Top Ny Times News

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

Are South Carolina Republicans Going To Hand Elizabeth Colbert Busch A Path To Victory Today?

Posted on 06:00 by Ashish Chaturvedi

Today is run-off day in South Carolina's first congressional district, a strip of coast below Myrtle Beach and Georgetown almost as far as Savannah's suburbs (including white Charleston south of Calhoun Street). On Saturday we pointed out that underdog Curtis Bostic had Man-On-Dog Rick Santorum campaigning for him-- as well as hilarious endorsements from Ann Coulter, religious right charlatan James Dobson, and the district's former congressman, once-removed, Henry Brown.

Conventional wisdom has it that this deeply red district-- Romney beat Obama 58.3-40.2% (mostly because the latest GOP gerrymander ghettoized all the African-American neighborhoods into SC-06 next door, where Obama won 70.9-28.1%)-- could be in play. In November Tea Party Republican Tim Scott was reelected 62-35% but the seat is now open because he was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by Jim DeMint. Districts this red aren't normally in play. But because disgraced ex-governor Mark Sanford appears likely to win the primary, mainstream voters will have to decide if they're buying in to his pious claims of redemption. Too implausible? South Carolina is the capital of the Culture of Personal Crisis, where everyday is Jerry Springer Day and where celebrating pious claims of redemption, no matter how opportunistic, are a standard way of life.

The general election is May 7, so there will be plenty of time for voters to mull this over. But it certainly appears that Republican primary voters have already made up their hive mind. It looks like by the end of the night, the Colbert Busch camp will be celebrating. Her only real chance lies in a Sanford primary win. Even with Coulter's stark prediction that if Sanford is the nominee, Colbert Busch will win the seat-- oddly reminiscent of her prediction about a Romney debacle-- GOP voters just cannot resist that Culture of Personal Crisis drama-- not even with Pat Boone endorsing Bostic!
He finished a distant second in the first round of voting, with 13 percent, compared to Sanford’s 37 percent.

And despite the high-profile endorsements, there are no clear evidence Bostic has done much to rally the voters who backed other candidates in the first round of voting.

“It's Sanford's to win-- he's a professional politician and knows how to run a race,” said Katon Dawson, a former head of the South Carolina Republican Party.

Just one of the 14 other Republicans who ran for the seat has backed Bostic, while six have endorsed Sanford.

Bostic emerged from first round of voting flat broke and has been able to spend only $40,000 on television during the runoff, while Sanford is flush with cash and has advertised heavily.

Those watching the race closely say Sanford remains the heavy favorite to win, but note that the likelihood of an extremely low turnout could play to Bostic’s advantage.

“It's two days after Easter, it's spring break in the low country, and neither one has a ton of extensive get-out-the-vote, I know for a fact,” Dawson said. “Still, it would be the surprise of the year if Curtis wins.”

A recent poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling showed Sanford leading Bostic by 53 to 40 percent, though special elections and House primaries are notoriously hard to predict.
Politico's Alex Isenstadt is also predicting that the final match-up will be between Colbert Busch and Sanford. "[I]f polling proves accurate, Sanford’s universal name ID, bigger war chest and carefully tailored plea for redemption to the district’s large contingent of social conservatives will prove too much for his little-known rival to match."
How Sanford has managed to bring himself back from the political wilderness is just the latest test of voters’ willingness to look beyond their elected officials’ transgressions. Sanford purposefully crafted a message of remorse and redemption that he believed would resonate with socially conservative voters who dot the district.

His personal troubles, Sanford tells voters, have made him a more religious person. He said at the debate that he had failed “very publicly”-- but insisted that he’s learned from his mistakes.

“I think, by and large, people are forgiving, especially if they believe your repentance is real. If they believe you are asking for forgiveness authentically and sincerely, then I think people are willing to give people a second chance. I’ve been around the governor, and it seems authentic and sincere to me,” [South Carolina GOP Chairman Chad] Connelly said. “I do think the people of the 1st Congressional District know him well. He’s run there before, and they’ve supported him. If there’s any group that’s willing to give him a second chance, this is it.”

...Sanford is also benefiting from simply being better known than his opponents. At the restaurant, he was treated like a celebrity as diners asked to have their photo taken with him. And as he stumped at the Charleston strip mall, it was hard to find a passerby who didn’t do a double take when the former governor walked by. Many of them stopped to talk with Sanford and to offer him their congratulations.

Long known for his love of retail politics, Sanford ate it up. He asked some voters for their phone numbers so he could call later to discuss the issues they were interested in. Bostic, by contrast, has struggled to draw sizable crowds. Even a joint appearance last week with former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a favorite among Christian conservatives, was sparsely attended.

“I just think Bostic has too little, too late,” said Warren Tompkins, a longtime Republican strategist in the state. “I think Sanford is going to win by a pretty significant margin.”
Colbert Busch is holding her breath. The latest PPP survey of the district shows her and Bostic tied 43-43%-- but shows her beating Sanford 47-45%. Over the weekend, The State did an in-depth look at Colbert Busch and found her pretty credible as a person and a candidate, also focusing on her strategy:
South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District changed in 2011 when lawmakers created a new, 7th Congressional District anchored in Horry County.

The Republican strongholds of Horry and Georgetown counties were removed from the 1st District. Remaining are Beaufort, Charleston and Hilton Head Island.

“Dropping Horry and Georgetown, it has made this district much more Libertarian-leaning, much more fiscally conservative to the point that social issues aren’t nearly as important to the average Republican voter,” said Scott Buchanan, a political science professor at The Citadel in Charleston. “I don’t think it’s necessarily making it friendly for Democrats, but making it more friendly for those who run a fiscally conservative platform. People more willing to give you a pass on the social issues.”


It appears Colbert Busch is shaping her campaign along that model. She supports gay marriage, telling The State newspaper in an interview “this is a matter of civil rights and this is a matter of equal protection under the law.” And she supports “a tough but fair path to citizenship” for the country’s millions of undocumented immigrants, including having them pay back taxes.

“This is about keeping the best and the brightest in our country. We have to find a sensible way to be able to keep them here,” she said.

And when she starts talking about fiscal policy, she sounds more like a Republican-- drawing on her 25 years of business experience, railing about the nation’s $16 trillion debt and saying on her website that “if Congress were a business, our leaders would be fired.”

She said she is not in favor of new taxes “in the short term” but did not say if, or when, Congress should raises taxes to address the budget deficit. She says she is against the budget sequester-- the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts that went into effect March 1-- pointing out the federal government first needs to get rid of fraud, waste and abuse, especially in the Medicare program.

She says the Medicare program-- health insurance for anyone over 65-- could save $24 billion a year if Congress would allow the program to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies on prices. And she cites studies from the federal Government Accountability Office and the nonprofit Rand Corporation estimating Medicare has $142 billion in overpayments and fraud, waste and abuse each year.

“Here is ... $166 billion that we know from the GAO is in fraud, waste, overbilling and pharmaceuticals, right? And that’s just one part of the entire budget. But that one part is twice what the sequester is,” she said. “We have to look through the entire budget, find out where else are we overpaying.”

She added that “being fiscally conservative is not unique to any party”-- which is true, especially when you are potentially running against Mark Sanford. The former governor probably won’t win over many social conservatives because of his lying and cheating on his wife in 2009. But conservatives love his record on fiscal issues, which Sanford would undoubtedly make a major part of his campaign should he win on Tuesday.
Brad Friedman points out another advantage Republicans have in the May 7th general election-- they control the vote counting apparatus, "the state's oft-failed, easily-hacked, always 100% unverifiable touch-screen voting systems. The candidate announced as the 'winner' of that election, based on those unverifiable voting systems, will either be the one who received the most votes from SC voters in the 1st Congressional District-- or the one who didn't. There will never be any way for anybody to know for sure one way or the other."

UPDATE: Latest Polling

One of the most consistently accurate polling companies in the country, Celinda Lake Partners, was out with a new poll late yesterday, paid for by the Colbert Busch campaign, showing Colbert Busch beating Sanford in a general election match-up 47-44%, just slightly better than the PPP survey from last week.


LAST UPDATE: No Surprises From GOP Primary Voters


Sanford won everywhere but Beaufort County, taking 26,066 votes (57%) to Bostic's 20,005 (43%). Keep in mind what Ann Coulter predicted: "If, in some horrible twist of fate that's been stalking Republicans, Sanford wins the runoff, he will lose the general election. Worse, he might win, making Republicans look like utter hypocrites on family values.

"In any event, so many resources will have to be diverted to save an easy Republican House seat that even if Sanford wins, some other Republican candidate will lose a close election after having to beg for money.

"And the payoff is: Yay! We win one of the most Republican districts in the country with a high-risk candidate!"

"The Republican Party owes Sanford nothing. He had a chance and he blew it. National Review wasted five years of cover stories on how awesome he was, but he never accomplished anything of substance."


Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in Colbert, Mark Sanford, South Carolina, special elections | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Another Manifestation Of The GOP Civil War: Utah's 2 Republicans Parted Ways On Immigration Reform
    Mike Lee & Orrin Hatch What's a Republicano to do? The racist, hate-filled base they've nurtured equates comprehensive immigrat...
  • How Badly Will Obama's Chained CPI Error Hurt Democrats In The Midterms?
    Social Security has long been the third rail of American politics. It has generally kept Republican predators, fearful of losing their caree...
  • Sunday Classics (double) preview: Enter the bird-catcher; exit Sir Colin Davis
    Colin Davis (1927-2013) at home by Ken As I must have mentioned, one of my core LPs in the early getting-to-know-music stage was a budget Se...
  • New York GOP: Cruzin' For A Bruisin'
    I know that the New York State Republican Party had a golden age... but it wasn't during the 20 years I lived in New York-- nor in the d...
  • New Dems Vs Actual Democrats-- Chained CPI
    The Blue Dogs are a discredited, spent force, essentially wiped out in the Great Blue Dog Apocalypse of 2010 when Democratic voters in their...
  • Mark Smith, Democratic Candidate For Pennsylvania Lt Governor, Rocks... In More Ways Than One
    I've only been to the Bahamas once; it was to visit the legendary, now shuttered, Compass Point Studios in Nassau, where one of our band...
  • EMILY's List Up It Its Old Tricks Again... Trying To Slip In A Corrupt Conservative Over A Progressive Because They Like The Plumbing's Better
    Except when it's bad women candidates like Michele Bachmann, Colleen Hanbusa or Katherine Clark  I got into a friendly Twitter argument ...
  • "Free" Trade-- Another Way For Conservatives To Undermine Democracy
    In the closing to his brilliant book, The Fifteen Biggest Lies About The Economy , Joshua Holland takes on the misleading notion of 'fre...
  • Will Hanabusa's Political Cowardice on LGBT Issues Come Into Play In The Hawai'i Senate Race?
    Last week we took a look at a contentious Senate race shaping up in Hawai'i between progressive incumbent Brian Schatz and more conserv...
  • The new Men's Wearhouse slogan: "You're going to look like crap probably, but now that the old guy's history, see if we care"
    "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." by Ken Ah, so that's what it was. It seems that in the three mont...

Categories

  • 1848 (1)
  • 1896 presidential election (1)
  • 2012 congressional races (2)
  • 2014 congressional races (34)
  • 2014 gubernatorial races (8)
  • 2016 presidential race (6)
  • 9/11 (1)
  • Aaron Schock (1)
  • abortions (1)
  • accountability (1)
  • ACLU (1)
  • Adam Schiff (3)
  • affirmative action (3)
  • Afghanistan (3)
  • Afghanistan War spending (2)
  • Agriculture Committee (2)
  • Al Kamen (3)
  • Alabama (1)
  • Alan Grayson (19)
  • Alaska (4)
  • Alito (3)
  • Allen West (1)
  • Allyson Schwartz (3)
  • Amnesty International (1)
  • Andrew Hounshell (10)
  • Andrew Maguire (1)
  • Andy Borowitz (2)
  • Ann Callis (1)
  • Ann Coulter (2)
  • Ann Kirkpatrick (1)
  • Ann McLane Kuster (3)
  • Anthony Kennedy (1)
  • Anthony Weiner (1)
  • anti-Semitism (2)
  • Antonin Scalia (2)
  • Appalachian Trail (1)
  • Apple (2)
  • Arizona (6)
  • Arkansas (2)
  • arms trade (1)
  • Army Wives (1)
  • Art Pope (2)
  • Asa Hutchinson (1)
  • Ashburn (3)
  • Asheville (2)
  • austerity (7)
  • Ayatollah Khamanei (1)
  • Ayotte (1)
  • Baca (2)
  • bankruptcy (1)
  • banks (1)
  • banksters (5)
  • Barack Obama (2)
  • Barbara Buono (5)
  • Barney Frank (1)
  • Barrow (6)
  • Bartiromo (1)
  • Beethoven (5)
  • Beltway Dems (1)
  • Beltway journalism (1)
  • Berlioz (1)
  • Bernie Sanders (12)
  • Beyonce (1)
  • Big Oil (7)
  • Big Pharma (1)
  • bigotry (7)
  • Bill Johnson (1)
  • Bill McKibben (2)
  • Bill Moyers (1)
  • bipartisanship (3)
  • Blanche Lincoln (1)
  • bloggers (1)
  • Blue America (1)
  • Blue Dogs (5)
  • Bob Graham (1)
  • Bob Lord (1)
  • Bob Mankoff (3)
  • Bob Scheer (1)
  • Boehner (4)
  • Boehnerland (1)
  • Boston Marathon (6)
  • Brian Schatz (7)
  • bribery (3)
  • Brownback (1)
  • Bruno Walter (3)
  • Bryan Fischer (1)
  • Buck McKeon (11)
  • budget cuts (3)
  • budget deficits (1)
  • Burgess (1)
  • Bush library (1)
  • Bush Regime law-breaking (2)
  • Bush trade policies (1)
  • Bush v. Gore (1)
  • CA-25 (2)
  • CA-45 (1)
  • Calhoun (1)
  • California (7)
  • campaign finance reform (1)
  • Canada (1)
  • Cantor (3)
  • Carl Levin (1)
  • Carl Sciortino (4)
  • Carol Shea-Porter (1)
  • Catholic Church (1)
  • CDC (1)
  • Cecil Bothwell (1)
  • certifiably insane Republicans (2)
  • Chaffetz (1)
  • Chamber of Commerce (1)
  • Charlie Crist (3)
  • Chellie Pingree (1)
  • Cheri Bustos (1)
  • Chicago (2)
  • Chile (1)
  • Chimpy the Prez (1)
  • China (4)
  • Chocola (1)
  • Choice (3)
  • Chris Christie (8)
  • Chris Hayes (7)
  • Chris Matthews (1)
  • Chris Van Hollen (1)
  • CISPA (5)
  • civil rights (4)
  • Clarence Thomas (1)
  • class war (1)
  • clean energy (1)
  • climate (1)
  • climate change (5)
  • Club for Growth (1)
  • Coal (1)
  • Coffman (1)
  • Colbert (6)
  • Collin Peterson (1)
  • Colorado (1)
  • comedy (1)
  • Congress (1)
  • Congressional Budget Office (1)
  • congressional ethics (1)
  • conservadems (5)
  • Conservative Consensus (2)
  • conspiracy theories (1)
  • Constitution of the U.S. (1)
  • contest (3)
  • Corey Robin (1)
  • corporate governance (1)
  • corporate welfare (2)
  • corrupt Democrats (1)
  • Cory Booker (3)
  • Cory Gardner (1)
  • cost of Iraq war (1)
  • courageousness (2)
  • cowardly Dems (1)
  • crack use by Republicans (1)
  • crazy extremists (3)
  • crime and punishment (1)
  • Cuba (1)
  • Culture of Corruption (13)
  • Cyprus (4)
  • DADT (1)
  • Dan Maffei (1)
  • Dana Milbank (4)
  • Darrell Issa (7)
  • David Bowie (1)
  • David Cameron (1)
  • David Chase (1)
  • David Cicilline (2)
  • David Frum (1)
  • David Gill (1)
  • David Neiwert (2)
  • David Vitter (1)
  • Daylin Leach (13)
  • DC (1)
  • DCCC (24)
  • DEA (1)
  • Dean Baker (1)
  • Debbie Wasserman Schultz (6)
  • DEBKA (1)
  • debt ceiling (1)
  • Dede Scozzafava (1)
  • deficits (1)
  • DeMint (2)
  • Democrats (1)
  • derivatives (2)
  • DesJarlais (1)
  • Dianne Feinstein (1)
  • Diaz-Balart (1)
  • Dick Armey (2)
  • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1)
  • Difference between 2 parties (1)
  • digital dementia (1)
  • disappointment with Obama (1)
  • Dolce & Gabbana (1)
  • DOMA (5)
  • domestic spying (8)
  • domestic terrorism (1)
  • Don Young (1)
  • Donna Edwards (1)
  • DREAM Act (1)
  • drones (4)
  • DSCC (4)
  • E. J. Dionne Jr. (2)
  • E.W. Jackson (1)
  • economic bubbles (1)
  • economic inequality (4)
  • economic sabotage (1)
  • Ed Markey (4)
  • Ed Marksberry (1)
  • Education (2)
  • Edward Snowden (4)
  • Egypt (5)
  • Eisenhower (1)
  • election integrity (1)
  • election theft (1)
  • electronic surveillance (2)
  • Elijah Cummings (1)
  • Eliot Engel (1)
  • elites (2)
  • Elizabeth Warren (8)
  • Ellen Corbett (1)
  • Elvis Costello (1)
  • EMILY's List (5)
  • eminent domain (1)
  • energy policy (1)
  • Enron (1)
  • environment (7)
  • EPA (2)
  • Eric Garcetti (3)
  • estate tax (1)
  • Etzioni (1)
  • European Union (3)
  • Evangelicals (1)
  • evolution (2)
  • extraterrestrials (1)
  • Ezra Klein (2)
  • FAA (1)
  • fake moderates (1)
  • Far Right (1)
  • Farm Bill (3)
  • fascism (5)
  • fast food (1)
  • FDR (1)
  • FEC (1)
  • federal regulatory agencies (3)
  • filibuster (2)
  • financial reform (1)
  • financial-services industry (1)
  • Fincher (2)
  • firefighters (1)
  • Florida (15)
  • Food Network (2)
  • food safety (1)
  • food stamps (3)
  • Fox Noise (2)
  • fracking (1)
  • France (1)
  • Frank Lautenberg (2)
  • Frank Luntz (1)
  • Frank Pallone (2)
  • Fred Upton (2)
  • free trade (3)
  • freedom (1)
  • FreedomWorks (1)
  • freshmen (1)
  • fundraising (2)
  • Gabby Giffords (1)
  • Gail Collins (1)
  • Gallego (1)
  • Garamendi (2)
  • Garrett (3)
  • Gary Miller (2)
  • Gatsby (1)
  • gay equality (5)
  • gay Republicans (10)
  • gender gap (1)
  • genocide (1)
  • Georg Solti (2)
  • George Carlin (1)
  • George Steinbrenner (1)
  • George Szell (1)
  • Georgia (6)
  • Germany (1)
  • Glenn Beck (1)
  • Glenn Greenwald (3)
  • Global Peace Index (1)
  • global warming (2)
  • Gloria Negrete McLeod (2)
  • GOP homophobia (5)
  • GOP racism (4)
  • Grassley (1)
  • Greece (2)
  • Greed and Selfishness (1)
  • Greg Sargent (1)
  • Greg Walden (2)
  • Guantanamo (2)
  • Guatemala (1)
  • gun control (15)
  • Haaretz (1)
  • Hanabusa (5)
  • Handel (2)
  • Harry Reid (1)
  • Hate Talk Radio (1)
  • Hawaii (5)
  • HBO (1)
  • health care (3)
  • health care reform (1)
  • health insurance (1)
  • healthy food (2)
  • Heather Mizeur (1)
  • Heidi Heitkamp (1)
  • Heritage Foundation (2)
  • higher education (3)
  • Hill (The) (1)
  • Hillary Clinton (3)
  • Hispanic voters (3)
  • History Channel (1)
  • homophobia (8)
  • Hong Kong (1)
  • hospitals (1)
  • House Agriculture Committee (1)
  • House Financial Services Committee (3)
  • House of Lords (1)
  • Howard Ahmanson (1)
  • Howard Dean (1)
  • Huffington Post (1)
  • hunger (1)
  • Hypocrisy (2)
  • Ian Welsh (1)
  • Iceland (1)
  • IL-13 (1)
  • IL-17 (1)
  • Illinois (3)
  • immigration (34)
  • income disparity (1)
  • infrastructure (1)
  • Inhofe (1)
  • Inland Empire (1)
  • internalized homophobia (1)
  • Internet (2)
  • Iowa (1)
  • IQ (1)
  • Ira Glass (1)
  • Iran (4)
  • Iraq War (1)
  • IRS (3)
  • Israel (4)
  • Italy (3)
  • Jack Eichenbaum (1)
  • Jack Kingston (2)
  • James Dobson (1)
  • James Surowiecki (1)
  • Jamie Oliver (1)
  • Jane Jacobs (1)
  • Japan (1)
  • Jared Huffman (1)
  • Jay Stamper (9)
  • Jay-Z (1)
  • Jeanne Shaheen (1)
  • Jeff Flake (4)
  • Jeff Merkley (1)
  • Jeff Sessions (2)
  • Jeffrey Sachs (1)
  • Jeffrey Toobin (2)
  • Jennifer Brunner (1)
  • Jennifer Garrison (1)
  • Jerry Nadler (2)
  • Jim Cooper (1)
  • Jim DeMint (1)
  • Jim Graves (5)
  • Jim Himes (2)
  • Jim McDermott (1)
  • Jimmy Carter (1)
  • Jindal (1)
  • Jobs Bill (1)
  • Joe Barton (3)
  • Joe Conason (2)
  • Joe Manchin (1)
  • Joe McNamara (1)
  • Joe Miller (2)
  • Joe Sestak (1)
  • John Aravosis (1)
  • John Barrow (2)
  • John Birch Society (1)
  • John Campbell (1)
  • John Conyers (1)
  • John Cornyn (1)
  • John Delaney (1)
  • John Fleming (2)
  • John Hanger (2)
  • John Kline (3)
  • John Nichols (1)
  • John Paul Stevens (1)
  • John Roberts (2)
  • John Shimkus (1)
  • Jon Vickers (2)
  • Jordan (1)
  • Josef Krips (3)
  • Joseph Crowley (2)
  • Joseph E. Stiglitz (1)
  • Joshua Holland (3)
  • Julian Assange (1)
  • Justin Amash (2)
  • Kansas (1)
  • Karl Boehm (2)
  • Keith Ellison (5)
  • Ken Calvert (1)
  • Ken Cuccinelli (5)
  • Ken Sanders (1)
  • Kentucky (2)
  • Kevin McCarthy (1)
  • Kevin Strouse (1)
  • Keystone XL Pipeline (6)
  • Kibbe (1)
  • Kirsten Gillibrand (1)
  • Klaus Tennstedt (1)
  • Kobach (1)
  • Koch (3)
  • Koch Industries (2)
  • Kolbe (2)
  • Korea (1)
  • Kyrsten Sinema (3)
  • L.A. Times (1)
  • Labor (1)
  • Lady Gaga (1)
  • Larry Flynt (1)
  • Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. (4)
  • Lawson (1)
  • Leadership (1)
  • Lee Fang (9)
  • Lee Rogers (5)
  • Leonard Bernstein (2)
  • LePage (2)
  • LGBT community (10)
  • LGBT equality (11)
  • Libya (1)
  • lies (1)
  • Limbaugh (1)
  • Lindsey Graham (13)
  • Lipinksi (1)
  • Liszt (1)
  • lobbyists (6)
  • Long Island (2)
  • Los Angeles (5)
  • Lou Vince (3)
  • Louie Gohmert (4)
  • Louisiana (2)
  • Mac Thornberry (1)
  • Macklemore (1)
  • Mad Men (1)
  • Magic Flute (2)
  • Maher (3)
  • Mahler (2)
  • Maine (2)
  • Malcolm Smith (1)
  • Malek (1)
  • Marc Maron (2)
  • Margaret Thatcher (4)
  • Marijuana (2)
  • Mark Begich (5)
  • Mark Foley (1)
  • Mark Kirk (1)
  • Mark Pocan (1)
  • Mark Pryor (2)
  • Mark Sanford (7)
  • marriage equality (10)
  • Martha Robertson (1)
  • Maryland (1)
  • Massachusetts (4)
  • Masterpiece Classic (1)
  • Matheson (4)
  • Matt Cartwright (1)
  • Matt Salmon (2)
  • Max Baucus (1)
  • Max Blumenthal (1)
  • Maxine Waters (1)
  • Mayors Against Illegal Guns (1)
  • McCain (2)
  • McCain's vindictiveness (1)
  • McCaul (1)
  • McClintock (1)
  • McCranky (1)
  • McCrory (2)
  • McDonnell (2)
  • McKeon (4)
  • media (2)
  • medical-industrial complex (1)
  • Medicare (1)
  • Melissa Harris-Perry (2)
  • Menendez (1)
  • Mica (3)
  • Michael Bennet (1)
  • Michael Bloomberg (5)
  • Michael Froman (1)
  • Michaud (1)
  • Michele Bachmann (9)
  • Michelle Nunn (4)
  • Michigan (2)
  • Middle (The) (1)
  • Mike Honda (4)
  • Mike Lee (1)
  • Mike Lux (2)
  • Mike McIntyre (7)
  • Mike Obermueller (1)
  • Mike Rogers (2)
  • Mike Ross (1)
  • military industrial complex (4)
  • minimum wage (2)
  • Minnesota (3)
  • Minutemen (1)
  • misogyny (2)
  • Mississippi (1)
  • Mitch McConnell (5)
  • Modern Family (1)
  • Molly Ivins (1)
  • Montana (1)
  • moral clarity (1)
  • Morning Sedition (2)
  • Morrissey (1)
  • Mozart (10)
  • Municipal Art Society (1)
  • Musharraf (1)
  • Music Business (1)
  • Muslim Brotherhood (1)
  • NAFTA (1)
  • Nan Rich (3)
  • Nanci Griffith (1)
  • Nancy Pelosi (1)
  • national parks (1)
  • National Security (3)
  • Nationals Park (1)
  • Neocons (1)
  • Nevada (1)
  • New Dems (20)
  • New Hampshire (2)
  • New Jersey (11)
  • New York (6)
  • New York Review of Books (1)
  • New York State (2)
  • New York Transit Museum (1)
  • New Yorker (The) (5)
  • Nick Ruiz (11)
  • Norman Solomon (1)
  • North Carolina (10)
  • NRA (17)
  • Nurse Jackie (1)
  • Obama's cabinet (1)
  • Obama's stimulus package (1)
  • Obamacans (1)
  • obesity (2)
  • obstructionist Republicans (12)
  • OccupyWallStreet (1)
  • offshore drilling (1)
  • OH-08 (2)
  • Ohio (5)
  • oil spill (1)
  • Oklahoma (1)
  • Olympia Snowe (1)
  • Orange County (1)
  • Orlando (2)
  • Orrin Hatch (1)
  • Otto Klemperer (3)
  • oversight (1)
  • PA-13 (3)
  • PA-17 (1)
  • Pakistan (1)
  • Palast (1)
  • Palin (2)
  • Pam's House Blend (1)
  • patent reform (1)
  • Patrick Murphy (5)
  • Patsy Keever (1)
  • Paul Broun (6)
  • Paul Clements (2)
  • Paul Kane (2)
  • Paul Krugman (3)
  • Paul Ryan (7)
  • Pennsylvania (7)
  • Pentagon (2)
  • perfidious Republicans (1)
  • Peter King (3)
  • PFAW (2)
  • Phil Gingrey (2)
  • plutocracy (2)
  • polling (1)
  • pollution (2)
  • Pope Francis (3)
  • post office (1)
  • Priebus (1)
  • primaries (6)
  • Pritzker (2)
  • Prop 8 (1)
  • public education (6)
  • Rachel Maddow (13)
  • racism (4)
  • Rafsanjani (1)
  • Rahm Emanuel (1)
  • Rana Husseini (5)
  • Rand Paul (1)
  • rape (5)
  • Raul Grijalva (4)
  • reactionary Democrats (1)
  • regulation (1)
  • Religionist bigotry (3)
  • religious bigotry (2)
  • religious fanatics (2)
  • renewables (1)
  • Renzi (1)
  • Republican brand (1)
  • Republican civil war (15)
  • Republican governors (1)
  • Republican hypocrisy (3)
  • Republican War on Science (2)
  • Republican War on Women (10)
  • retirements (2)
  • Richard and Mildred Loving (1)
  • Richard Mourdock (1)
  • Rick Perlstein (1)
  • Rick Perry (2)
  • Rick Santorum (1)
  • Rick Scott (2)
  • Rick Weiland (2)
  • right-wing bulllies (1)
  • Right-Wing Noise Machine (3)
  • Rivera (1)
  • Rob Ford (1)
  • Rob Portman (2)
  • Rob Zerban (4)
  • Robert Naiman (1)
  • Robert Reich (5)
  • Roberts Court (1)
  • Rodgers and Hammerstein (1)
  • Rohrabacher (2)
  • Ron Barber (3)
  • Ron Paul (2)
  • Ros-Lehtinen (2)
  • Rossini (1)
  • Royce (1)
  • Rubio (11)
  • Rudolf Serkin (1)
  • Rush Holt (2)
  • Russ Feingold (1)
  • Russia (1)
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg (2)
  • Ryan Lizza (1)
  • same-sex marriage (1)
  • Sandy (2)
  • Sarah Palin- Attack Dog (1)
  • SB 1070 (1)
  • school lunches (1)
  • Schweitzer (1)
  • Science (1)
  • Scott Brown (1)
  • Sean Patrick Maloney (3)
  • secession (1)
  • Seinfeld (1)
  • Senate (1)
  • Senate 2014 (28)
  • Senate 2016 (2)
  • sequester (6)
  • sexism (2)
  • Shameless (1)
  • sheriff (3)
  • Sherrod Brown (1)
  • Simcox (1)
  • Social Security (20)
  • solar energy (2)
  • South Carolina (16)
  • South Dakota (3)
  • Spain (2)
  • special election MA (3)
  • special elections (2)
  • Spitzer (1)
  • Springsteen (1)
  • State Dept (1)
  • Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (2)
  • Stephen Colbert (1)
  • Stephen Lynch (1)
  • Steve Cohen (1)
  • Steve Israel (7)
  • Steve King (5)
  • Steve Stockman (1)
  • stolen valor (1)
  • student loans (6)
  • Sunday Classics (27)
  • Supreme Court (13)
  • Sviatoslav Richter (1)
  • Swalwell (1)
  • Sweden (1)
  • Syria (9)
  • TARP (1)
  • tax havens (1)
  • tax policies (2)
  • tax scofflaws (1)
  • Tea Party (5)
  • teabaggers (5)
  • Ted Cruz (8)
  • Ted Haggard (1)
  • Tennessee (2)
  • terrorism (1)
  • Terry McAuliffe (2)
  • Tesla (1)
  • Texas (4)
  • the nature of conservatism (12)
  • The Sopranos (1)
  • The South (1)
  • ThinkProgress (1)
  • Tim Johnson (2)
  • Tinker (1)
  • tobacco (1)
  • Todd Akin (2)
  • Toledo (1)
  • Tom Coburn (1)
  • Tom Cole (1)
  • Tom Corbett (2)
  • Tom Kean (1)
  • Tony Soprano (1)
  • Toomey (2)
  • Toronto (1)
  • trade policies (4)
  • Trans-Pacific Partnership (1)
  • Trent Franks (1)
  • triangulation (1)
  • Turkey (3)
  • TV Watch (12)
  • twitter (1)
  • U.S. attorneys (1)
  • U.S.-attorney purge (1)
  • UK elections (1)
  • UKIP (1)
  • Umair Haque (1)
  • UN (1)
  • unemployment (3)
  • union-busting (1)
  • unions (1)
  • Urban Gadabout (1)
  • Utah (1)
  • Van Jones (2)
  • violence against women (4)
  • Virginia (5)
  • voter suppression (1)
  • voting records (1)
  • voting rights (7)
  • wacko birds (1)
  • Wagner (4)
  • Wall Street (2)
  • Wall Street bailout (3)
  • Wall Street Journal (1)
  • Wall Street reform (5)
  • war on drugs (1)
  • War on Terror (1)
  • war powers (1)
  • Washington Post (4)
  • water resources (1)
  • Wendy Davis (1)
  • West Virginia (2)
  • Weyrich Lunch (1)
  • WI-1 (4)
  • Wisconsin (4)
  • women's equality (7)
  • work (1)
  • xenophobia (1)
  • Young Republicans (1)
  • youth vote (3)

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (500)
    • ►  July (35)
    • ►  June (150)
    • ►  May (153)
    • ▼  April (148)
      • If Gay Marriage Were Legal In 1998, Maybe Paul Cro...
      • Ted Cruz vs Chris Van Hollen-- How To Win Friends ...
      • Well, Of Course Rich Kids Are Smarter Than Poor Kids
      • Colbert's Sister-- Next Tuesday
      • NRA Shills In The Senate In Trouble-- At Least On ...
      • Still-active NBA center Jason Collins comes out --...
      • Is The GOP Still In Thrall To The Lavender Scare?
      • Big Brother Never Goes Away-- CISPA Is A Real Dang...
      • Maybe It Really Isn't Fair To Always Just Blame Th...
      • If you've kept up on your mega-bundling, Paris cou...
      • Awwwwww... Frank Luntz Gets Outed-- And Then Gets ...
      • Sunday Classics: My dark history with the rolllick...
      • Does Anyone Think The Republican Party Is The Same...
      • How Long Before Half the Gays Will Vote Republican?
      • Better Know A District-- Or, Better Yet, A Top Not...
      • TV Watch: Say, has anybody been watching this CBS ...
      • South Carolina Closets
      • Swing Districts-- The Utter Failure Of Steve Israe...
      • Unanimous Consent-- If Not Courageous
      • Sunday Classics re-preview: Enter Donizetti's phon...
      • Ooh please, could we have Todd Akin to kick around...
      • This Tragedy Among GOP Closet Cases Is No Longer I...
      • Big Business And Immigration... And Paul Ryan
      • Conspiracy Theory Lunatics Are Now Part of The Rep...
      • Will Her Fealty To The NRA Cost Kelly Ayotte A New...
      • So what would YOU have said at the opening of Chim...
      • You Might Be A Republican If... You Think First Gr...
      • What Has The Republican Party Done To The American...
      • Guest Post By Jay Stamper, Who's Running For The S...
      • Ugly On The Outside
      • TV Watch: Newfangled ways of measuring time (1): F...
      • Ending Jail Overcrowding in LA County-- Guest Post...
      • EMILY's List Up To No Good Again-- In L.A... And I...
      • NRA And K Street Lose A Powerful Senator-- Max Bau...
      • Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) Who Once Voted For DOMA Is Gettin...
      • American Political Elites Are Really Bad-- Roundup
      • Massachusetts Senate Primary-- One Week From Today
      • Who Remembers Weasel Words? Interpreting Ro Khanna
      • What Can We Learn From What The GOP Is Doing To No...
      • Can The Koch Brothers Turn The L.A. Times Into The...
      • Monday Bits-- Colbert's Sister Going To Congress? ...
      • Will Grassroots Democrats Rise Up And Throw The Bu...
      • Capitalizing On Tragedy
      • Republicans And Their Bankster Buddies Have A Plan...
      • Plato: "The Measure Of A Man Is What He Does With ...
      • How The NRA Prevents Law Enforcement From Catching...
      • Lindsey Graham... Not Courageous
      • Our Chained CPI "Contest" Is Over Tomorrow Morning
      • Surprised That Freaks And Kooks Like Glenn Beck Ar...
      • Mark Smith, Democratic Candidate For Pennsylvania ...
      • Not Enough Retirements In The House To Make Room F...
      • Rep. Steve Southerland In For The Fight Of His Life
      • Lindsey Graham, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Drones, Constit...
      • Pervez Musharraf Returns To Pakistan, Declares He'...
      • Sunday Classics preview: There's something about t...
      • The Lamest Ducks In The House-- A Beltway-Eyed View
      • How Will Peter King Respond To Rick Perry's Reques...
      • CISPA... Who Betrayed Us Yesterday And What It Mea...
      • Aaron Schock, GOP Closet Twink, Defends Twinkies' ...
      • It Would Be Great To Get Allyson Schwartz Out Of C...
      • Nuggets-- Mostly Gun Control
      • Whose Fault Was The Gun Control Vote In The Senate?
      • Can Republican Closet Case Lindsey Graham Survive ...
      • 104 Republican Congressmen Voted To Reduce Benefit...
      • Welcome To The Ron Paul Institute... No, Really
      • U.S.A.-- A Country Of Economic Refugees
      • More Bits, More Pieces Than I Actually Intended: R...
      • La Reforma Integral De La Inmigración
      • Is Obama Throwing Seniors Under The Bus So He Can ...
      • When Miss McConnell Passes Will "Ding Dong" Top Th...
      • Bits'n'Pieces-- Guns And Religion
      • Republican Party Civil War Roils Illinois And Alaska
      • "Free" Trade-- Another Way For Conservatives To Un...
      • Marco Rubio: "Keep On Dreamin'"
      • How Badly Will Obama's Chained CPI Error Hurt Demo...
      • New & Noteworthy-- If Not News And Newsworthy
      • EPA Director Confirmation Hearings Turn Into A Deb...
      • How Unfair Are Taxes?
      • Help Save Social Security... And Win A 311 Platinu...
      • Death Penalty For Crooked Congressmen And Their Cr...
      • The case of Penney CEO Ron Johnson: Managerial "ge...
      • How Badly Does The GOP Want To Obliterate Unions? ...
      • Sunday Classics: From brooding depths to sparkling...
      • Republican Party Makes A Decision-- They'll Hold O...
      • TV Watch: "Army Wives" soldiers on, taking large c...
      • Pot, Aliens And Politicians... And The Unending Sa...
      • Paul LePage's Shocking Bully Politics In Maine
      • Chained CPI... Is Suddenly An Orphan
      • Wall Street Was Right About Elizabeth Warren-- She...
      • Sunday Classics preview: A haunting little piece t...
      • Some straight people really are grasping that LGBT...
      • Joe Barton (R-TX) And A Buy Bull Environmental Str...
      • Buck McKeon Throwing In The Towel?
      • Ted Cruz's NRA Filibuster Crushed
      • Take a bow, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara -- scourge...
      • Boehner Comes Through For China Again-- Defeats Ma...
      • Intellectual Dishonesty Bi-Partisan Style
      • Anyone Want To Run Against ConservaDem Adam Schiff...
      • Any Congressional Democrat Who Backs Cutting Socia...
      • Showdown At the OK Corral... Tomorrow
    • ►  March (14)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Ashish Chaturvedi
View my complete profile