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.
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.
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.
The Hispanic activist grew defensive as we discussed Latinos' low turnouts in recent elections.
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.
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.
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."
The schoolyard bully used to work his fists.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
As Election Day nears, more of the House election picture comes into focus.
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.
"What did Meg Whitman know and when did she know it?" publicity hound attorney Gloria Allred asked Wednesday.
Swedish voters have re-elected their center-right prime minister, and that has caused rejoicing among my right-wing colleagues.
Here's an exercise for some evening when you're curious about big nationwide trends in this year's elections.
