Hopefully this Quinippiac poll is an outlier. The Democratic tumble seems awfully sudden and steep.
The Virginia Democratic sweep is looking pretty solid — the first VA trifecta since 1989.
Here’s a message that might resonate with swing voters: “Republicans are coming after your sick leave.” As Bryce Covert reports at Moyers & Company “Ten states — Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin — have passed preemption laws that ban all cities and counties from enacting paid sick days bills, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute.” When the benefit is gone for government workers, the private sector will not be far behind.
This is just plain weird, even for California. New Age guru Marianne Williamson is an inspiring speaker on political topics and a solid progressive. She could bring a compelling voice to the House. But why run against one of the best progressive Democrats in Congress, when she could move to another district and unhorse a Republican?
Ari Berman reports at Moyers & Company that “Voter Suppression Backfires in North Carolina, Spreads in Texas.”
Kyle Kondik, Managing Editor, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, explores “What a Successful Midterm Looks Like: Setting expectations for both Republicans & Democrats in 2014.” Kondik’s take at this political moment: “Losing just two seats would probably be the best-case scenario for Democrats, and would probably also coincide with a positive national environment that also generates gains in the House: Perhaps not the requisite 17, but maybe somewhere in the high single digits…Democrats’ best hope might be that the Republican Party is so unpopular — according to the HuffPost Pollster average, just 28% have a favorable view of the party compared to 58% who have an unfavorable view — that the typical rules of a midterm, which can be dictated by the approval of a president or the state of the economy, might simply not apply.”
At WaPo’s PostPartisan Jonathan Bernstein makes the case that “It’s time to go nuclear in the Senate.
Larry Summers provides an impressive defense of Obamacare on Morning Joe, noting among other factors that the now-popular Massachusetts health care plan had low enrollment when it was first rolled out.
I say yes. Boehner may have a safe seat. But Dems running in every House district should not hesitate to remind voters about the costs of his lousy leadership. More than any other political figure, he embodies Gridlock, Obstruction and Paralysis. He is Mr. GOP.