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October 9, 2010

Behind the Meltdown of the Climate-Change Bill By Debra J. Saunders

President Obama killed the climate change bill. That's the brunt of the article "As the World Burns, How the Senate and the White House missed their best chance to deal with climate change" by Ryan Lizza in the New Yorker. Lizza tells the tale of how Washington's erstwhile "Three Amigos" -- also known as K.G.L., for Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. -- cobbled together a cap-and-trade climate-change bill that had "the support both of the major green groups and the biggest polluters" -- until the deal fell apart.

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October 8, 2010

House Ratings Changes By Isaac Wood

With the Crystal Ball shifting 21 House race ratings in their direction last week, the national picture looks bright for Republicans, both from a birds-eye view and also from a race-by-race perspective. This week we nudge three more Democratic-held House seats into more competitive categories, as we hone in on where exactly the GOP gains we have long projected will come from.

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October 8, 2010

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY by Larry J. Sabato

In every election cycle there are contests that one party “should” win but does not, usually because its partisans have chosen unwisely in the party primary.

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October 8, 2010

Stocks Gallup Higher By Lawrence Kudlow

Could it have been the new Gallup poll that drove stocks up almost 200 points on Tuesday? That blockbuster survey, regarded by many as the blue-chip gold standard for election forecasting, pointed to an unprecedented Republican landslide tsunami in the generic congressional race.

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October 7, 2010

Latinos Should Darn Well Vote by Froma Harrop

The Hispanic activist grew defensive as we discussed Latinos' low turnouts in recent elections.

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October 7, 2010

The Ideologies Behind the Ideologues By Joe Conason

Let nobody accuse the tea party enthusiasts of lacking intellectual sophistication, no matter what their favorite candidates might say about evolution, civil rights, masturbation or alcohol prohibition.

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October 7, 2010

Dems Turn on Obama Over Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo By Michael Barone

It's pretty clear that Democrats are less enthusiastic about voting this year than Republicans. The latest evidence comes from Gallup, which reports that Republicans' 3 percent edge in congressional voting among registered voters increases to 13 and 18 points when you include just those likely and very likely to actually vote.

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October 6, 2010

JAMRS by Susan Estrich

The government sent my son a $2 bill.

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October 6, 2010

2011's Uncharted Political Waters by Tony Blankley

The New York Times has written, in explaining why the political parties have lost the confidence of the public: "Their machinery of intrigue, their shuffling evasions, the dodges, the chicanery and the deception of their leaders have excited universal disgust, and have created a general readiness in the public mind for any new organization that shall promise to shun their vices."

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October 5, 2010

Terrorism of a Personal Kind by Froma Harrop

The schoolyard bully used to work his fists.

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October 5, 2010

An Ex-CNN Anchor's Definition of Bigotry by Debra J. Saunders

Last week, CNN fired anchor Rick Sanchez after he called Jon Stewart a bigot in a radio interview during which he also questioned whether Jews face discrimination.

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October 4, 2010

Pelosi's Vote to Adjourn Could Be Her Last Hurrah by Michael Barone

It happened late Wednesday night, so it didn't get much coverage: Speaker Nancy Pelosi cast the deciding vote when the House voted, 210-209, to adjourn.

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October 3, 2010

California Death Penalty Once Again Thwarted by Thug Huggers By Debra J. Saunders

On Oct. 28, 1980, Albert Greenwood Brown snatched Susan Jordan, 15, raped and strangled her to death with her own shoelace. Brown, who was on parole after raping a 14-year-old girl, then spent the night tormenting the dead girl's parents over the phone, telling them that they would never see their daughter again and where to find the girl's half-nude corpse and belongings. A jury sentenced him to death for that crime.

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October 2, 2010

A Hug Too Far By Lawrence Kudlow

Am I the only one who saw weakness when President Obama and his departing chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, gave each other big, fat, full-bore hug following their speeches at the resignation event in the White House's East Room on Friday?

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October 2, 2010

She Said, She Said By Susan Estrich

Here we go again. Meg Whitman says she had no idea that she was employing an illegal immigrant for nine years and fired Nikki Diaz Santillan as soon as she found out.

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October 1, 2010

Lies of the Tea Party By Joe Conason

For Americans still suffering from persistent unemployment, falling incomes and rising inequality, politicians of either party probably generate little enthusiasm. Yet although political ennui is understandable, the disaffection and demoralization of Democrats has created a dangerous political vacuum that is being filled with misleading data, urban legends and outright lies.

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October 1, 2010

HOUSE RATINGS CHANGES by Isaac T. Wood

As Election Day nears, more of the House election picture comes into focus.

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October 1, 2010

Midterm Morsels: Senate and Governor Ratings Changes and Check-ups By Larry J. Sabato

For now, we are comfortable with the overall projections that we have in the Senate (+7-8 Republican seats) and for Governorships (+8 Republican seats). But that doesn’t mean all the individual contests around the country are static. We have a few ratings changes to announce, and the Crystal Ball also has other races on a watch list.

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September 30, 2010

Campaign Stunt: a Bunch of Garbage by Debra J. Saunders

"What did Meg Whitman know and when did she know it?" publicity hound attorney Gloria Allred asked Wednesday.

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September 30, 2010

Yes, the Swedish Model by Froma Harrop

Swedish voters have re-elected their center-right prime minister, and that has caused rejoicing among my right-wing colleagues.