Category → 2010 Midterm Elections
Arizona Congresswoman shot
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot by 22-year-old punk Jared Lee Loughner, a MySpace and YouTube user who posted mendacious, incoherent ramblings that are too asinine to bear repeating. Yet somehow he slipped through the system just enough to free as a bird today when he decided to go to an Arizona grocery where Giffords was appearing, with the intent to kill.
While Giffords, who may have been fond of Ladies Hats at times, is currently expected to survive despite being shot in the head, Loughner’s attack left six people dead, including a federal court judge, as well as 12 more who were injured. Among those dead were a nine-year-old girl.
Giffords is a three-term congresswoman who gained attention by being one of the rare Democrats to fend off a challenge from a Tea Party-backed Republican last November. A member of the Blue Dog contingent of the Democratic Party, Giffords is counted as a moderate in the House.
WonderfulPessimist.com wishes Rep. Giffords a safe and speedy recovery. Our prayers are with her and her family.
As for her attacker, let’s hope Loughner winds up in that Arizona prison where they still have chain gangs… at best.
Lame Duck Congress goes down spending
Well, clearly their massive losses in the November midterms taught Dems nothing. With the lowest Congressional Approval ratings in modern polling, the Nancy Pelosi Lame Duck Session is determined to pass as much of the liberal agenda American reject in November as possible before the GOP takes the reigns.
That includes overturning Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell over the objections of the Pentagon, attempting to disguise another stimulus spending bill as a tax cut, and tagging onto that a record number of controversial earmark measures that were the sort of thing that swung moderates against them.
Sometimes politics like this is so petty, I’d rather just blog about iPhone, iPad, iPod and Amazon’s Kindle than have to slog through this nonsense. It’s a lot more enjoyable that watch an entire party play The Biggest Sore Loser.
Emmer fought hard, but now it’s time to pack up
I admire Republican Tom Emmer’s tenacity in fighting to make sure Minnesota’s state election laws were followed in his 8,755-vote loss to Democrat Mark Dayton in the Minnesota governor’s race. It’s stage two of a battle fought and lost in the Al Franken-Norm Coleman Senate election.
There are serious flaws in Minnesota’s voting system, and the possibilities for voter fraud are quite real. But at this point, the best thing Emmer could do is concede the election and come back stronger next time. And I say this as an Emmer supporter.
There’s no smoking gun of trunkfuls of uncounted ballots in this election, as there was in Franken-Coleman. And while losing by less than 10,000 votes is tough, the only way Emmer could win at this point is if all of Minnesota’s lakes are given a chance to cast a ballot, and they all throw in for Emmer. That’s not gonna happen, except maybe on Cyber Monday. The deficit of votes is just too great. If it were a matter of a thousand votes or less, I’d be all for a trench war on this.
But let’s keep in mind that the GOP took over both the Minnesota House and Senate this time out, by historic margins. While Dayton is, by his own admission, completely incompetent, he’ll have a more conservative state legislature reigning him in, and that will lead to stricter controls on tax hikes and budget bloat.
Let’s capitalize on that and focus on the long term.
Recounts galore
Never mind the prominent recount set to begin between Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer over the Minnesota Governorship being vacated by incumbent Republican Tim Pawlenty. There are currently eight U.S. House races too close to call that still haven’t been cleared beyond doubt.
As it stands now, it appears the GOP may take as many as three of those eight seats; if that’s the case, the GOP re-taking of the House of Representatives would sweep all the way to an impressive 63-seat shift in the balance of power.
Maybe some of these recounts could be sped along if the prize for finishing accurately and honestly and quickly was something cool and fun, like Branson Missouri vacation packages. Then again, maybe it’s best to keep incentives out of it.
Fiorina rallies late against Boxer
Find your online printing services to keep record of this one, folks: Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is making a late rally against Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer. The latest Rasmussen poll has Fiorina trailing by only three points, 46-49, and Boxer’s had trouble topping 50 percent.
Add to that the fact that Dino Rossi now seems to be inching ahead of Patty Murray in Washington and the west coast suddenly isn’t seeming like such an impossible-to-crack liberal stronghold. Currently, if all the toss-up states go in the direction they’re currently leaning by only one to three points, the GOP looks to gain enough seats to reach a 50-50 split with Democrats; if California or West Virginia also tip to the right, or someone like Christine O’Donnell pulls off a surprise upset, the GOP has a real chance to take back control of the US Senate on Tuesday.
That would be a decent firewall against much of the Obama tax-and-spend agenda.
Comedy Central rally devolves into insulting hate-fest
Color me unsurprised.
The Comedy Central rally in Washington, promoted by Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and the cable network as non-partisan, quickly devolved into a left-wing orgy of hate on Saturday. One particularly insulting sign on hand showed a number of Republicans with Hitler-esque mustaches drawn on them, including the face of Eric Cantor.
Cantor, who is Jewish, was a particularly unfortunate target of the political left’s typical fourth-grade knee-jerk response to the possibility that they might lose seats… and perhaps control of the House… in the wake of Tuesday’s elections. Turn your Kwikset to locked to keep out the insensitive liberal hate-speech.
And what one participant wrote on a sign about Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell is simply not repeatable in polite (which means, non-liberal) company.
Class act, Comedy Central. Class act.
Shuler for Speaker?
Former Washington Redskins QB Heath Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat, has announced he’ll run for the Speakership of the House of Representatives against Nancy Pelosi after the November elections. He may have been speaking presumptuously.
While Shuler needs less eye wrinkle cream than Pelosi, he must have a hard time reading the newspapers; the chances of the Dems retaining control of the House of Representatives is dim at best. And he’s not necessarily a shoe-in for re-election in his own district just yet.
While anyone would be an improvement over Pelosi, chances are the next Speaker will come from the GOP side of the House.
The real Lenczewski
Not many people know the real Ann Lenczewski, a powerful member of the Minnesota State House. But her actual votes speak louder than any campaign commercial.
During the 2008 session, Lenczewski’s votes include the following:
Ann voted against exempting military pensions from state income tax… thanks, military vets… now hand over your pittance!
Ann voted in favor of a $6.6 billion increase in license tab fees, and an increase in the per-gallon state gas tax… and voted for it again to override a Pawlenty veto. Way to protect taxpayers, Ann!
Ann voted against a bill that would have prevented local government grants from going to nonprofit organizations with political affiliations.
Ann voted against a bill that would have withheld state aid to communities that refuse to verify immigration status.
Ann voted against voter identification cards, a measure that would have helped reduce voter fraud in Minnesota (and perhaps have stopped Al Franken).
These are her most meaningful and controversial votes from the 2008 session. Does this sound like “Minnesota values” to you, Bloomington?
I don’t know if she’s ever performed any karaoke songs, but this voting record sings loudly enough for most Minnesota voters. The source of all these votes was obtained from Minnesota Public Radio’s Web site… hardly a conservative media source by any stretch of the imagination.
WP endorses … Sanu Patel-Zellinger in MN 40B
Forget the DFL label (not to mention the phentermine reviews) … long-term incumbent Ann Lenczewski’s time has come. Her history of tax hikes and her powerful position in the Minnesota House make her a threat if Dayton wins; her wild, out-of-control budgets might actually pass without Pawlenty as the gatekeeper.
And finally, in Sanu Patel-Zellinger, House District 40B finally has a worthy challenger; she’s made the rounds throughout the district several times and is winning the lawn-sign battle against Ann, though it’s close.
Patel-Zellinger is a smart conservative with a great back-story that will remind some folks of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. She’s the daughter of immigrants and her values spring from bedrock conservatism, not mere GOP service and loyalty. She deserves a shot to represent Bloomington in Saint Paul. Who knows? If she wins, she might even be a great gubernatorial candidate for the GOP in about eight or 12 years.
Therefore, WonderfulPessimist.com gladly endorses Sanu Patel-Zellinger for Minnesota House District 40B.
WP endorses … no one in Minnesota Third
Minnesota has a GOP member as an incumbent in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District; the successor to Jim Ramstad, Erik Paulson is a carbon copy of the long-term GOP veteran. Although a Republican, Paulson remains as mum as possible on his actual stances, preferring to communicate in “values”-speak rather than positions on issues.
If that were not reason enough for concern, the ultra-liberal StarTribune just endorsed Paulson over his DFL opponent, Jim Meffert. That’s what George Will once termed, “Strange New Respect” from the left. That makes me really nervous about Paulson.
Of course, Paulson could calm these concerns by actually outing himself as either more conservative or more liberal, but at every opportunity to define himself, he changes the subject. Considering he’s collaborated more with folks like DFL first-district rep Tim Walz than he has with sixth-district rep Michele Bachmann, we just can’t support Paulson’s brand of undercover politics. Let him sleep in dog beds until he gains the courage to take bold stands … or, really, any stands at all; that’s what real leadership is about.
That being said, DFLer Jim Meffert is a greenhorn and too leftist for our tastes.
Therefore, in Minnesota’s third congressional district, WonderfulPessimist.com endorses … absolutely no one.
WP endorses … Michele Bachman for MN Sixth District
While both candidates in Minnesota’s sixth U.S. congressional district could benefit from some deep wrinkle cream, it was a no-brainer for us to endorse Michele Bachmann for re-election to a third term.
While Democrat Tarryl Clark is a more legitimate challenger than Bachmann has faced since rising to office, Clark crossed an ethics line in our book when she used a Bachmann ad tagline, “I’m Michele Bachmann and I approve this message” as a pseudo-endorsement of one of Clark’s own anti-Bachmann commercials. It was intentionally misleading and unfair.
Clark has a lot to learn before being ready to unseat Bachmann; meanwhile, Bachmann has been one of Minnesota’s most influential members of Congress on the national stage. She deserves a third term to continue her work. That’s why WonderfulPessimist.com endorses Michele Bachmann for Minnesota’s sixth U.S. Congressional District.
WP endores … Emmer for MN Gov
I haven’t done a lot of this before, but considering everyone else is doing it and it won’t really matter much anyway, I’ve decided to endorse a number of candidates this election year. In some races, I won’t endorse if I think all the candidates are bad.
Let’s start with Minnesota Governor.
In the wake of Tim Pawlenty’s soft, McCain-style GOP leadership, what Minnesota needs at the state house is the best colon cleanse we can find; one that flushes all the crud out of the system.
On the Dem side, Mark Dayton’s resume is being the biggest embarrassment Minnesota has ever seen as U.S. Senator. Not worthy of the state house no matter what party he belongs to. FAIL.
On the Independence Party side, Tom Horner is an Arne Carlson-style RINO who supports an awful lot of liberal positions. Forget it. FAIL.
On the GOP side, Tom Emmer’s not perfect. He’s mildly more conservative than Pawlenty, which would be a welcome upgrade. I’m concerned about the two DWIs on his record. But looking at the details, Emmer received his first one in 1981 at the age of 20, and his second one in 1991 at the age of 30. He’s now 49, so he’s been clear of that for 19 years.
I think it’s time to forgive the DWI incidents. So long as he continues not to repeat the offense. But I have my eye on him.
That being said, his stances are solid and generally a bit more conservative that Pawlenty’s. He’d take the state in a better direction than either of the other two candidates.
Now, the mainstream Minnesota media is lobbying the public to vote Horner because, “It’s not a wasted vote!”
But that’s just a strategy; they believe that by doing this, Dayton will win by default. And a Dayton win would be tragic indeed; the man was incompetent as a US Senator, condemned by 99 other Senators from both parties, and simply does not deserve to win.
So let me tell you what the mainstream Minnesota media won’t: A vote for Tom Horner means Dayton’s your next governor. Do you really want to be responsible for that?
Reducing Horner’s support to just eight percent would swing the election to Emmer. That’s the smart vote, and that’s why WonderfulPessimist.com endorses Tom Emmer for Governor.
