Will Economic Recovery Trump Political Extremism in 2012?

Will economic recovery trump political extremism in 2012?

Mississippi voters on Tuesday, Nov. 8, rejected the so-called “Personhood Amendment” that would have declared that life in the Magnolia State begins at conception, while Ohio voters repealed a law that Republican Gov. John Kasich signed in March that severely curtailed collective bargaining rights for the state’s public workers by a 2-1 margin. Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, who spearheaded the passage of the state’s controversial Senate Bill 1070, is poised to lose his seat in a recall election.

The answer to the fore mentioned question is obviously in the eyes of the beholder—a social conservative could make the argument that President Barack Obama is an extremist because his administration no longer defends the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court, while a liberal feminist may conclude that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is an opportunistic misogynist because four women have accused him of sexual harassment while he headed the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. A Rasmussen poll last month showed that 84 percent of likely voters rank the economy as their top issue going into the 2012 election cycle, compared with only 52 percent who described immigration as a very important issue. The country’s unemployment rate remains at nine percent.

It’s the economy, stupid!

Poll: Democrats Are More Liberal, Less White Than Republicans

A new Gallup analysis finds that Democrats tend to be more liberal and less white and religious than Republicans.

Thirty-seven percent of Democrats whom Gallup interviewed between June 1 and Aug. 30 described themselves as liberal, compared to only six percent of Republicans who were polled during the same period.

Thirty-six percent of Democrats were non-white—including 19 percent who were black and another 14 percent who were Latino. Twelve percent of Republicans were non-white—including 19 percent who were black and another 14 percent who were Latino. Another 52 percent of Democrats rarely or never go to church, compared to 40 percent of Republicans who attend religious services weekly.

These demographics are generally the same as those that Gallup found among prospective voters between Jan. 2 and March 31, 2008. The general election is slightly less than a year away, but Gallup predicts that it will show the same voting patterns that existed in the 2008 cycle.

Reports: Anthony Weiner to Resign

The other shoe appears ready to drop.

Media outlets have begun to report that embattled Congressman Anthony Weiner will resign. The New York Times reported earlier this morning that Weiner made the decision after he spoke with his wife, Huma Abedin, after she returned to the country after a trip with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. WCBS is reporting that Weiner will announce his resignation at a press conference somewhere in the metropolitan area this afternoon.

Weinergate has clearly become a distraction to Democrats who have their eyes squarely set on the 2012 elections. Weiner's resignation will obviously come as a relief to those on Capitol Hill who clearly want to put this sad spectacle behind them.

Stay tuned...

Have Democrats thrown Weiner under the bus?

Have Democrats thrown Anthony Weiner under the bus?

Former Democratic National Committee Chair Tim Kaine and Pennsylvania Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz are among the growing chorus of Weiner's colleagues who have called for his resignation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [D-Nev.] made it clear to reporters on Tuesday that the congressman has few friends on Capitol Hill. And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.] has launched a formal ethics investigation into Weiner's antics.

Sending lewd and sexually explicit pictures to women over the Internet hardly qualifies as a high crime or misdemeanor, and stupidity alone is not an indictable offense. This sad spectacle, however, has obviously become a distraction to Democrats who have their eyes squarely set on the 2012 elections. This episode also proves once again that politicians generally lack a backbone or intestinal fortitude.

Stay tuned…

Specter leaves GOP

Senator Arlen Specter's announcement earlier today he plans to seek re-election as a Democrat is the latest evidence the Republican Party remains in the arguable political wilderness in Washington and in other areas across the country.

Specter, who was one of three Republicans who backed President Obama's economic stimulus package earlier this year, said in a statement he feels the GOP had moved too far to the right.

"I have been a Republican since 1966," he stated. "I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation."

Specter acknowledged his decision to back the stimulus package caused tension within his caucus. And GOP leaders were quick to respond to his defection.

“Senator Specter didn’t leave the G.O.P. based on principles of any kind," Republican Party Chair Michael Steele said as reported in the New York Times. "He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record. Republicans look forward to beating Senator Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don’t do it first.”

Specter's decision is almost certainly an extremely welcome development for Congressional Democrats and the White House itself. The GOP's reputation remains in tatters after last November's election. And Specter's defection will almost certainly contribute to their continued turmoil. Stay tuned!