sheep to attempt to discredit a win than to acknowledge the disgust of Americans at the behavior of Democrats.
Democracy Tax
There are no Democracy costs for the Products of China．
For all products from China, we should have China pay Democracy Tax to America, because price competition has to be fair.
Democracy costs too much, and the costs of democracy such as the election and division of the three powers are added on all products from toothbrushes to cars.
The cause of the recession and unemployment lies in the Communist China.
Yoshino
You need to study about trade wars. The most infamous was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff act of 1930. Hoover asked for a large number of Tariffs to protect farmers from cheaper farm products being imported. What the Republican dominated House and Senate thought protectionism was a great Idea. Instead of tariffs on a large number of farm product, they instituted a few new tariffs on farm products, but hundreds of increase tariffs and new tariffs phase in in 3 years.
What those countries did was stop buying American products, which increase excess inventories further causing an acceleration of unemployment over the three year phase in.
Now, China holds 31% of our debt. What do you think they will do if we slap them with a retaliatory tariff?
Our best bet with China is to get our government spending under control and pay back a significant amount of what we owe - if they will let us. There is nothing to say that if we get in a position to pay them back that they won't raise the rates on the debt to keep us enslaved.
DB, if China demanded payment all we would have to do is print more American dollars. The debt is not guaranteed in gold...only American dollars. Sure it would deflate the American dollar making imports cost more but isn't that the same affect as a tariff? Just think of all the companies that would then create jobs here for the "cheap" labor.
These are bonds, China(or any holder) cannot demand payment until the bond matures, as long as we pay the regular interest payments. If China wants to be rid of them they can sell them on the open market.
Yeah Mack is the first California resident to win a primary election in an other state. He spends most of his time in California in the arms of Sonny Bono's bereaved widow.
And you know that how?
Connie Mack, boozer, brawler, rarely voted, or showed up during tenure in the house, certainly not the same caliber of man his dad was. Sound familiar. Fort Myers, Fl.
CME mgmy........Connie Mack is married to Mary Bono 'Mack'.....google it!
The Republicans in Congress and the US Senate will do whatever the Koch Brothers tell them to do. Where is Paul Revere when you need him?
Tired of saying that yet?!
And Obama does whatever Soros and Ayers tell him to do. Right after he takes orders from Goldman Sachs and Richard Trumka (Head of AFL-CIO).
Romney, has lost his chance , by picking ryon, to be president. Ryon=war on women=war on poor and elderly= a war loving canidate period.
We just fought two wars in the mieast, now thay have declared war on this countrys own people. I guess this is what you want, and thats why you've made this statement.
Biden is fighting to stop this war on america, by the republican communist party. And your trying to stpo him!?
"years ago, Republicans seized control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 mid-term election"
They "seized control"? Funny, I thought an election was held where the American voters enthusiasticly removed Democrats from our government.
I suppose it's easier for liberal sheep to attempt to discredit a win than to acknowledge the disgust of Americans at the behavior of Democrats.
Gee ContemptMe, I am not sure I understand you. Maybe if Paul Revere were still around he would tell you eloquent is an adjective and cannot be used as a verb, like how you used the word "articulate".
Perhaps when writing your eloquent prose, you might have meant elocute? Uncle Joe Biden can certainly do that!
Biden is clearly capable of taking over the duties of commander -in-Chief at a moments notice. Can you say the same for either Romney or Ryan. I think not.
Biden? Pluto the dog would be better. I am so tired of his spewing lies and I think and Boehner are going to the same tanning salon.
I'm not planning on voting ANY incumbent back in, reguardless of party. They have sat on their thumbs and done nothing but look after self-serving interest.Time for a fresh start- top to bottom! Can't be any worse.
Not sure that will work ... every self-serving wannabe politician in America is drooling at the opportunity to replace the current self-serving incumbent.
The problem is the corrupt system, not the players that happen to be gaming it at the moment.
.....
Ryan, the "Brown Noser" ready to assume command, don't think so, more like Koch Boys and Rove moving back into the White House.
We all know what the problem is in Washington. These cronies are there playing God with our money and our Constitution. Republican or Democrat they both are responsible for this mess. The only way to put this country back on track is to start over with ALL NEW FACES in Washington. It won't happen because we IDIOTS keep electing the SAME OLD CRONIES. Why????Because each state seems to think THEIR senators and representatives are the best and that all the others are bad. Consequently....we....each state....continues to REELECT the same old, and I mean OLD cronies. They look good in suits, know the ten-dollar words and know how, after years in office learned to manipulate a FAILED GOVERNMENT SYSTEM. They know how to work around all the issues. Kind of like our TAX system. People complain that not everyone is paying their FAIR SHARE, yet we continue to let a failed tax system ALLOW LOOP-HOLES for people to opt out of paying their FAIR SHARE. Let's start over and elect ALL NEW FACES.
Everyone keeps saying the country is facing a national emergency because we have to much debt, that medicare is going broke, there are not enough jobs, not enough revenue etc. !
We have many corporations, banks, businesses, individual wealthy people, there are people running for office who spend millions of dollars trying to get elected, there are millions looking for work, millions who have lost their homes and their businesses, and they say it will take many years for the recovery to happen, This all working together constitutes a national emergency!
These problems can be solved in just a few months if the leaders would make the right decisions! If the President and the congress would declare this a national emergency, and pass a bill that would require the banks, corporations, business, insurance companies, and everyone who can pay to pay cash money on a sliding scale towards the debt, they could raise five trillion dollars, and pay it on the debt.
many corporations can easily afford to pay a billion dollars, and many could pay ten billion,, millionaires could easily pay fifty thousand dollars, and not even miss the money! There are wealthy people who could pay a million, many oil companies or even middle class workers could afford to pay five thousand dollars, the point is it would not be that hard to raise five trillion dollars to bring the debt down, and get this economy going,
There are many ways it could be done! Some might call this socialism, But what was it called when the tax payers were required to pay to bail out the banks, and the real estate, and motor companies [ Their patriotic duty? ]!
If they do this they could even use a trillion dollars to fund medicare, or the affordable health care or to stimulate business. with the jobs this would create the tax revenues would really make a difference when they started to come in, it would lift manufacturing, real estate this might not be the best way to get the country going, but something along theses lines with a little more thought as to the best way to do it could be a better way to help the recovery!
example [ one hundred million people paying fifty thousand dollars is 5 trillion dollars] why not bite the bullet, and get this nightmare over !!!
The President and the Congress could at least raise enough cash money to pay the budget deficit off, by requiring the banks, oil companies, corporations, insurance companies and other to pay cash on a sliding scale. They could pay off the budget deficit overnight, in stead of taking years to do it, this alone would create a jobs atmosphere it would allow them to leave the Bush tax cuts in place for another year or two, this would make it possible to not cut the defence budget as much; and the people who pay could receive tax breaks for the cash, over ten years.
This would save many people from falling farther behind when the jobs would open up, and it would increase the tax revenues.
We can do much better than we are doing to get this economy back on track and we should be doing it even if it takes a little sacrifice to do it.
Seems to me I remember a movie years ago, where the president held a telethon on TV to raise money for the government. Can't remember the name off hand, but it was a comedy.
Your ideas however, are no comedy. It's thinking like this, from our own government, that is what is needed. The Republicans and some Democrats keep whining about the deficit. So, you've just given them a way to fix it. Now, let's see if any take up the idea. My guess is they won't.
In the Republican's zeal to defeat OBAMA, they'll destroy the economy of our country. They hate the idea of a black man being in office so bad, that they'll do whatever it takes to destroy him. And let's face the reality of things, he's black, and that's what they really can't stand. Oh, they won't come right out and say they're a bunch of bigots, but that's what it amounts to.
Now before you all get all hot and bothered by my accusing the Republicans of being a bunch of racists, let me state for the record, that many Democrats are just as bad. How many senators, including my own states Joe Manchin, argue against Obama, their supposed Democratic leader. Why does Joe often vote against Obama's proposal's? Because he's a coward. While Joe may list himself as a democrat, and West Virginia mainly votes into office democrats, he understands the backward thinking of many of my fellow citizens. West Virginian's don't like Barack because he's black. Joe votes against him to keep his senate seat.
To this day, I still say a few things are needed to reform Washington and get this country moving in the right direction:
I know, all of this ranting will raise a ruckus. That's a good thing, political discourse is part of our countries heritage. But what's been going on in Washington lately isn't discourse, it's a comedy.
Since no one has responded , I will use this space to vent some more.
We talk about funding health care, and medicare as if the only way out is to gut them! This is so wrong, when we as a nation can raise the money to pay for medicare overnight, We think to small when it comes to things like this. We need leaders with vision to move the country forward, not backwards! Its been way to long since we have had leaders who govern for the good of the nation, instead of self interest!
I give the President credit for trying, If the two parties would just stop waring, and work together we could restore this country to more like it used to be.
Everyone has to contribute to get out of this mess. The Bush tax cuts should go away for everyone, same with the earned income tax credit, you should only be able to get a return on what you paid. It's Top, HIgh, Middle and Lower class that need to face the fact that we are broke. It will take more than the top 1% to get us out of this.
All I can say about all the comments I have read is, "Sour Grapes" You reap what you sow. Since the Democrats and Liberals have not anything they can run on we all know the Republican will win the Senate and Presidency. At lease when the "New" Republican Presidency takes office, we will get something done...Also a novel Idea, We will get our first budget in 4 years. Gee with a budget we may actually balance it!
budgets were placed before this republican congress, and denyed passage.
Every bill, to hepl the people of america, has been defeateded by congress!
Only agenda on the republican maj.y house, was the not help this country,so as to put the blame on Obama. Lets put the blame were it belongs. REPUBLICANS!!!!!!!!!
Well Ried never took anything to the Senate to vote on that would have helped the drought issue, not unless we keep the spending of Foodstamps up. And Obama had the majority in both House and Senate and couldn't get a budget. So whining abount Rep maj was only the last 2 years and it was the Dems in the Senate that would not even vote or work with each other.
Been, how about the continuous filibusters employed by the republicans, how about the Violence Against Women Act sitting on some republicans desk, no brainer bill, yet...
When judas, sold out jesus, it was for 30 pcs of silver. If the republicans win, How much did the people in florida, get for selling out their country?
If they get 30 pcs of silver it will be more than they will be getting on SS if Obama keeps taking $ out of the medicare/SS fund.
Republicans easily bought Abramoff proved that one, Duke Cunningham sure enjoyed his tenure before the lock-up, Tom Delay (The Hammer) forced to resign, Rove ousted, cheney and Haliburton.
melvin - Obama already sold out the country to criminals from foreign countries and he used your tax money to do it, in return you get fewer available jobs, more overburdened services, and more crime. Enjoy.