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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (44841)	8/30/2010 11:26:51 AM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

They'll threaten school closures, prison releases and all manner of mayhem if their subsidies aren't renewed. Budget Choices Posted by David Boaz A front-page New York Times headline reads: Struggling Cities Shut Firehouses in Budget Crisis Because certainly American cities spend their money on nothing that is less important than fire protection. More on the Washington Monument Syndrome here. cato-at-liberty.org Washington Monument Syndrome From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Washington Monument Syndrome, also called the "Mount Rushmore Syndrome",[1] is the name of a political tactic used by bureaucrats when faced with reductions in the rate of projected increases in budget or actual budget cuts. The most visible and most appreciated service that is provided by that entity is the first to be put on the chopping block.[1] The name derives from the National Park Service's habit of saying that any cuts to its projected increases would lead to an immediate closure of the wildly popular (and not very expensive to maintain) Washington Monument.[2][3] A recent example is the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's act of turning off the lights on the Zakim Bridge in Boston[4]. en.wikipedia.org

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (44841)	8/30/2010 11:28:55 AM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 71588

"...Say the state can't make its debt payments, and no one will lend it any more money. In that case, the federal government can step in and put the state into receivership. This would involve the assignment of an accountant to manage the state's debt, overseen by a judge. It would be a lot like bankruptcy, except instead of following a structured set of steps—informing creditors, appointing creditors' committees, a 120-day window to file a plan, etc.—a receiver has the authority to force creditors to renegotiate loans in a speedy fashion. However, the accountant in charge would not have the power to make decisions about the state's budget, such as which programs needed to be cut and which taxes had to be raised. (No state has ever gone into receivership.)..." slate.com

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (44841)	9/9/2010 11:04:12 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

An Epic Dem Disaster By Dick Morris September 8, 2010 The magnitude of the catastrophe facing the Democratic Party in the fall elections is only gradually becoming clear to the leaders of both parties. The Democrats will lose both the Senate and the House. They will lose more House seats in 2010 than the 54 they lost in 1994 and they will lose the Senate, possibly with some seats to spare. In state after state, the races that were once marginal are now solidly Republican, those that were possible takeaways are now likely GOP wins and the impossible seats are now fully in play. Colorado offers a good example. Betsey Markey was supposed to be a marginal new Democratic member. But Cory Gardner, her Republican opponent, is now more than 20 points ahead. John Salazar, the brother of the Interior Secretary and a well-established Democratic incumbent in a largely Republican district, is now almost 10 points behind his GOP challenger Scott Tipton. And Ed Perlmutter, a solidly entrenched Democrat in a supposedly nearly-safe district, is running one point behind his GOP opponent, the unusually articulate Ryan Frazier (a black Republican with Obama-esque charisma). The Republicans will probably win all three seats. Or take Arkansas. Blanche Lincoln is clinically dead, trailing John Boozman 65-27 in the latest Rasmussen poll. In the race that was supposed to be close for the open seat in AR-2, Republican Tim Griffin is massacring Democrat Joyce Elliott by 52-35. In the race that was thought to be a likely Democratic win - AR-1, the East Arkansas district - Republican Rick Crawford is running seven points ahead of Democrat Chad Causey. And, in the district that was considered a safe Democratic seat, the home of Blue Dog leader Mike Ross, Republican Beth Anne Rankin is showing surprising strength and may topple her opponent. In the Senate, Republicans are solidly ahead in Delaware, North Dakota, Indiana and Arkansas. They have good leads in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Washington. The Democratic incumbents are perpetually below fifty and basically tied with their Republican challengers in Nevada, California and Wisconsin. Illinois is tied. Connecticut and New York (after the primary) are in play. That's a gain of up to 13 seats! And, then consider West Virginia, where the hugely popular Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin - who boasts of a 70 percent job approval rating - looked like the certain successor to Robert Byrd. But, in the latest Rasmussen poll, he leads Republican challenger John Raese by only 48-41. When 22 percent of the state likes the job you are doing as governor but doesn't want to vote for you for senator, you are in deep, deep trouble. That's 14! Why the disaster? Obama's poll numbers alone don't account for it. With a job approval in the low forties, he is not as radioactive as Bush was. He still has a ways to fall to reach those depths. So why the unbelievable wipeout in the congressional races? Obama has a lot to do with it. But so does Congress itself. With congressional approval at 23 percent in the realclearpolitics.com average, the Democrats in the House and Senate have contributed mightily to their own demise. The Rangel and Waters investigations and the impending decision to let each keep his and her seat does a lot to undermine Congress' image. So did the deals surrounding health care reform as the public watched sausage being made in Washington. The spectacle of Congress voting on bills the members have not read adds to public discontent. In most off-year cycles, it is the president's party that is judged in the voting. But, this year, Congress has been in the forefront of most of the legislation - up to actually writing the stimulus and health care bills - that the body itself is attracting its own negatives. Republican insurgents' success in derailing incumbent senators in Alaska and Utah attest to the bipartisan nature of the disaffection. But, for whatever reason, the only mistake either party can make as 2010 approaches is to aim too low. It is not the marginal seats that are in play, it is the safe ones! Morris, a former political adviser to Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and President Bill Clinton, is the author of "Outrage." To get all of Dick Morris’s and Eileen McGann’s columns for free by email, go to www.dickmorris.com. realclearpolitics.com