Solid Principles » House Of Reps

Can This Book Deliver ‘Fanniegate’ To The GOP In 2012?

craig — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:55:59 +0000

Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson & Joshua Rosner

Fanniegate: Gamechanger For The GOP?
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD – June 7, 2011

Democrats, watch out.

The Republican Party and especially its Tea Party wing have just acquired a new weapon of mass destruction — and it has nothing to do with any of Congressman Wiener’s rogue body parts. If they deploy this weapon effectively in the next election cycle — a big if — then they have the biggest opportunity to move the country rightward since Ronald Reagan took the oath of office back in 1981.

The Tea Party WMD stockpile is currently stored in book form: Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon. By Gretchen Morgenson, one of America’s best business journalists who is currently at The New York Times, and noted financial analyst Joshua Rosner, Reckless Endangerment gives the best available account of how the growing chaos in the mortgage and personal finance markets and the rampant bundling of dubious loans into exotically toxic securities plunged the world, and millions of American families, into the gravest financial crisis since World War Two. It is gripping reading as well, and its explanations are clear enough that readers without any background in finance will have no trouble following the plot. The villains? An unholy alliance between Wall Street, the Democratic establishment, community organizing groups like ACORN and La Raza, and politicians like Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi and Henry Cisneros. (Frank got a cushy job for a lover, Pelosi got a job and layoff protection for a son, Cisneros apparently got a license to mint money bilking Mexican-Americans of their life savings in cheesy housing developments.)

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House passes health law repeal

john — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:51:49 +0000

By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN | 1/19/11 3:29 PM EST Updated: 1/19/11 8:41 PM EST

House Republicans passed a bill to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care plan Wednesday, taking their first major step toward rolling back the massive overhaul that has dominated the American political landscape for almost two years.

The vote was 245 to 189, and unanimous GOP support gave the vote the same partisan feel of the March vote to pass the law, underscoring once again the hardened political lines of the health care debate. Only three Democrats backed the repeal, a smaller number than Republicans had once predicted.

The bill will head next to the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has promised to block it. If it did receive a vote, the repeal bill would be unlikely to draw support from even a majority of senators. Even so, House Republican leaders have challenged Reid to give the bill a vote since Democrats, who control the chamber, have little to fear.

Republicans rejected a procedural maneuver by the Democratic minority to make repeal ineffective unless a majority of the House and Senate withdraw from the federal health benefits program within 30 days after passage by each chamber.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the effort was “an attempt to derail an appeal of the Obamacare bill.”

House members flooded the floor throughout the day, delivering short but occasionally impassioned speeches that echoed their party’s talking points.

Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) called the law “a trillion-dollar tragedy.”

Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) described it as “job-killing” and “socialistic.”

Rep. Kevin Duncan (R-Texas) said “health care is too important to get it wrong, and Obamacare got it wrong.”

But Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) took the debate to a new level late Tuesday night, suggesting to an empty House floor that Republican rhetoric around health care reform is akin to Nazi propaganda that fed anti-Semitism during World War II.

Welcome Speaker Boehner

craig — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:58:21 +0000

Watching Speaker Boehner’s inaugural speech today, I felt that the brakes were finally applied to one of the most turbulent moments in American Political history. At the same time, 2 years ago – the people now turfed out of the house were feeling the same way over gaining the White House.

I can only hope that Speaker Boehner delivers on his promises, and that our elected Representatives serve their role with purpose in the 112th Congress.

Craig Edwards

Gloom for Democrats as they look to November

john — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:21:58 +0000

By Dan Balz

Washington Post Staff Writer

The Gallup organization dropped a bomb on the political world this week. In shorthand, the pollsters said Monday that if the midterm elections were held now, Republicans would take control of the House – and probably by a comfortable margin.

On Tuesday, James Campbell, a professor of political science at the University of Buffalo, weighed in with a prediction based on his modeling of the political climate. He said that Republicans are poised to gain 51 or 52 House seats, at least 11 more than needed to depose the Democrats.

Election Day is still two months away, but the twin findings added to the fear among Democrats that their House majority – and possibly their Senate majority as well – is in jeopardy.

For decades, Gallup has asked voters the following question: “If the elections for Congress were being held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for in your congressional district?”

This week’s survey produced the largest lead for the Republicans in the history of asking that question: 51 percent to 41 percent. Ninety-six percent of Republicans said they would vote for the GOP candidate, while 88 percent of Democrats said they would support the Democrat. Independents, who helped power Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008, split 48 percent to 31 percent for Republicans.

This measurement (known as the generic ballot question) has sometimes been considered an imperfect or misleading indicator of House election results. Gallup begs to differ. Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup poll, said that Gallup’s final survey of likely voters before Election Day has been an accurate predictor of the two parties’ share of the national vote in House elections. The national vote, in turn, he added, is an excellent predictor of seats won or lost.

Four years ago, when Democrats won control of the House, the final Gallup survey of likely voters gave Democrats an advantage of seven percentage points over Republicans. Their actual share of the national two-party vote was eight points more.

In 1994, when Republicans won the House and Senate, Gallup showed the GOP with a seven-point advantage in its final survey – exactly the margin between the two parties on Election Day.

In both those elections, the Democrats’ share of the two-party vote was almost identical to their share of House seats after the election. And in those elections – and all midterms between 1994 and 2006 – the number of seats won by the Democrats was almost identical to the number predicted by Gallup’s models, within three.

It’s worth noting that in midterm elections before 1994, Democrats ended up with a higher share of House seats than their take of the vote.

Ed Martin Surges: Carnahan Stalls

john — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:19:54 +0000

ST. LOUIS, MO.) July 23, 2010 – Today, the political world is wondering about the stalled fundraising of Congressman Russ Carnahan as his opponent Ed Martin continues to surge. In the final report before the primary, Carnahan reports raising just over $9,000, while Ed Martin nearly doubled this with more than $18,000.

More troubling for Democrat watchers is Carnahan’s big spending. The FEC reports show Carnahan spent quite a bit more than he actually brought in. He only raised $9,375 yet he spent $12,432. A portion of his expenses went to relocating even more staff to help with his campaign. Carnahan now employs two Capitol Hill politicos as his top staffers Angela Barranco from Whip Crowley’s office and Angela Guyadeen from Marion Berry’s office, not to mention another staffer brought in from Louisiana.

Meanwhile Ed Martin continues to show steady growth and common sense spending as he quickly closes in on Carnahan regarding his campaign’s cash on hand. Ed Martin raised $18,207 yet only spent $6,805.

“Even in fundraising Congressman Carnahan serves as a prime example of the wasteful spending that is currently so rampant in Washington. The people of Missouri’s 3^rd district don’t want someone who would throw away money on hiring Washington-insiders to help them do their bidding. They want a representative who uses common sense when it comes to money – someone who will take spending seriously. Carnahan’s spending is on track with the deficit problems plaguing our country and mortgaging our children’s future,’ said congressional candidate Ed Martin.

Ed Martin’s fundraising speaks volumes as to what the people want. In these last days before the primary, candidates are required to report contributions over $1,000 within 48 hours. Ed Martin just received two of these from Missourians who are worried about the future. Carnahan has reported none.

For more information about Martin’s background and the campaign, visit EdMartinforCongress.com, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter @ed4congress.