Wednesday, November 5, 2014

After such a rejection, what would a petulant president do?


Will Obama go rogue? (Reader Poll)   "All he has left is his legacy."
"The supposed rising female stars who were to lead the War on Women battle charge were wiped out last night — Wendy Davis, Alison Grimes, Mary Burke. Add to them the loss of Kay Hagan and the likely December runoff loss for Mary Landrieu.
...
"In a party devoid of a short term future, Obama has a choice — give up at least some of his legacy, or go rogue, using his executive powers to continue to push his agenda despite the wave election rejecting his policies.

No Obama pivot after midterms  ... "At the same time, Obama won’t back down from using his administrative powers, including plans to issue an executive order on immigration that could be the most aggressive unilateral action of his presidency. He’ll adhere to a progressive agenda that, officials said, will keep the base excited, position his party to win back the Senate and hold the White House in 2016, and seal his legacy. And he will continue to use the bully pulpit to promote liberal issues, such as stemming climate change, that stand no chance of passing Congress on his watch but might under his successor."

Years ago the mayor of Las Vegas sized Mr. Obama up with these words:


Thomas Lifson calls him "Typhoid Barry" ... "Then there is the tricky matter of the 2016 presidential race. Does Hillary Clinton turn on him? If she does, who knows what might leak out about her behavior the night of Benghazi?" ...   This and numerous other commentaries from Lucianne

Our Petulant President ..."Obama is not the first second-term president to lose seats in his last midterm election, nor is he the first to find plenty of explanations for why that was not a judgment on his tenure. There is something about this point in a presidency that brings trouble - the last four two-term presidents all faced arguably the greatest crisis of their own creation about this time." ...

WH Privately Tells CNN Obama To Fake Bipartisanship, Invite GOP Senators To Pretend Meetings, Veto Everything: ‘Don’t Expect Us To Work With Them’
“ 'In talking to a senior administration official who said “We’re not gonna sign a bunch of their bills, period. We’re gonna veto stuff." ....

Filed under "Unlikely":  Peggy Noonan Wishes Obama Would Show ‘Graciousness’ After Midterm Losses   "In a blog post at the Journal, Noonan says unlike presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before him, Obama hasn’t accepted political defeats (as in the 2010 midterms) with tact."

Commentaries on this 2014 election

 
Obama: 'Don't think we're not keeping score, brother'   "... However, Barack Obama refused to change tack after losses in 2010 and he shows no inclination to do so now....  Why Republicans were a "do-nothing" Congress:
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid was Obama’s other major enforcer -- as Reid used his dictatorial control of the Senate to control what legislation came up for a vote and what amendments would be allowed to be offered by other Senators. The result was total deadlock, as the Republican House passed law after law -- challenges to Obamacare, to Obama’s legislation, to Obama’s overreach, to Obama’s trampling of the Constitution, only to see them die-smothered- at the hands of Harry Reid.
Political Cartoons by Chip Bok

 Tillis victory called in North Carolina. Looks wavy, eh?

Michael Barone: How the Wave Happened ... "The Tsunami of events and Democratic failure have washed the Republicans into office. Now they have to clean up the mess."

Midterm elections results: Why Republicans crushed Democrats   "The Democrats had no compelling message to counter the Republicans' anti-Obama outcry. And the Democrats' vaunted turnout operation fizzled."  (Video)

Political Cartoons by Glenn McCoy
 
Wendy Davis Was The Face Of ‘War On Women’ Politics. How’d That Go?   ... "Wendy Davis lost. We’re waiting to hear the final details, but it looks like she lost big. A media less invested in carrying War on Women water might have led fewer cheers for Davis and the country’s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood and more thoughtful coverage about the issues of concern to actual Texas voters, never as pleased with late-term abortion rights as the people inhabiting American newsrooms."
 
Political Cartoons by Gary McCoy

 Exit polls: Don't care for Obamacare  ..." Forty-seven percent of those who cast ballots in the midterms said the 2010 health care law, which opened for enrollment a year ago, went too far. On the other hand, 26 percent said the law didn’t go far enough, CNN exit polls reported." ...

"War on Women Sally" Kohn said:  ‘Obama was compromising plenty before last night. It’s time for Republicans to join him and govern!’
 Hawk(es) ن @HawkORHawkes
@sallykohn @JammieWF OK, so when GOP loses Congress, it's a mandate for change, but when they win, they have to compromise. Got it.

PerezOfficial.jpgMichelle Malkin: Is GOP Ready for Obama's Attorney General Fight?  "The Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent Obama a demand letter last week promoting Labor Secretary Tom Perez (right) as Eric Holder's replacement. Mother Jones ran with "Why Picking Tom Perez for Attorney General Would Be a Smart Move for Obama."
...
 "This looks to be the new Senate Republicans' first test of spinal fortitude. Will they fight for equal justice under the law or crumble under pressure from ethnic special interests? Will they reject the open-borders lobby or cave to race-card politics as usual? After an entire election cycle of GOP promises to buck Obama, will Senate Republican newbies deliver the goods or capitulate to craven political correctness?" ... 

Why Legislating Morality Is A Good Thing

The Liberty Papers 
8cf2b8b6f760e371b0eaf6a3fd4282d5
"One of the phrases that irritates me about politics is when the phrase “we shouldn’t legislate morality” is uttered. Usually, that person does mean well (ie. supporting a separation of church and state), but it doesn’t diminish the fact that the phrase itself is ignorant. I would argue that a free liberal society must legislate morality if it is remain both a liberal society and a free society. All laws are is the morality of a society that is written down, therefore you cannot make laws if you’re not legislating morality.

"I’m a classical liberal, which means I believe that the only moral purpose of government is to defend life, liberty, and property. I also believe in things such as pluralism, tolerance, the advancement of science and technology, realism, and reason. I want the morality of society to recognize these things in the laws that are made by the government that is supposed to represent us all. In fact, I would go even further to argue that moral relativism and liberty cannot coexist."

"When many people read this title and the first paragraph they’re probably thinking, “Kevin is about to argue for some sort of a theocracy.” Well, once you’ve read the second paragraph you probably realize that I’m no theocrat. Yes, I am a Christian, but I don’t need to law of Ceasar to guide my walk with Jesus Christ. While it is unreasonable to ask people check their religious and cultural beliefs at the door when discussing politics, in a pluralistic society such as the United States there is no place for legislating based on religion."  ...By Kevin Boyd

Full article here.
 

Report: Exec Amnesty 'No Matter How Big a Shellacking' For Dems

126369 600 Amnesty cartoons

Breitbart TV  "ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl reported that according to WH officials “the president will move forward with an executive order on immigration reform “no matter how big a shellacking Democrats get tonight” during ABC’s Election coverage on Tuesday.
Karl said “White House officials are saying that you can expect the president to set an aggressive, and defiant tone tomorrow. You're not going to see any mea culpas, no big firings, no change in direction.”

"He added “officials tell me the president is prepared to aggressively pursue his agenda using his power of executive authority, where he can't work with Congress, and the big one is going to be on immigration reform. White House officials tell me that the president will move forward with an executive order on immigration reform no matter how big a shellacking Democrats get tonight.. ”

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Follow the election here

RedState 2014 Midterm Elections Super Mega Ultra WEBcast!! 
"Tonight the forces of RedState, FTR Media, the AoSHQDD and some of the best personalities representing the right online will join together to bring our collective audience an election night spectacle not to be missed. We don’t want to overstate things, but if you don’t listen you’ll probably never experience joy in your life again."

Update map

2014 Senate Election Interactive Map
36 U.S. Senate seats to be contested in 2014
Select a state to view nominees and update your prediction. Democrats retain control with 50 seats, Republicans need 51 (a net gain of 6) to take the majority. It's possible we may not know who is in control until well after Election Day. More info below the map. Expert race ratings courtesy of Sabato's Crystal Ball. The original Senate map is available here. To share a map/forecast you've created, select the 'Share Map' button below the map.



4753

7 Safe4 Likely2 Leaning
0 Undecided
6 Leaning3 Likely14 Safe

 
Click to view this map.


The current U.S. Senate has 53 Democrats and 45 Republicans. There are two independents who caucus with the Democrats, effectively giving them control of 55 seats. The 2014 Senate elections will take place on November 4, 2014. There are 36 races, of which 33 are on a normal six-year cycle. There are special elections in Hawaii, Oklahoma and South Carolina. In the latter two states, these special elections coincide with a regular election.

The 36 Senate seats are currently held by 21 Democrats and 15 Republicans. Of those 36 incumbents, five Democrats and two Republicans are retiring; an additional Republican is resigning in early 2015, at the conclusion of the 113th Congress.

Kansas: If you show the Independent ahead, you can choose which party he will caucus with or you can leave him unaffiliated.

Democrats, Demagogues and the Politics of Race


How Will Democrats Divide Us Next?   ... "You can see that there also might be a problem with whipping black folks into a rage over Trayvon and Michael. Maybe it does help turnout in Democratic districts, but what about the much larger cohort of people that might think that race politics is so over now we've elected our First Black President?" ...

The Black Vote
 
Thomas Sowell: Voter Fraud and Voter I.D.   "Nothing is too gross when promoting racial hysteria in an election year. Veteran Democrat Congressman Charlie Rangel from Harlem declared that Republicans "don't disagree — they hate!" According to Rangel, "Some of them believe that slavery isn't over and that they won the Civil War!"  (Emphasis added. TD)

"Republicans did win the Civil War. That's why there is no more slavery. It was a Republican president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It was a Republican-controlled Congress that voted for the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery."

Black Quill and Ink
 
"BQI Editor: When Blacks vote Democrat they truly vote against their and their children’s best interests." ..
 
 Ben Carson Says Progressive Policies Stopped Progress in Black Community; Warns That GOP Must Have Fix After Midterm  ..." 'This is a community that is very, very strong historically that withstood the tragedies of slavery, the post-slavery era, Jim Crow and segregation, and still was strong — had intact families, had values. And then once the progressive left began to bestow all their wonderfulness on this community, that's when it really began to disintegrate," he continued." ...

Some Obatoons

Biden Blows Greg Orman's Cover: He 'Will Be With Us'

The Weekly Standard  "Vice President Joe Biden blew Kansas independent Greg Orman's cover in a radio interview today. Orman hasn't stated which party he'll caucus with in the Senate--actively avoiding announcing whether he'll be with Republicans or Democrats--but Biden stated definitively that Orman "will be with us" if he's elected."
 

 
... "Orman has stated that he'll caucus with whichever party holds the balance of power in Kansas, but Republicans have long suspected he's likely to join the Democrats' side. Biden seemed to confirm that belief in this interview." ...

The Great Midterm Foreign Policy Comeback


PJ Media  "Scott Brown did an unusual thing for a midterm congressional candidate in his quest to unseat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), something more characteristic of senators feeling out support for a presidential run: On Sept. 24, before the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester, Brown delivered a major foreign policy address."
...
"Brown has had plenty of current events fodder to satisfy his strategy of making this state race national, including ISIS, Ebola, Ukraine, the Middle East and terrorism in North Africa.

“ '[Shaheen] has insisted that the group, Boko Haram, operating in and around Nigeria, is not really an Islamic terrorist group. But let’s not be confused on this: These are the jihadist killers who kidnapped over 200 girls last spring,” Brown said. “They’ve been at it a while, and back in 2012 I introduced a bill instructing then Secretary of State Clinton to designate Boko Haram as the terrorist organization that it is. The bill went to Senator Shaheen’s committee, the Foreign Relations Committee – where, once again, they did exactly nothing.' ”

VOTE THE DEMOCRATS OUT TODAY

White House officials say they discovered hacking activity into the computers in the Oval Office. Nothing was taken. The hackers were identity thieves who peeked at the president's Oval Office laptop and saw his approval ratings and decided they were better off as themselves.   Argus Hamilton
American Glob   "If you’re an Independent, Republican, Conservative or Libertarian, you may have noticed that it’s time for a change in American politics.

"Now is your chance to vote out the power grabbing, hypocritical and anti-Constitution progressives.

"They’ve tried to claim this election has nothing to do with Obama. That’s a lie."
 

"Get to your local polling place and vote Republican.
 
"Hold your nose if you have to but do it.
 
"Bring friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, anyone who’s available and eligible to vote legally.
 
"I’ll be covering returns tonight starting at around 8 PM ET."
 
"I hope you’ll join me then.

 
Below: Jilted 
Women's Vote

Hume: If GOP Fails to Take the Senate, Party Will Have a 'Civil War'  Video
... "He added that a GOP failure to capture the Senate would result in "as bloody a set of recriminations as we've ever seen."

Krauthammer On Midterms: If GOP Doesn’t Win Senate, They Should ‘Look for Another Country’ [VIDEO]   ... "Appearing on “The O’Reilly Factor” Tuesday night, the syndicated columnist told Bill O’Reilly that if the Republicans can’t take back the Senate in a week’s time, they should “look for another country,” because they’ll never have a better opportunity to do so. Krauthammer also gave the GOP a 70 percent chance to take back control of the upper chamber of Congress next week." ...


Joe Biden, Man of 1000 Heads

Here Are Some Pictures of Joe Biden

 From Plastic Celebrity:  Joe Biden Plastic Surgery: Before And After Botox, Eye Lift    "They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but a portrait of vice president Joe Biden is worth well over a million colorful comments. Its not only his boisterous demeanor that is speaking volumes about his personal character."

Patterico's Pontifications  This is just three of them.
Biden 2
 
Biden 3
 
Biden of the Remarkably Smooth Forehead

Democrats Adopt Mob Tactics To Gin Up Turnout

Joshuapundit   "Think I'm exaggerating? This is the letter that was sent from the New York State Democratic Committee to voters...like singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulten, who shared this via Twitter:
...
... "The important thing about this is that it shows the barely hidden Fascist side of 'progressivism', the club and the jackboot behind the faux benign exterior.

"People definitely need to get that message, and send one of their own November 4th. "

Eric Holder Deploys Poll-Watchers to Look for “Discrimination”    ... "So does that mean that New Black Panthers won’t be standing outside polling places with billy clubs this year? Just kidding. And, of course, Eric Holder has never done anything in a “fair and nonpartisan manner” in his six years as Attorney General.

"But, seriously, what does it mean? Have you ever seen anything at a polling place that remotely amounted to intimidation, discrimination or obstruction? I haven’t. Presumably this is all part of the Democrats’ effort to keep alive the myth of voter suppression. That pretense seems to be a key element in their strategy to keep African-American voters in the fold, notwithstanding that the Democrats’ policies are devastating to black voters’ interests. And I guess it must work." ...