Bad news for the Democrats?

With 37 seats in the Senate up for election this year, the Democratic majority may be in jeopardy, if certain possibilities were to occur.

There are two seats where the Democrats don't, almost for sure, have the seats secured due to retirements: North Dakota and Delaware. In Delaware, Attorney General Beau Biden has chosen to not run for his father's former seat, which means that the popular Republican Mike Castle has a very good chance at election. In North Dakota, Democrat Byron Dorgan's retirement has taken away the Dem's best chance at reelection, because the state has been tending towards the red in the past few years.

The second possibilty is that certain incumbents' chances at reelection are diminishing. These seats include Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, D-Nev., Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Ken Salazar, D-Co., and President Obama's seat in Illinois. Reid's approval ratings are approximately 30%, and his opponents, a Miss-America runner-up and a son of a basketball coach notorious for scandals, are faring much better in the polls. Three surveys in two weeks have shown Lincoln losing to four other candidates in her run for a third term. In Illinois, the Democratic candidate, Alexis Giannoulias, has been portrayed in a corrupt way, and with the public's outrage with the impeachment of their governor, being portrayed as such could really hurt Giannoulias' chances. In Colorado, Michael Bennet, who took Salazar's seat, is having trouble gaining recognition among his voters.

I really doubt that the Democrats will lose their majority, because for that to happen, the perfect scenarios will have to favor the Republicans, and while it is possible that they will gain some seats, it is not very probable that every single event will happen to favor the Republicans.

www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1958995,00.html?cnn=yes

Ability to filibuster

Senate-elect Scott Brown, R-Mass., was expected to be sworn in today in Washington, D.C., after Massachusets governor Deval Patrick signed the certificate of election at 9:30, ET. Brown was expected to take his office the 11th of February, but was eager to push the date up due to a couple very important votes that are going to take place before next Thursday. These votes include approval of two people nominated by President Obama, one to the National Labor Relations Board and one to the General Services Administration.

The addition of Scott Brown to the Senate was, in the first place, an interesting vote by Massachusets, and secondly, a bad omen for Obama and his fellow Democrats. Massachusets, typically being a blue state, went red for the first time in decades (according to Mr. Coit, and I'll just trust him on this). This should warn the Democrats that public opinion towards the healthcare bill (Brown's campaign was built almost solely on his promise to block the bill) may be leaning towards the negative, enough for extremely liberal Massachusets to vote in a Republican senator. Brown being in the Senate will also give the Republicans the power to filibuster to block the efforts of Obama and the Democrats to pass legislature.

Patching up national security

President Obama has released his most in-depth and detailed report of the attempted terror attempt on Christmas Day. There were many avoidable mistakes that led to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab being allowed onto a Northwest Airlines flight with a bomb attached to his underwear: 1. The suspect's name was misspelled, which prevented the State Department from revoking his passport after his father informed them of his son's radicalism and disappearance. 2. Personnel at the National Counterterrorism Center and the CIA did not search all of the avaliable databases for Abdulmutallab.
As for the changes, Obama has required visas to be checked against extremist databases, both after they are issued and at the time that they were requested. Also, the Department of Homeland Security will acquire $1 billion dollars of new airport screening technology.

African-American Legacy

The race for the Atlanta mayor's position, as discussed in a previous blog, has come to a conclusion: the African-American Kasim Reed has come out on top, with less than a 1% lead in the votes. Reed is the fifth consecutive black mayor for Atlanta. But this race has highlighted the failing Atlanta politcal machine.
The city has a history of electing blacks to politics, and whites to business ventures. However, the population is increasing, the white community in particular, and the newcomers are unaware of the customs. Also causing the failing politcal machine is that the black politcal community is not as united as it once was, and more whites than ever are running for politcal office.

The changing of the dynamics of Atlanta's politics are a good thing, I feel. It's 2009, for goodness' sake. The candidate that best represents the beliefs of his constituents should be elected, no matter what race they are. The lasting political dynasty of African-American mayors in the city was a very close call for this race, and who knows what will happen the next time the mayoral seat it up for grabs?

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/78620642.html

New health-care bill on President's desk by 2010?

President Barack Obama met with the Democratic senators to talk about the passage of the health-care reform. The forty-five minute meeting apparently gave President Obama reason to believe that his deadline of the new year for a health-care reform bill will be met, because on his way out, he stated, "They're going to get it done." A new proposal was also presented; this new proposal would have a health plan similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan. The Office of Personnel Management would oversee the plan, and all of the options would be non-profit.

Senator Olympia Snowe (Rep - ME) says that she believes that this will be a good compromise, because it will give the public options to buy insurance from private companies.

I really think that this idea is a good one; obviously, this is not the whole extent of the bill, but this little summary makes the proposal sound good. There should be the option for consumers to buy their own health insurance, instead of everyone having to do the government's option. Personally, I think that in the future (this could very well change once I get there) I will buy privately, as long as I live within a community like this currently, with a good, solid company such as RMHMO, that has gained national attention.

http://www.examiner.com/x-4383-Portland-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m12d6-Politics-on-Sunday--Obama-to-Dems-Pass-health-care-reform

Palin backs "birthers"

Sarah Palin has lent her support to people that are questioning President Barack Obama's citizenship. "Birthers" are the people that don't believe that President Obama does not have a US birth certificate.

Palin went on "The Robert Humphrey's Show" on Thursday, December 3, to talk about her book, "Going Rogue."

"I think it's a fair question," Palin says, "just like I think past associations and past voting records - all of that is fair game."

"I think the public is still rightfully making it an issue."

She later went on Facebook to declare that she merely supports these people, and has not raised questions about it herself.

Even in the article, it states that this idea is a "conspiracy theory," an secret plot that the general public is largely unaware about. This is a ridiculous idea; being a prominent politition, even before he was elected President, there has to be checks into his background. I do support Palin that past voting and associations is a very big deal, because when senators or representatives have changed their voting patterns it can cause a scandal and that might not get the incumbents reelected, but a politician's birthplace? Really? Can we get more paranoid?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR2009120404214.html

Black vs. White Turnout

The race for the next mayor of Atlanta might be dependent on which race votes for a candidate. The two candidates are Mary Norwood, a city councilwoman, and Kasim Reed, who resigned from the Senate to run. In the city of 38% whites and 57% blacks, one strategist claims that the race could hinge on Norwood getting more black votes than Reed gets white votes. As for spending money, Reed gained momentum and money from a recent media blitz, and, according to the latest financial report, spent $790,000, and Norwood spent $566,000.

The strategist that claimed that Norwood would have to get more black votes than Reed gets white has a very good point; some ignorant voters, and I emphasize the "some", may vote for either candidate because of their race. However, other voters claim that race didn't pertain to their choice; as one voter said, "I can't necessarily say that weighed heavily into my decision, it was an added bonus."

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Atlanta_Mayor.html