What We Learned: The Playing Field Edition
What we at The Hotline learned about politics this week, with just 8 weeks to go until Election Day:
-- The C.W. on the House has evolved significantly over the last week, and it's now moved heavily in favor of the GOP capturing the House. With analysts like Charlie Cook -- and then Larry Sabato -- predicting huge gains, as well as polls from every region of the country showing GOP candidates on the rise, it's getting to the point that a Dem hold would be a huge upset.
-- The Senate is looking squarely in play for Republicans, and in the final month before the election, expect lots of money to swarm into Dem firewall states like WI, WA and CA. Sens. Patty Murray, Russ Feingold and Barbara Boxer are all running under 50 and trailing in some polls.
-- It's one thing for Dems to argue that the talk of the GOP winning the House is Beltway chatter. It's quite another when those doing the chattering are 2 of the most respected prognosticators in the business. Dems aren't done by any means, but any insistence that they've got this year under control is starting to seem out of touch with reality.
-- If a generation of voters casts its ballots for the same party three elections in a row, they're very likely to stick with that party for life. Dems won the youth vote overwhelmingly in '06, then grew that demographic while winning in '08. But with the GOP at risk of losing the whole generation of voters, they're finally making inroads with the younger set -- and not a moment too soon for the party's future.
-- Carrying the tea party banner can be a game-changer if you're an underfunded conservative taking on an establishment favorite -- but it doesn't guarantee that you'll run a competent campaign, much less win the race. Comparisons between AK's Joe Miller and DE's Christine O'Donnell are not only misleading, they're laughable. Miller ran a composed, gaffe-free campaign. O'Donnell has virtually melted in the heat of the national spotlight.
-- Even in this early prelude to the WH'12 race, being out of office is proving easier than actually holding a day job. Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee haven't had any difficult votes to take or decisions to make over the stimulus. Govs. like Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels and Haley Barbour are tying themselves into knots trying to decide what to do.
-- To borrow a quote from Winston Churchill: It's better to be making the news than taking it; better to be an actor than a critic. But as Palin, Romney and Huckabee are finding out, it's a heck of a lot easier to judge from the sidelines.
Gov. Palin veto the energy part of the Stimulus bill.
Can't you people get anything right?
Lazy.
FTA: "Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee haven't had any difficult votes to take or decisions to make over the stimulus."
A statement that is clearly wrong.
From the AP, in part: "Governor Palin was the only governor to turn down federal stimulus money for energy efficiency."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/21/gov-palin-vetoes-m-stimulus-money/
It is not just lazy, its high schoolish. You would think the writer of this article would have done their homework.
We all remember the attacks Gov. Palin faced when she decided to use her veto.
Gov. Palin did veto some of the stimulus energy efficiency funds that were tied to universal building codes. The republican led legislature overrode her veto. She's discussed this in many interviews.
I assume you will verify that this is true and correct this glaring error?
Geez, does nobody care to get anything right anymore? How embarrassing, but it's what we've come to expect from the media these days.
Just as much real true research on this article re comment on Sarah Palin not making a difficult decision... how about this one... the one to turn down stimulus which was vetoed by her own Republican Party... how could you forget that one?
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/21/gov-palin-vetoes-m-stimulus-money/
Hello to the well-coordinated Palin Revisionist Front! Quick note: your gal hasn't been in office for almost fourteen months now. The author of this post was writing about the past week or two. Your link is out of date and irrelevant.