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Subscribe to RSSSome will become household names, and some may be doomed to a quick re-election defeat or to toil away in anonymity. But every two years, new freshmen members of Congress descend on Capitol Hill, representing the country's changing landscape with their politics and their life stories.
The new ranks will be flush with record-breakers when they arrive in Washington. The 113th Congress will welcome the first openly gay senator, the first Asian-American woman in the Senate and first bisexual member of Congress. A new Latino senator -- one of just three -- is already snagging headlines for voicing a new vision of the Republican party. A record-breaking 20 women will serve in the upper chamber, and 78 will be seated in the United States House. Sixteen new members served in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Four new LGBT individuals were elected, almost doubling the number of openly gay lawmakers on the Hill.
While the whims of a 24-hour news cycle can elevate any fresh face at the drop of a hat -- or the click of a tweet -- here's a first look at 10 interesting new people to watch as the 113th Congress convenes.
TED CRUZ, R-Tex.
Even before being sworn in, newly elected Texas senator Ted Cruz grabbed headlines last week when he delivered a wide-ranging speech about the future of the GOP, coining "opportunity conservativism" to describe his vision for a Republican rebranding.
Cruz, a Cuban-American whose support from Tea Party groups propelled him to victory over Texas Lt. Gov David Dewhurst in a July primary, said in remarks at an American Principles Project event that Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comment should have been flatly disavowed by conservatives.
Sen.-elect Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 13.
"We embraced in that comment, and in the narrative we made to this country, the Democrat notion that there is a fixed and static pie," he said. "The essence of the conservative message should be we want a dynamic nation where anybody with nothing can achieve anything."
The freshman -- who benefited from endorsements by Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint -- will add to the Senate's ranks of Tea Party-aligned conservatives, while his legal background as a solicitor general and onetime Supreme Court law clerk will likely make him a sought-after voice on Constitutional issues.
Video: Cruz says Obama Obsessed With Raising Taxes
Look for Cruz, one of just three Latino senators, to join colleague Marco Rubio as an influential voice in Republican soul-searching over their the party's drubbing with minority voters in the 2012 election.
HEIDI HEITKAMP, D-N.D.
The daughter of a school custodian, Heidi Heitkamp once spent a summer working on a highway construction crew to put herself through school. The Democrat served as North Dakota's attorney general and as the executive of an energy company before scoring an upset win last month over Republican Senate candidate Rick Berg.
The onetime director of Dakota Gasification Company, which operates a plant that turns coal into natural gas, Heitkamp is squarely at odds with her party's own standard bearer on energy issues. Asked during a campaign forum what she would tell President Barack Obama about the nation's energy policy, she flatly stated that the administration is "wrong."
Heidi Heitkamp smiles as she speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at the Coordinated Campaign HQ in Grand Forks, N.D, on Nov. 5.
"You're wrong on energy. You're headed in the wrong direction. You made bad decisions," she said, according to The Associated Press. "You promised that you would promote clean coal technologies, that you would be a champion of coal, and you haven't done it." She also urged the president to replace Energy Secretary Steven Chu and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson.
A Democrat who eked out a narrow win in a state that voted for Mitt Romney by 20 points, Heitkamp faces targeting by Republicans hoping to lure red-state Democrats over to their side on key issues. She'll be a player on agriculture issues; she has said she's been offered a spot on the Senate agriculture committee and that she hopes to help shepherd a five-year Farm Bill to passage.
TAMMY BALDWIN, D-Wis.
Tammy Baldwin would have made history just as the first female senator from Wisconsin, but she captured the national spotlight as the first openly gay person ever elected to the United States Senate. Although she is a longtime advocate of LGBT rights, Baldwin's sexual orientation never became a major issue in her bitter race against former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, which racked up a $65 million advertising bill between the two candidates.
Tammy Baldwin celebrates her victory over Republican candidate Tommy Thompson on election night on Nov. 6 in Madison, Wis.
Before her Senate run, Baldwin served seven terms in the House, sitting on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as well as earlier stints on the bodies that cover judiciary and budget matters.
In 2009, she authored a legislative amendment requiring that insurance companies allow children to stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26, one of the more enduringly popular pieces of the Obama administration's health-care law. And with her swearing-in still weeks away, she has already jumped into the fray on the ongoing fiscal cliff talks, urging the president to adopt the "Buffett Rule," which would tax Americans with incomes over $1 million at a minimum 30 percent effective tax rate.
Video: Baldwin ‘honored’ to be first openly gay senator
"In addition to letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire for incomes above $250,000 as you have pledged to do, we believe it is imperative to enact a safeguard to ensure that the highest-earning Americans cannot subvert the progressivity of the tax code through loopholes and special rates not available to middle-class families," she and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., wrote in a November 29 letter.
ANGUS KING, I-Maine
As the dust settled from the 2012 election, all eyes in Washington briefly turned to the mustachioed new senator from the deep blue state of Maine.
Angus King, the state's first independent to be elected to the Senate, had not formally indicated during his three-way race whether he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans for purposes of organization. On Nov. 14, King -- who served two terms as the state's independent governor -- announced that he would align with Democrats.
Senator-elect Angus King on Nov. 13 in Washington, D.C.
In a statement, King said he considered forgoing any formal alliance with either party but that Senate rules would render him dramatically less effective to his constituents as a truly unaffiliated member of the body because of seniority. "I have decided to affiliate with the Democratic Caucus because doing so will allow me to take independent positions on issues as they arise and at the same time be an effective representative of the people of Maine," he said.
With his pledges to work across the aisle, King would join a long lineage of Maine legislators who fashioned themselves as compromise-minded moderates. His predecessor, Republican Olympia Snowe, was one of only three GOP senators to support the Obama stimulus package in 2009 and voted to confirm both Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court.
(Snowe was joined on those and many other party-bucking votes by colleague Susan Collins, also from Maine.)
King hopes to be a player on the issues of campaign finance and reform of the Senate filibuster, which King said has been employed "excessively" in recent years.
ELIZABETH WARREN. D-Mass.
A longtime thorn in the side of Wall Street's big banks, Elizabeth Warren first earned a national profile when foes successfully campaigned against her appointment to the directorship of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a watchdog body that she masterminded.
U.S. Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., left, faces reporters during a news conference in Boston on Nov. 8.
Warren, a Harvard Law School professor who helped oversee the bank bailout, has used blunt rhetoric to paint banks as remorseless perpetrators of the financial crisis. "Wall Street CEOs -- the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs -- still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them," she said during her speech at the Democratic National Convention.
In November, Warren defeated Republican Senator Scott Brown, who rose to national prominence when he won the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in a special 2010.
Video: Elizabeth Warren says her win is 'a win for the middle class'
Now, Warren is widely expected to play a role in Democrats' attempts to further reform the banking industry, with a possible appointment to the Senate Banking Committee. But the financial lobby has reportedly mounted an effort to keep her off the panel that drafts industry regulation, meaning that her high-profile clashes with Wall Street could get yet more ink in the coming months.
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, D-Ill.
An Iraq War helicopter pilot who lost both legs in a 2004 grenade attack, Tammy Duckworth will walk the halls of Congress on prosthetic limbs. After defeat in a 2006 run, Duckworth won her second bid for the U.S. House by defeating Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, a Tea Party devotee, in the state's newly redrawn 8th District.
In what she describes as her "bonus time" after the attack that could have left her for dead, Duckworth has championed the rights of disabled veterans, serving as an assistant secretary in the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Obama administration.
Tammy Duckworth arrives to pose for a class picture with other new members of the 113th Congress on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15 in Washington D.C.
Duckworth advocates for some cuts to military spending, a position that frequently earns her fellow Democrats the label of "weak on national security." But as a Purple Heart recipient with a high profile and a long family history of military service, she will be a visible advocate for the paring down of the defense budget while enjoying relative immunity from Republicans wary of questioning her record.
(Just ask Walsh, her Republican opponent, who faced a blistering outcry during the campaign after he implied that Duckworth was not a "true hero" because of frequent mentions of her disability.)
Not that Duckworth is a shrinking violet from the harder edge of politics. "There's nothing anyone can say to me or do to me -- short of actually pointing a gun and shooting at me -- that's going to be as bad as it was in Iraq and that year I spent recovering," she recently told NBCNews.com in an interview. "So it's really freeing."
KYRSTEN SINEMA, D-Ariz.
Fresh off a nasty campaign in which opponents painted her as a hippie who enjoys the occasional "pagan ritual," Arizona freshman Kyrsten Sinema is no stranger to tough campaigns. The first openly bisexual member of Congress, Sinema -- who served as an Arizona state house member and senator -- can also boast leading a 2006 effort to defeat a same-sex marriage ballot initiative in Arizona.
Rep.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is seen during a news conference with newly elected Democratic House members, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 13.
The 36-year-old social worker, who once quipped that she's a "Prada socialist" in a magazine interview, jousted with Gov. Jan Brewer on education issues during her tenure in the legislature, warranting a hefty contribution from the governor's political action committee to Sinema's opponents. Education policy, jobs, and addressing foreclosures will be her top priorities as a federal lawmaker.
Video: Congress’ first bisexual lawmaker proud of ‘diverse’ class
Sinema's spokesman recently told The New York Times that the new congresswoman, who was raised a Mormon, supports a "secular approach" to government.
TED YOHO, R-Fla.
The country met Ted Yoho this year through his hogs. A large animal veterinarian in north central Florida, the conservative won national attention for a quirky ad that featured piggy-looking "career politicians" in business suits feeding at a trough alongside real porkers.
In this 2012 photograph provided by the candidate's campaign, Ted Yoho poses for a photo.
Yoho, a proponent of the consumption-based Fair Tax, has said that he won't be put into political "handcuffs" by signing anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist's pledge. "If you sign a pledge like [Norquist's], you've got handcuffs on," he told NPR.
The upset winner of a primary against 12-term incumbent Rep. Cliff Stearns, Yoho imitated NFL player Tim Tebow's prayerful victory kneel for supporters after his win.
He has promised constituents that he will serve no longer than eight years in Congress.
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, R-Okla.
When his father's illness forced Markwayne Mullin to quit college and take over the family plumbing business, the 20-year-old and his wife turned a flailing enterprise into a small eastern Oklahoma empire. Mullin, now 35, won the House seat vacated by retiring Rep. Dan Boren, running under the banner "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!"
Republican candidate Markwayne Mullin, right, answers a question during a debate at Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla., on Oct. 29, 2012.
The Tulsa native -- a social conservative who vehemently opposes "amnesty" proposals -- has promised to take a no-frills attitude to the halls of Congress. Casually dressed on election night, he joked with supporters that he defied his campaign staff's request that he wear a suit to deliver his victory speech. "They got me this far, and boots are going to take me all the way there and bring me all the way back" from Washington, he said.
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, D-N.Y.
A former senior adviser in President Bill Clinton's administration, Sean Patrick Maloney also worked as a staffer for New York governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson before mounting his own political run.
Maloney unseated Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth in a New York's redrawn 18th District.
/
Sean Patrick Maloney is interviewed at Roll Call in Washington, D.C., July 19, 2012.
The first openly gay New York congressman, Maloney and his partner Randy Florke have three adopted children together.
Maloney once told New York Magazine that his hero is fictional lawyer Atticus Finch and came in third in New York's 2006 Democratic primary for attorney general.
In addition to his career as a behind-the-scenes political aide, Maloney also made a name at two prestigious New York law firms. He was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before moving to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
ALAN GRAYSON, D-Fla.
He's ba-ack.
Alan Grayson, the quotable liberal firebrand whose zippy insults served as cable catnip during his previous stint in Congress, will be back on the Hill again next year. After losing his 2010 re-election bid, Grayson moved to a new Orlando district and sailed to victory this year over Republican Todd Long.
Rep. Alan Grayson listens to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testify during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Oct. 1, 2009 in Washington, D.C.
The man who disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner once labelled as "one fry short of a happy meal," has garnered frequent outrage for his rhetorical bombs. He was forced to apologize after referring to a banking lobbyist as a "K Street whore"; he said Florida Gov. Rick Scott would have "blood on his hands" if he did not implement some parts of the health-care plan; and he accused Republicans of offering only the health-care proposal that sick people should "die quickly."
He was roundly beaten by Republican Daniel Webster in 2010 but will return having won by a 25 point margin in a redrawn district.
Cable news bookers, start your engines.
Leave a Comment:
I can see the headline now 'Yoho, ho and a bottle of rum...Florida lawmaker found drunk with prostitute'
Don't get too used to the new Pubbies. They're an endangered species in Washington. Specially' my "congressman", Kerry Bentivolio. Just goes to show you could run a ham sandwich in my district with an "(R)" next to its name,......and it'd win!
I think I'll run myself as a stealth Pubbie and then vote Progressive.
House turns Democratic in 2014, you heard it here first.
Congress is more diverse...especially after kicking out more Republicans in this election-
Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay senator,
Tammy Duckworth, the heroic Iraqi vet
Angus King... the Independent caucusing with Dem
.
We need to kick more GOP bums out the next elections (Nov. 2014)
Good to see Congress growing more diverse in this last election. There's even a new crook (Cruz) in the halls too.
Elizabeth Warren is the smartest girl in town, replacing Hillary who is retiring from politics .. once for all.
.
Thank you, Hillary, for all of your public service as the first lady of Arkansas, the First Lady of the US, the Senator from NY, and the Secretary of State - No female politician has been able to compile such an impressive resume until Hillary.
Doesn't take much to impress you does it!!!!!
@ Wisconsin Idiot ......That is very,very unlikely to happen. Ted Yoho is not your average politician. He's a good man....and you're a jackass
Ted Cruz is the next idiot from Texas to watch out for. Even the sound of his voice is like nails on a chalkboard.
No standards for liberals in this last election. Alan Grayson is the worst form of political scum, and there is no justification for his being elected to anything. Elizabeth Warren was caught in one lie after another and that plays no role in what Democrats will consider acceptable for their own party. Angus King is nothing but a liberal Democrat that runs as an independent to avoid getting dirty in the primaries. Krysten Sinema is a Mormon, imagine that, of course that is only a bad thing when it is a member of the other party. It is hard to imagine any liberal complaining about anyone in the Republican party when they find this crop acceptable to serve in Congress.
Pigotry, More diverse by kicking out the party that is in the minority? Must be Liberal math.
A freak far lesft lunatic, OWS supporter who inspire Obama with the Government ownership of my success, this is par of the brain brain washer kind of "professors" that damage our kids with left wing propaganda. All that to be a dishonest person lying about her ancestors for personal benefit. That is the kind of politicians that help Gallup survey about honesty in congress.
I've worked w Dr Yoho while working in the thoroughbred industry you imbecile, take your left BS and shove it where the sun dont shine. Jerk
The Fish,
No, more diverse by gaining seats for the party that isn't comprised of a vast majority of old, white men. Boehner had to break with tradition and jump through hoops just to get one female as a committee head, and I didn't see any blacks, Asians or Latinos on that list.
Ted Cruz is crook pure and simple, look him up and see how he supports Industrial Espianage for the Chinese. I'm from Texas and sure didn't vote this Chinese Butt Kissing Liar in. He need to be ousted and today is not soon enough. I bet the little Weasel already has Norquist ties.
Wow. You would think from some comments here about lying that Elizabeth Warren lied to take us into two wars, tank the global economy, and take a budget surplus and turn it into financial disaster. Next they'll be saying she said "deficits don't matter." Some kind of liar there....
Sarah. Isnt Cruz a "latino"? Or does that only count if their Dems
Sarah it is obvious that you are parroting without any argument, just to fit the narrative of liberals want to portrait Republicans a party of old and white , beside that most elected Republicans do not fit in that category, Mia Love and African American lost against a "white Democrat", also Democrats in Florida intentionally redraw some district to make difficult the reelection of another African American Alan West , he lost against a "white Democrat". Ted Cruz can be anything for you but he is not old neither white.
Sarah, do yourself a favor and move to another country, One less pathetic , ignorant liberal.
Unconventional,
Did you see where I said VAST MAJORITY, not ALL?
Oskar,
Please break down the demographics of the GOP in congress for me by race and gender. And then tell me how their platform benefits minorities and women.
Joe,
No.
At least try getting a job then you won't have time to post ignorant nonsense. Please stop feeling guilty for being white.
unconventional-6647560, oskar-1391552 and joe-2849984, if one were to follow Sarah's sentence structure, one would realize that she was referring to a potential list of individuals to be committee heads in the House, however if one looks at the GOP side of congress you do see a derth of of ethnic and gender diversity in general. Same if you look at the GOP base. With the exception of the Cuban population of Florida, which is largely Republican, the vast majory of the GOP is largely comprised of old white men.
Joe,
I mean the attention is flattering, but I'm not really the topic here. How about you get over me???
Eric,
Exactly, but is following sentence structure too much to ask, here???
Come on Sarah , they are "diverse", they have 1 black, 1 cuban and 1 Palin and a whole pick-up truckful of cessesionist unamerican rednecks.
You are right about Elizabeth Warren, she scares the hell out of the repubs like joe, oscar and uncon. Suck it up boys, you are in for a long 4yrs.
How ironic that the liberal party that loves to brag about how "intellectual" they are, voted so stupidly. Grayson is a perfect example- he is an utter fool, look at his tie- monopoly money- really, I guess that's because this administration is making our money worthless. And Jesse Jackson Jr got re elected when he's being investigated for misappropriation of funds (stealing) and has been in a mental hospital since June. And Sinema is bisexual- who the fuk cares? Next will be a dem elected because he is into beastiality. You just can't fix stupid.
Sarah and all other liberals, you are a cancer to this country. I understand that you were born with this brain defect, so it is out of your control. Hopefully they will find a cure for this disease before more of you are born.
Joe,
Liberalism is genetic??? Than how did I come from two uber-conservative, GOP voting, Catholics??? Seriously, I'm not making that up. I guess it must be a recessive gene, like blue eyes.
Overall, that is a good list. I am especially happy that Alan Grayson is baaaack! This is gonna be fun.
Sarah-3043284
Nice spin. Let see your party, Reid, Chucky Shummer , Kerry nice bouquet of young diverse refreshment members of Democrat Congress Elizabeth Warren is not even younger not African American. , this is the vast majority as well. 99 % of African Americans vote for Obama however 98 % of Democrats in congress are white, 60 % of woman vote Democrat and they do not reach the same percentage in the diverse Democrat Congress, what about Latinos , do they have their fair share ? LOL
unconventional, no, he's not Latino. He's Hispanic. Cubans make that distinction. He may be from Texas, but most Cubans call themselves "Hispanic." They consider people from Mexico, Central America, and South America "Latinos" (y Latinas, por favor!)
Oskar - To address your previous comment: Republicans and Democrats have been gerrymandering since the 19th century. Both parties have "intentionally redrawn some districts to make difficult" the election of someone from the opposite party. Tom Delay pushed it through in Texas, other Republican legislatures did it in 2011 when given the opportunity, as did Dems in CA. That's why some lost seats, and some gained. It's how things work here in the USA.
This government could use some of my Internal Reputation Control Procedures that can help with its Going Concern expectations. Many of those within government entities do not have a clue on how to improve it's reputation amongst the people of this nation.
As thorough as this government is in other aspects of the structure of all that it has its hands in, I can't believe that this has not been one of the focal points of this nation.
I think they are too busy doing things that hurt the reputation of this entity that they don't have the hindsight to tackle this area.
I can also help corporations control their reputations and grow without worrying about their reputations being destroyed.
Application of Layers....
Peel Layer
Oskar,
You didn't answer my questions.
Crystal - well said!!!
Actually Crystal's comment was ignorant and biased. Everything I would expect from a conservative.
Estas equivocado amigo.You are wrong, Latin Americans is a broaderd name include all kind of races , indigenous, creoles, blacks and whites , Latin American also include the Brazilians, Hispanic is mostly used in USA to point out, discriminate and profile non white Latin Americans .
This absolutely clueless statement verifies the corruption of the truth today's media perpetrates upon the sheeple. This line of BS is repeated daily, and it's a big, fat, verifiable LIE!
The intelligence community all knew Saddam had WMD's like chemical weapons, he even used them on the Kurds. The Democrats, including Clinton spoke about the threat Saddam posed with his WMD's. The Democrats also voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq. People can't seem to remember this little fact.
Saddam moved his chemical weapons to Syria before the U.S. invasion, which occurred because Saddam defied the terms of HR 1441 and other parts of the cease-fire agreement.
Today, there's even a srory about how the U.S. warned Syria not to use chemical WMD's, but the story fails to mention HOW Syria got these weapons at all. Some of these are most likely from Iraq!
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/07/14/And-where-did-syrias-chemical-weapons
Second, the economic crash was precipitated by the Democrats by pushing the sub-prime loan scheme in order to get millions of people into houses they could not afford and the whole thing collapsed. The one thing of genius for the Democrats was the fact that they made it happen while Bush was president, so the media could repeat over and over that it happened on his watch, and they did just that. Millions of people hear this, and never bother to investigate any further. As far as they're concerned, Bush and the Republicans caused it.
Wake up people!! You are being manipulated!
That's not liberal at all, that's criminal and it's just plain stupid.
Oscar, looking at the situation based on your numbers, it means the government is controlled intoto by old white men with a token half white man as leader. WTForgoodness?
The campaign slogan better have been "I'm running for Congress, YOHO!"
oskar - I never said "Latin Americans." I was merely making a response to another post which called Cruz a "Latino." I was raised in Florida which at the time had a very large Cuban population. They considered Latino an insult. They were VERY clear about being Hispanics.
But I found when in lived in Texas that those of Mexican and Central American descent were clear about being "Latinos." They considered Hispanic an insult by white guys (Hispanic being directly etymologically related to Spain). You will recall I included Brazilians and others in all the Americas, and note that Latino is related etymologically with Latin America. Sorry you didn't read what I posted more carefully.
ps I have known more than a few Puerto Ricans and they ALL call themselves Hispanic. They bristle when called Latinos. I suspect it has to do where in the Caribe you live.
Bye - off to work.
Let's see if the new people can push us off the cliff. Obama want's to let the country go off but can't say it. He will get what he wants in the end, more spending, higher taxes, higher fees for energy by 60% added to you bill every month just to remind you who is in-charge of you life. The 47% will get more and the rich will have less the middle class will pay for everything because they are the only ones working in union jobs. In the end Obama will give the middle class their tax cut just to show he can. When 2014 rolls around all of you that blame the GOP for your problems. You will vote to give back control of the house to the democrats. Obama will once again have total control you will see the end of a country that you help too destroy. 2014 will be the last free elections this country ever sees.
A.K.A. Dances With Forked Tongue and Union Money
Sarah! Quick! Divide Americans by race some more!
Oh, BS! It is time to put an end to that fairy tale!
Look, do you think chemical weapons just magically happen? The reason the current warning was issued to Syria is because we noticed activity at Syrian chemical weapon production facilities was increasing. We have identified and been monitoring those Syrian installations for years! Probably by satellite.
Now, tell me where the equivalents are in Iraq... [crickets chirping]. We have been searching Iraq for nearly 10 years looking for such facilities in Iraq. They. Do. Not. Exist. Even if Iraq had the weapons and spirited them out of the country before we invaded, there would have been huge facilities to manufacture and weaponize them. It would have left buildings, equipment, roads and, even if a concerted effort was made to destroy them, massive evidence that they were once there. They. Do. Not. Exist. They never existed! We were lied to.
Wisconsin, did you even read the article? Found it funny all of the republicans were white guys while the dems were pretty diversified.
Yeah...I read the article.
Diversified? For the most part .....the Dems look to be a bunch of hear me roar ....angry women.
The first person they talked about was Ted Cruz, a Cuban-American and a Republican. In fact Ted Cruz was the only "racial minority", and he is a Republican Did you read the article?
Yes Mathew. I read that. Another republican in democrat clothing. A tea party constituent. Which means we need an even larger republican upset in 2014.
Elizabeth Warren is a minority. She calls herself Native American, Cherokee Indian I believe. She also called herself a person of color and listed herself in minority directories. At least that was what she claimed when it benefited her for employment and advancement. She refuses to release her personal records from either Harvard Law or the University of Pennsylvania. She is a proven liar and yet to Democrats qualified to serve in Congress. Warren is someone that will say or do anything for personal gain, so you know she will take real good care of herself in Washington.
Mathew coons, Cruz does not believe in protecting industry in this country and is a liar to boot. He lied to the public about not representing a Chinese Company in an Industrial Espianage Trial but the Court Records has his name on it as being their representing Lawyer.
Rick, your allegations have been disproved by public statements. She never "benefited" from her claim to have some small amount of First Peoples' blood. Harvard and Penn have issued public statements about the criteria for hiring and how they justified hiring her based in experience. Please do your homework.
It's hilarious how personal people take these comments. Everyone is entitled to opinions, regardless of how deeply (or not) they research the subject. It's stupid to point out who's a liar or thief, because most of them have something in their profile that can be seen that way (or just straight up IS that way). Campaigns are long drawn out job interviews and when I go to a job interview, I say what the people want to hear. Tell us that you don't, and we'll kindly not believe you anyway. Settle down, children.
laughincat. What is First People? Is that a newer even more PC way of saying Native Americans? If so, they were not the First People here. Prior migrations preceded them. So if you want to be accurate and still PC, try "most likely in the top ten earliest hominid migration but way before you European B*st#rds People"
Oh well laughingcat if two of the most liberal universities issued statements then that settles everything. Gullible is the new liberalism. Demand proof from Romney on his taxes but accept a statement as fact when it benefits a liberal. Call Bush a liar, but don't apply the same standard to a liberal. Proven liars are what we need in Washington, and pretty much exactly what the Democrats just elected. As long as liberals can point to a lie on the other side all is justified. In liberal land two wrongs do make a right.
Rick, Are you into geneology? Or do you realize you are printing utter nonsense. If you checked out the Warren lineage, what is her relationship to Earl Justice Warren?
So the best excuse you got, Rick, for Bush's war and the republican loss this election is to say liberals lie? First, Bush's lie about Iraq cost tens of thousands of lives, if not hundreds of thousands, trillions of dollars lost, billions stolen, took away resources form hunting bin Laden and more. Tell me which liberal lie comes any where near that one. While you're at it, prove Warren is a liar for us, since you say it is proven. I'd like to see how her lie compares.
Rick-3416939
Yeah, and being descended from a drummer boy in Washington's army gets you in the Daughter's of the American Revolution, what's your point?
People like to celebrate their heritage, whether it's Native American, Irish or WASP. It doesn't mean you have to be 100% descended from a group to identify with it. Heck, this is America, if you want to call yourself a cowboy President, even if you were born in Connecticutt, you do it!
Hey, I got Cherokee blood in me too. Many people with roots in Oklahoma do. It's no big deal.
unconventional, many tribal peoples call themselves "First Peoples," since some tribes really can trace their lineage back thousands and thousands of years. What's your problem with people defining themselves a certain way? Please give me your academic sources for "pre-Hopi" or "pre-Anasazi" or "pre-Athabascan" people in North America, and tell me how none of them are related. Do you know ANYTHING about native populations?
Rick, if the people that hired you went public about why they hired you, wouldn't you think the public would accept their version of why they hired you? In that sense, YES, it DOES "settle everything" connected to why they hired Warren.
Actually, we never did get the truth from Romney. Especially that part where he took a homestead exemption on his La Jolla CA residence and then retroactively declared his residency in MA for voting purposes. That's voter fraud, and very illegal. That's why he could not release his 2008-2010 tax statements (and didn't.) Then there's that pesky tax amnesty thing the IRS gave tax cheats. While it wasn't illegal, it would have made Mitt look pretty evasive and frankly, unpatriotic. Hiding money off shore and not paying taxes would not have made him very popular with we who actually do pay taxes on our full incomes.
Well since Elizabeth Warren has listed herself as both Native American and a person of color, maybe she was just celebrating all the heritage she isn't. At least none she could prove, or anyone else could prove for that matter. But now we hear from some liberals that lies need to be qualified, as to whether they rise to a level or standard set by liberals. So now liberals decide whether a liar is a big enough liar to be concerned about. Rather then once a liar always a liar. Obviously liberals feel we need more liars in Washington, especially when they are lying for the right team. My only question is do liberals actually have any standards for themselves, or do their standards only apply to everyone else?
Rick, if you want to define yourself by a certain ethnicity and actually have ANY genetics from that line, you can claim it. Or not. BFD. But it used to be. Not that long ago 1/64 black would have made you black for discrimination purposes. Yes, if you had ANY black blood you could be excluded from toilets, lunch counters, and hotels.
Warren received no favors from her employers, and if she had, you can bet the wolves would have jumped on it like red meat. So you and yours struck out, utterly and completely, on that accusation. Because no one cares. Her employers certainly thought highly of her work. In the theoretical Republican "meritocracy" that should be enough, right?
I'm still waiting on you to explain why Warren's alleged lies somehow rise to the level of W's. Or Cheney's. Or Condi's. Or Wolfie's. Those lies actually got people killed by the hundreds of thousands. I believe you're outraged over the presence of a fly in your tea while you're okay with everyone's investments being looted by the banksters.
Oh laughingcat, so you were privy to Elizabeth Warren's personal records that would prove whether she benefited from lying or not? Because Warren refused to release them, so maybe you can share your proof. Don't liberals espouse that if you were innocent you would not have anything to hide? So why is Warren hiding the facts? While you are at it laughingcat, can you put out your standards for lies? Here I thought a lie was a lie, and now we have liberals deciding there should be standards for them as well. You know when liberals seem to have endless standards, it is almost as if they have no standards at all.
Rick - what part of public statements from her public employers don't you get? It was privy for all the world to see, examine, and question. And it was, and no favoritism was found by anyone at any time.
And no, the lies I used to tell my grandmother about how much I liked her perfume and taste in clothes does not rise to the level of lying and then killing a bunch of people based on that lie. So see - I do have a reasonable standard of knowing about lies. Start with harmful v harmless. Then gauge relative harm if and when it's done. I don't like lying or liars, and tend not to go there. But I don't agonize about telling an old woman her perfume isn't too strong. No need to be a jerk in the name of what at times is truly a relative "truthiness." Bye bye.
6dogs,
That may or may not be true but I wouldn't know because I don't live in Tx. My only point for bringing up Cruz was because Domewars made an inaccurate statement and I wanted to point that out.
Will the Retardlicans please exit the bus!
You must be a comedian. You are so funny. How do you come up with clever ways to say Republican. A++
Actually I prefer Republiturd!!!!!
Why are you white folks so full of hate toward each other? Further, what difference does it make what color someone is as long as they do their job properly? This race/sex thing is really starting to get tiresome. It is as if because one is different one should be given the job regardless of the person's qualifications. How condescending, how insulting!!! Indeed, if these gay, bisexual, vets, Blacks, Hispanics, Martians, etc., etc., etc., are qualified I applaud them; but sorry I ain't trying to applaud someone for being gay, bisexual, a vet, Black, Hispanic or a Martian!!!! There is nothing worse than being boosted up simply because one is different, as if a freak! What is ironical though is being boosted up because you are different and people being shocked when they find you are qualified for the job. Let's you know immediately that folks didn't have much confidence in your qualifications, but boosted you simply because of your difference. After that that's when the resentment starts to come into play. Being a Black woman from the ghetto of Chicago who went to a predominantly white all women's liberal art's college, I experienced this first hand. At the time I didn't understand it, but after experiencing it many times afterwards and becoming more mature, I understood what was going on. Can we say hypocrites?!
Good post Pandy...
Hold on there Pandy. African Americans are not having to put up with fighting for their civil rights. Gay people have not gotten their civil rights yet all over the country. Single people are discriminated against by not being given the same tax breaks as married people. Older people are in danger of having to balance the deficit by starving to death and dying for lack of health care. As a vet, I have to fight the VA constantly to get my benefits and still the health care is lousy. So your post sounds a bit ridiculous and whiny. There are bigger fish to fry and no one cares if you are sick of the sex/race/poverty/veteran card. This is a wealthy nation with the minority wealthy 1% not wanting to pay their fair share. And calling us "you white folks being full of hate" is insulting. Its congress that has the problem here
My self absorbed power hungry scoundrel is much better than yours and don't you forget it! If we have two more years like the last four years we might see some change in 2014 and it may not be what some expect...
Fresh faces? They are about as fresh as my garbage. We are never going to accept people for what they are if we keep pointing out why they are different. The only thing that should matter id are they open minded and willing to do the right thing rather than toe the political line, that is leadership and something we are lacking in the current crop of partisan nincompoops.
Hey Pandy, did we really need to know you were a black woman from the ghetto of Chicago that went to an all white college to make your point?
No, we didn't. Just another opportunity for you to climb on your soap dish and project eh?
A friend of mines father was a black man from the ghetto of Detroit. He owned 4 apartment buildings, net worth, several million. So, your point was???? Nothing, that was your point.
Pandy,
Very insightful. I applaud you.
Oh so many shallow miserable people!! The reason I chose to share my background was to point out that I understood the "special treatment" because of my difference. Arsenic if you can't comprehend what my intent was I fear that even if I broke it down to a second grade level you wouldn't understand!!! Btw, it is soap box, not freaking "soap dish"! Are you freaking kidding me....soap dish...wow....
T-man, I was not talking about whether folks are discriminated against. Folks will always be discriminated against. My point is about an individual being qualified for a position, nothing more, nothing less!!!
Elizabeth Warren.... Yeah! I hope she roasts the banksters over a open fire.... slowly....
She will. Then try to get a mortgage.
Jatty, are you implying that credit availability will be affected by the regulation of the banking criminals? If so, then regulation ans sanity is needed more than ever. The American people and our economy are being held hostage by bankers and "job creators" who are pocketing record profits while stagnating the economy.
Right, they should just give mortgages to who ever wants one like they used to! After all, there is potentially so much more money to be made from a subprime mortgage, am I right? That's the way to do business!
Lie,and Lie again just like Odumbo. Poster child for lying...Warren
There is a cetain committee that Warren needs to get on. Then the fun will really start.
Hal & JS, there you go confusing the issue with facts. Bill doesn't have that problem. He just missed 2nd grade English last year.
I love this quote from Obama, "the banks are in it to make money, and that's why we need to regulate them." How dare the banks make money, those greedy profiteers. They should be in business solely to help people and expect nothing in return. Thank goodness we have Obama to decide how much people should be able to make and how much they should be able to keep. The banking industry works like lawyers, they make money even when their clients lose.
Yeah. I think we saw what happens when you don't keep an eye on what the banks are doing.
Tulsi Gabbard (D) Hawaii....Another Veteran to watch in the future.
So it sounds like what Angus King is saying is that you can't be an independent within the Republican caucus. That sounds about right. John Boner is kicking out anyone who isn't a "team player" in Boner's point of view. Lack of tolerance for diversity and independent views is a characteristic of the Republican party...as it was for the Nazi party...
Actually is sounds more like he aligned with Democrats to try and influence them. Its all a matter of perspective ....In any event we need more independents to break the death grip these two parties have on Washington ....I only wish there were more.
If they keep doing business as usual, there will be more I's, PV...
It probably means the Republicans campaigned in Maine for the Democrat to try to siphon off enough votes from King for the Repub to win. Clever. Cynical and perhaps perverse. But clever. Either way, it didn't work. So if I were King, I would not join the Repubs for that. But then again, King has always leaned Democrat, but Maine likes their Independent govs.
Also, remember Snow the RINO. King will align with the Dems but disappoint them at critical moments when he shows his true independent streak. Just like Olympia did the other way.
Do you mean when all of the male republicons voted against the Violence Against Women Act, and all 5 republican women voted for it? What a disappointment!
By the way, that bill is coming up again.......
The 31 Republican Senators Who Voted ‘NO’ On The Violence Against Women Act | MoveOn.Org
Before you equate anyone to Nazi's read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism
These newly elected people, what ever their backgrounds are, I hope will have the ability and conviction to do what's right for the Country, not the party line, their personal pocket, not what Obama wants, or not what Boehner wants, but what the Country really needs, reform. Not kick the can down the road, not ask for exclusive power, not class warfare, not pandering to the right, not pandering to the left, but actually lead.
We do have a diverse Country, but so what if it collapses. We elected these people to do a job and if they fail because of their own pandering instead of leading, then our Country will fail too.
Hey Steve, remember when Jon Stewart said, "I may disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler"? Can we try to remember that before we jump to Godwin so quickly? Thanks.
How about we have a vote that's for violence against anybody act. I hate to tell you this but violence against anybody is wrong whether man or woman. Or are people insinuating that it's ok to act violently toward men? I guess I watch too much tv but there are these shows called "Wicked Women" and "Wives With Knives" and "Deadly Women" all talking about women who kill or act violently toward other people. There must be quite a few since they've been able to come up with 3 different shows about these kinds of women. Just sayin.
Fresh new faces. In time, same low approval rating. Sounds like a Miller Lite commercial. I predict they will achieve nothing more than the representatives they replaced. A two party system is not capable of much. Hey, congress: fighting does not equal solving.
Interesting that the Republicans are all described by their accomplishments and the Democrats are all described as to which "group" they are from. (Duckworth and Grayson seem to be exceptions).
You had better read the article again. Each of the Dems/Independent does have his/her accomplishments listed, just as much as the Repubs.
are you suggesting the dems never ever have any accomplishments?
hopefully norquist and the tea party is dead and everyone realises the taliban are more american than those terroist traitors out to destroy our governmnet
thats a warped statement.
not a troll. You should change your name to Ann Coulter. The Taliban actually stone women to death - not retorically - but in the real world. Your comment was meant to be hyperbole, but is truly offensive
The statement by not a troll would appear to be correct.
Have you already forgotten Akins and legitimate rape? Or State Rape? Remember, those statements are part of the republicon party platform, and has been since 1976. And also do not forget who voted agaianst the Violence Against Women Act. The only republicons to vote for it were all women.
The 31 Republican Senators Who Voted ‘NO’ On The Violence Against Women Act | MoveOn.Org
Yes, the tea party killed so many people. I hate to tell you the "new deal" destroyed the American government. If you don't understand that then no one can help you.
“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
― Thomas Jefferson
As far as the GOP ones... there is nothing new... just call Mr. Suntan and he will tell them what to say... after he asks Norquist...
Congress still works?
New faces is what we need. Too many sit in the House or the Senate for a lifetime, like it's their own personal little kingdom. Hats off to ALL voters who paid attention and stopped reelecting "familiar names and faces." It's about time these people in office or running for office realize they have to earn the seat by winning votes by either working to convince voters they are good or better than the other perrson, or that people are paying attention to what is going on. I am glad there is more diversity and more new faces. The old guard did a good job but they've gotten comfortable and arrogant and think they don't have to answer to anyone. Too bad Mitt Romney didn't run as a democrat because I think with his non interest it the crazy social issues the Tea Party threw around, anti birth control, anti gay, anti immigrants, pro rich, he could have pushed his fiscal agenda and maybe helped staighten the most current important issues, the deficiet. As a republican, he came off as a rep for the right wing, wacked out Tea Party and a lot of voters who would not have even cared or voted, got out and voted because they realized what a Tea Party victory would have meant. Anyway, keep paying attention and make them earn your vote.
if mit would of been mitt from day one he would of won, he turned into another far right wing wack job
I'm so glad to know we have the first openly gay whatever, and the first openly bi-sexual. I don't even know what a bi-sexual does or how that's even remotely important to know. If anything I guess it means she is not in a relationship and just kind of dates whoever blows her skirt up at the moment. Maybe these are really important traits to have in Washington, home to where they are screwing the taxpayers, each other, our allies or their employees all with impugnity. I really hope there is not another article that mentions such stupid and unimportant characteristics or record breakers - Are these people competetent, compassionate and capable of compromise or are they just another class of self-absorbed used car salespeople who will sleep with anybody to make a sale.
it means she goes both ways, most would say thats much worst than being gay if they are anti-gay
It means she is attracted to both men and women. Like Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Doubt she'll be hanging with Elizabeth Warren or Heitkamp though. EEEWWWW. Those are nasty looking angry old women.
Talk to the Hand;
How about an "EEEWWWWW" for the angry old men of the Republican Party, who are easily as "nasty looking" as any of the women? Y'know, guys like McConnell, McCain, Jerry Lewis, Darrell Issa, and Chuck Grassley, to name a few. Oh, wait, looks only matter for women, right? Interestingly, the two women you named are easily smarter than the five men I listed.
Best post on the matter today.
It means she's doubled hers odds for a date on Saturday night
Continued arguing among the divided about party lines. Use that anger for the benefit of the country. Both parties suck, politicians for the most part suck. Both parties of the past 3 adminsitrations have been so corrupt, in so many ways. All 3 wanted transparency, each new admin has taken lack of transparency to a new level. Stimulus/Tarp money used to line their pockets not help the country. Having a divided country is what both parties want. And if you think I am off base, look at the amount of money spent on the last election? The more we are divided the more you campaign and donate for your views. Not solving the problem just lines their pockets, and that is in addition to what they are taking from the American people in the form of waste and cronyism.
Looks like we got a few more Queers in Washington.
You sound like a homophobe.
Lets see if the newbies can do something about enacting term limits for Congress and have to use the same medical insurance options as the rest of us peons.
Good one. Thanks for the chuckle to start the day.
Term limits are good but they need to change the election cycle from 2 to 4 years so the House reps. aren't constantly campaigning.
How about we redefine what constitutes as bribery and get money out of the campaigns as much as possible. Im more for a three term limit but only two in a row.
We agree. Let's get "term limits" put on the members of Congress. America is sick of bought out members who just seem to never go away.
thats funny, its not going to happen, there special class crooks. we need to repeal, their favored class benefits, its stealing,,folks- right in front of our faces,,wake up america.
All i care about, is that they bring compromise with them. Get along, or get along down the road!
Let us not judge the book by the cover........but by performance.
.............happy Wednesday......welcome to Capital Hill...............
Its only Tuesday ... but who's counting
There might be a few more new faces in Congress. Here in San Diego we had at least one delayed count with a Democrat prevailing (after several weeks) where a Republic had been ensconced for a long time... Peters won the race over Brian Bilbray, the Republican. There was another Democrat added and then, in our area, we still have Duncan Hunter, a Republican. I can't think of the other Dem's name or if he ousted a Republican or not, but at least one of the Rep. incumbents got removed from our area.
All i see is 10 people that will get nothing done.
Glass half empty for you?
Its called rational thinking.
You should watch Warren and Grayson in action. Those are the top stars.
Corruption looks the same in men and women.
Hopes and dreams...until they walk in the front door and enter the building.
Each and every one of them a special interest crook. OUR SYSTEM IS BROKEN AND UN FIXABLE THROUGH GREED! SCRAP IT AND START NEW IN A MORE SOCIALIST FORMAT! THIS IS CRAP WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE 1% and there special interest money drives policy and law...... BULL S*** Just a whole new class of lies and thieves.
Guns,even those of wars,can't kill evil or sin,they can't kill evil,sinful souls or spirits,all souls and spirits are eternal,forever with God or separated from God in Hell in torment forever.Satan is a fallen angel,and angels are spirits,so wars,guns,can't kill him.And people have souls,which are eternal,so wars,guns,can't kill them.So wars,guns,can't kill evil or sin,so having lots of guns,and fighting wars,can't save anybody from evil and sin.Only the Cross and Gospel of Jesus Christ can do that,and Jesus sent his disciples out without swords to spread his Gospel,the good news,and wars are not good news.