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Subscribe to RSSEDITOR'S NOTE: This was shot last week before Scott Brown said he would vote against Paul Ryan's budget.
Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss the possibility of Republicans taking over control of the Senate in 2012.
Thanks to Chris from Washington for the question.
Edited by Jason Seher. Produced by Jason Seher, Alexandra Moe, and Ali Weinberg.
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Thanks for the input Mark & Domenico!
It's still a bit premature but, I don't think they'll manage to pull it off!
All I know is, I'm fastening my seat belt between now and 2012 - it's gonna be a BUMPY ride...
Feisty,
good call. this is way too early. Dems still have a long way to go and now is the time for DNC to start heralding this Administration achievements. the achievement is countless. they should let the people now the republicans intents and keep it keep out there. Republicans are right in woods with ryan's budget, their inability to come up with one single job bill and their attack on social issues would keep there for long.
The treasure trove of clips showing the baggers voting for Ryan's budget coupled, with the clips of the angry town hall meetings are going to make for some MOST excellent campaign commercials! ;o)
PS: How does it feel to be 40+1 day? lol
feels great. am loving life the more in as much as republicants/teabaggers don't ruin it...lol. the best gift i got was yesterday election result for ny 26.....that was crazy. anything for my people will do.
I think there's a chance that the Democrats could get The House back. I wish Sen. Brown would lose in 2012 here in MA. Him and Romney can't seem to get their stories straight about what they would or wouldn't do, whether it be the auto industry or Ryan's bill.
{TRY NOT TO LAUGH FOLKS}
Are you ready for this one?
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Think Progress:
In fact, one outspoken critic is now actually trying to take credit for the auto rescue: GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Slamming Obama's decision as "tragic" and "a very sad circumstance for this country" in 2009, Romney's camp is now actually claiming that "Mitt Romney had the idea first":
A Romney spokesman said on Tuesday that the president's plan was modeled after one Mr. Romney advocated in 2008.
"Mitt Romney had the idea first," said Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney spokesman, citing the Times opinion article. "You have to acknowledge that. He was advocating for a course of action that eventually the Obama administration adopted."
But Mr. Fehrnstrom also accused Mr. Obama of wasting billions of dollars "propping up" the auto companies as part of the government's restructuring plans for the industry.
"Mitt Romney argued that instead of a bailout, we should let the car companies go through a restructuring under the bankruptcy laws," Mr. Fehrnstrom said.
The degree of amnesia necessary for such a claim is pretty stark. After all, in 2008, Romney flatly stated that if General Motors and Chrysler "get the bailout," "you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won't go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed." The title of his op-ed incidentally is "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"-
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Romney was, is and will always be FULL.OF.IT.
The conservative love for so-called "business acumen" never ceases to amaze me. Not only do Republican candidates lack good business sense, they have no idea about public policy let alone foreign policy. Trump is another example of this. And what happened to the military experience they were once so obsessed with? Oh that's right, it was replaced with religious "family values" credentials.
From my GOP standpoint: Obama became unbeatable on the day he gave the order to kill OBL.
Second: The GOP Medicare proposal was so far out of the mainstream that Americans of both parties hated it. Medicare will be the issue of 2012 and the GOP will never be able to walk back their support for the Ryan budget which included this proposal.
Groucho - - The mere fact that medicare is facing severe challenges in th '20's will be enough for most voters to realize that changes have to be made to sustain it.
The lefts approach to maintain the status quo and try to control medical provider costs is ludicrous.
The rights approach was to decrease federal monetary outlays for a popular program.
My opinion is that the average voter doesn't understand the tradeoffs involved. For medicare to sustain itself FICA taxes need to be increased across the board and the politicians (L or R) need to keep there hands off of the increased funding.
Has anyone ever met a politician who couldn't keep their hands off of a pile of cash?
Yes, we need Medicare for all -- That would make it solvent, as well as alleviate the health care drag on our economy.
american-2051576..
You"re right that Medicare needs to be overhauled, even the President has said so. It's the way to do it that's at issue.
The GOP voucher program benefits no one except the insurance companies who would reap windfall profits from the policies issued to everyone under age 54. The voucher loses value over time and is not enough to pay premiums on the policies. Takes money out of the pockets of people who can't afford it and for those who can't afford the insurance at all, well, they stay uninsured. Read yesterday that multi billions of dollars in tax payer money is spent to cover the cost of medical expenses for uninsured. We will end up spending even more if the voucher system is passed.
Upping the payroll deduction by a percentage point or 2 is a small price to pay to fund the system and keep it solvent. As someone pointed out a while ago, compiling all the manual records into one electronic data base will eliminate duplication and make fraud easier to detect. Fund the prescription plan which was NOT funded by the previous administration. These are all democratic proposals and they make sense to this old Goldwater republican.
President Obama's coattails will be longer and stronger than anyone previously thought. Close senate races may fall to Democrats because of this new political reality.
Republicans take over the Senate? Fat chance and no chance, thanks to Paul Ryan.
Yeah, the medicare thing is going to win the senate for them/snark. Dream on you First Read guys.
My hope is that Olympia Snowe's vote against the Ryan bill will so enrage the Maine Tea Party they will defeat her in the Republican primary (could happen.) That would greatly improve the chance of a Democrat winning the seat in the general. I would be soooo happy to represented by a Democrat again.
Constituents should be represented, so if the majority in an area is Democrat, there should be a Democrat elected -- That's the idea in a Republic.
With that said, we have been seeing moderates disappear from both Parties. I'm not so sure that's a good thing, as it probably lends to polarization in the country. Look at Lisa Murkowski in Alaska after defeating the Tea Party candidate there. She has not been lock-in-step with Republican dictates--good for her.
However, like Murkowski, you are correct that the Tea Party will probably run someone against Snowe and other GOP moderates. And this time the Tea Party is trying to vet candidates to avoid the Christine O'Donnell-type fiascoes. It would be nice if the Tea Party ran their candidates as Independent though instead of Republican, but they don't have the courage. Establishment Republicans are soiling themselves as they prepare for the onslaught from all sides.
The GOP needs to go forward, not backward--that's really their problem in a nutshell.
Amy, with Olympia Snowe, you are pretty much being represented by a Democrat.
The House is a very tricky proposition due to GOP redistricting in most states. Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Florida come to mind. Michigan and Ohio will eliminate two safe Dem seats, while Texas and Florida will likely add 4 safe GOP seats. Plus one in Indiana that the Dems are all but going to give up on. That's a net of 7. I just don't see the Dems (even in Illinois) being able to make up the difference in the maps. For my opinion, spending money on the House is a bad bet. Rather the Dems should pour their money into the Senate races and local state races (which they completely booted in 2010). They need to get the state legislatures closer to even. In many Red states, the Dems at the local level are all but non-existent. They must keep a viable presence in those states.
Chris: this was an excellent question, and Mark and Domenico, that was a interesting answer. North Dakota is an aging population, and there has been a bit of a backlash against Berg for his support of the Ryan plan. He has declared for that Senate race, and it is very much going to depend on who runs against him. Will Scott Brown get an opponent from the right wing? I see that as increasingly likely. Too soon to tell I suppose, but this is shaping up to be an interesting election.
Texas redistricting has to be approved by a Federal Court.
Great question from Chris and good points from Mark and Domenico.
It is way too early to predict. I think the conventional wisdom of the GOP having an easier path, past election history does not take into consideration what we have seen in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Florida and now NY26. Voters are as angry at republican leadership as they were frustrated by the economy not improving fast enough in 2010. While the GOP may have an easier path because of numbers, that path might be blocked by what republicans have been doing in State governments. Throw in the blatant exposure of the GOP's decades long effort to eliminate medicare, social security along with giving another 10% in tax cuts for the rich; their failure to eliminate the tax subsidies for big oil and other commodities; their focus on social issues which have no impact on jobs or the economy--I have doubts the GOP path is lined with flowers; I have doubts the GOP can repackage itself one more time in shiny paper to hide their real intent from the voters.
When do people on Social Security get a Pay Raise?? Three years no raise.
I would like to know the answer to that question also,for the last two years obama said there was no cost of living hike,I would like to bring him to a supermarket or a gas pump ,but when your a millionaire why should he care.
I will look at each candidate carefully and choose the most moderate. I do not like either party and find both parties extreme wings dangerous.
i see a furthering of the conservative take over in the house and senate.
befuddled - Why? What makes you think that's the case. It appears the general population doesn't like the conservative direction of this country. So again I ask you why you think they way you do.
Laurie, Were you paying attention 6 months ago?
White Collar Auto - Have you been paying attention since then. It appears the general public doesn't like what the GOP/TeaPeer's are selling.....don't you think? Or are you one of those hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil types.
It is too early to make this kind of perdiction. Especially in the always entertaining world of American Poltics. Now the "Gross Odd People" (GOP), and the "Really Not Competent" (RNC) have been making poor economic choices since 1981. The Economic Plan of "Tinkle Down" Economics caused the largest budget deficit in US History up to that time. Only when the voting is done after 2012. Will we know the answer to this question.