GOP Launches Major Push to Capture Blue State Senate Seats

Republicans are targeting blue states with competitive races in an effort to win back a majority in the Senate, Politico reports. 

The GOP currently holds 45 seats in the Senate to the Democrats' 55, so it needs to win only six of those elections. Seven states currently represented by Democrats were carried by Mitt Romney in 2012, but Republicans want to increase their chances, so they are also targeting other close elections in purple states, and even some blue ones.

Republicans hope to capitalize on anti-Obamacare sentiment as the program has suffered glitches in its website and in trust in a White House that promised people they could keep their insurance and that premiums would not rise.

Even if a GOP hoped-for backlash against Obamacare doesn't pan out, Politico notes that Democrats could be forced to pull money from bigger races to spend money on less-consequential contests.

Republicans already hold a majority in the House of Representatives.

New York Times statistician Nate Silver has been predicting a possible GOP turnover of the Senate since early this year. Silver's predictions were made months before the disastrous rollout of Obamacare. 

Among the states Politico sees as most likely GOP prospects are Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon and Hawaii.

With Sen. Carl Levin retiring in Michigan, Republicans there have rallied behind state Sen. Terri Lynn Land. In Iowa, Sen. Tom Harkin also announced his retirement. No clear leader has emerged there.

In New Hampshire, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen won in 2008 with only 52 percent. Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown has now moved his primary residence to the Granite State and has been toying with challenging Shaheen.

Via: Newsmax
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DEM. REP. SAYS PROPOSED VOTER ID LAWS ARE ‘THINLY VEILED ATTEMPTS’ TO ‘SUPPRESS THE VOTING RIGHTS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS’

Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder last week asking him to review two proposed voting measures she claims are designed to “suppress the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities.”

“I am concerned about restrictive legislation concerning voter photo identification and the reduction of early voting days pending in the Ohio legislature, and seek your assistance,” Fudge wrote in her letter.

Rep. Marcia Fudge. (Image source: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The legislation, S. 238 and H.B. 269, would reduce the number of absentee voting days by six, prohibit pre-paid absentee ballots from being mailed to every voter and require individuals present a form of photo ID to vote.

“I believe both of these proposals are designed to systemically restrict the access of eligible Ohioans’ to the voting booth, particularly minorities, students and the elderly,” Fudge said of the proposals.

Via: The Blaze

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How the US gave guns to Mexican cartels

In September 2009, John Dodson, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was assigned to the ATF’s Phoenix office. What he found there shocked him. The bureau was encouraging gun dealers to sell weapons in bulk to known straw buyers, who would funnel those guns to Mexican drug cartels. Known as Operation Fast and Furious, it ended with the death of at least one American law enforcement officer. Dodson became a congressional whistleblower, and the investigation into the operation is ongoing. In this exclusive excerpt from his new book, “The Unarmed Truth,” Dodson explains how tragically inept Fast and Furious was.

‘It’s like the underwear gnomes,” my ATF colleague Lee Casa told me one time as we recounted the latest bizarre goings-on in Phoenix.

“What?” I asked.

“You ever watch ‘South Park’? There’s this episode where all the boys get their underwear stolen by these underwear gnomes. They track them down to get it back and one of them asks why they are stealing everyone’s underwear. The gnomes break out this PowerPoint and reveal their master plan: Phase One: Collect underpants . . . Phase Two: ? . . . Phase Three: Profit.”

“We’re doing the same thing,” he explained. “We know Phase One is ‘Walk guns’ and Phase Three is ‘Take down a big cartel!’ ”

Via: New York Post

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War on Women: Dems attack Garcia with sexist language, imagery [UPDATED]

New Hampshire Democrats were quick to attack Republican State Representative Marilinda Garcia once she made her intention to seek the her party’s nomination for the second congressional district seat official. Garcia announced her candidacy via a press release on Monday morning; she joins former Republican State Senator Gary Lambert in the race to take on Democratic Congresswoman Anne Kuster.

Within moments of her announcement, prominent Democratic State Rep. Peter Sullivan attacked Garcia on Twitter using sexist language and imagery. Sullivan compared the three-term State Representative, who holds a Master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, to reality television celebrity Kim Kardashian. He went on to refer to her as “[Republican State Rep.] Al Baldasarro [sic] in stiletto heels” and “a lightweight.”

Throughout the 2012 and 2013 election cycles, national Democrats launched repeated attacks accusing Republicans of using rhetoric they claimed was demeaning to women.

Sullivan’s tweets are below:

Bill O’Brien + Kim Kardashian = Marilinda Garcia #nhpolitics

— Peter Sullivan (@CitizenSullivan) November 25, 2013

@katbeep She’s Al Baldasarro in stiletto heels, a lightweight and O’Brien clone.

— Peter Sullivan (@CitizenSullivan) November 25, 2013

UPDATE: Facing heavy criticism, Sullivan refused to walk back his remarks about Garcia, even issuing a mock apology to Kim Kardashian “for comparing her to a right-wing extremist like Marilinda Garcia.”
Via: NH Journal
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[VIDEO] Will’s Take: ‘All Hell Is Going to Break Loose’ When Employers Dump Plans Due to Obamacare

George Will urged supporters of Obamacare to take today’s report of the HealthCare.gov fixes lightly as he read from the administration’s status report that its functionality was still months away. Will also warned that the problems with the health-care law will not end with the website’s ultimate repair, pointing out that structural elements of the law will lead to problems, such as employers dropping insurance plans.

“Watch the employers, because if they start dumping people into Medicare and into Medicaid, and the doctors then say, ‘The burdens are too high, and the reimbursement is too low, we’re not seeing Medicaid patients,’ then all hell is going to break loose,” he said on Fox News Sunday.

Via: NRO

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RNC Message Celebrating Rosa Parks

WASHINGTON – On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus and Co-Chairman Sharon Day released the following statement on this anniversary:
 
“Rosa Parks was a hero of the civil rights movement,” said Chairman Priebus. “On this day 58 years ago, the 42-year-old seamstress took a bold stand—by staying seated. Her arrest ignited a bus boycott that challenged the injustice of segregation and in turn helped to change this nation for the better.
 “We remember and honor Rosa Parks today for the role she played in fighting racism and ending segregation. At the same time we rededicate ourselves to the causes of justice and equal opportunity.”
 
“In an act of quiet bravery, Rosa Parks made a statement heard around the county,” said Co-Chairman Day. “We should remember her example: strength in the face adversity, resolve in the midst of injustice, faith in hard times.
 
“Earlier this year, a statue of Rosa Parks was placed in the U.S. Capitol. Hers was the first statue of an African-American woman to be placed there, and that’s a testament to her monumental role in our nation’s history. We honor her legacy today and tell her story so that it lives on through the generations.”

Via: GOP.com

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California Republicans in Congress show stark divisions

WASHINGTON — California's congressional delegation has long been known for its inability to get along. But Golden State Republicans aren't just on the opposite side of issues from Democrats. Lately, they've been at odds among themselves.

The divisions were on display when the state's 15 Republicans split almost evenly on a vote to end the government shutdown and extend the nation's borrowing authority. All 38 Democrats, in contrast, stuck together in support of the measure.

The Republicans also split on roll calls this year to cut the food stamp program, provide Superstorm Sandy relief, reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and end a program that promotes U.S. agricultural products abroad. No California Democrats broke ranks.

The GOP differences have been stark on immigration.

While Republican Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock and David Valadao of Hanford joined Democrats in support of legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the country illegally, some of their California GOP colleagues vehemently oppose what they regard as amnesty for lawbreakers. Others are open to granting legal status to some immigrants but oppose a path to citizenship.

It's no surprise to find divisions within the largest state delegation in Congress, given its size, regional differences on issues such as farm policy, and the political vulnerability of some of its members.

Via: LA Times

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Obama Says His Policies Are Built On ‘Kindness’

One day after a new poll showed that only a minority of Americans trust President Barack Obama, the president told an audience that his policies are based on kindness.

“Kindness covers all of my political beliefs,” Obama told his audience of wealthy investors, high-tech donors, journalists and fellow Democrats Tuesday, only two months after he slashed at GOP legislators, calling them arsonists, nuclear blackmailers, economic wreckers, hostage-takers, obsessives and irresponsible extremists.

“When I think about what I’m fighting for, what gets me up every single day, [kindness] captures it just about as much as anything,” he told his audience at the DreamWorks studio in Glendale, Calif., which he visited as part of a seven-stop fundraising trip.

“Kindness; empathy — that sense that I have a stake in your success,” said Obama, who told supporters during the November election “Don’t boo. Vote. Voting is the best revenge.”

Since Obama’s inauguration, the government’s debt owed by taxpayers has climbed by $7 trillion, the workforce participation rate has fallen from 65.7 in January 2009 to 62.8 percent in October, 2013, leaving roughly 9 million people on the sidelines, and Obama has pushed the Senate to pass a bill that would ensure the distribution of 30 million work permits and green-cards to foreigners during the next decade.

Also, during his first term, four U.S. civil servants were killed in Benghazi without any presidential intervention, inspectors at the Internal Revenue Service throttled regulatory approval for Tea Party activities, and justice department officials allowed hundreds of automatic guns to be sent to Mexican drug gangs.

The new poll by CNN and ORC, showed that “53% of Americans now believe that Obama is not honest and trustworthy.”

Only 46 percent of Americans think Obama is honest and trustworthy, down from 60 percent in January 2011, and 58 percent in May 2013, the poll showed.

Via: Daily Caller

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[CARTOON] Approval Ratings

Via: California Political Review

CONSERVATIVE LEADERS URGE GOV. SCOTT WALKER TO REJECT COMMON CORE

Tea party and conservative leaders from across Wisconsin have sent Gov. Scott Walker (R) an open letter urging him to reject the Common Core State Standards.

In the letter, dated November 26th, the 61 leaders ask Walker to lead a repeal of the Common Core standards in Wisconsin and abide by the same words he himself wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial:

Too many people in politics today spend their time trying not to lose instead of trying to do the right thing. They would better serve the country by worrying more about the next generation than the next election. The irony is that politicians who spend more time worrying about the next generation than about the next election often tend to win the next election – because voters are starved for leadership.

In September, Walker joined other Republican governors who were beginning to reconsider their states’ participation in the Common Core testing consortia. Wisconsin, in fact, was one of the first states to adopt Common Core in 2010 under State Superintendent Tony Evers.

However, when critics began to articulate concerns about the merits of the standards, the vast amount of student data collection involved in their implementation, and the realization that the federal government was more invested in Common Core than was originally believed, Walker decided that Wisconsin could do better.

“I’d like to have Wisconsin have its own unique standards that I think can be higher than what’s been established and what’s been talked about at the national level,” the governorsaid.

According to Fox News, though, Walker has not yet committed to specific improvements in his state’s education standards, nor has he announced his intention to rescind Common Core in Wisconsin.

Via: Breitbart

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Black Friday sales up just 2.3%

And that's with Thanksgiving day added to Friday's blowout.

How "black" retailers books are going to look is the real question. Prior to Black Friday, most big box retailers were bemoaning the fact that in order to get people in the stores, they used deeply discounted items. Typically, shoppers cherry pick the sale items and ignore the rest, reducing margins.

Bloomberg:

Retailers offered more and steeper deals on merchandise from flat-screen televisions to crockpots that, while luring shoppers, may ultimately hurt fourth-quarter earnings. Many consumers showed up prepared to zero in on their favored items while shunning the impulse buys that help retailers' profits.

"You could get the same deals online as you could get in the store, and yet there were still a ton of people out there," Charles O'Shea, a senior analyst at Moody's Investors Service in New York, said in an interview. Going out to stores, "is part of the experience," he said.

About 97 million people planned to shop online or in stores on Friday, with about 140 million intending to do so Thanksgiving through Sunday, the National Retail Federation said. That's down from 147 million last year.

Via: American Thinker

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Students at All-Girl College Promote Gender-Neutral Pronouns: 'Ze,' 'Sie,' 'E,' ''Ou' and 'Ve'

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The weekly meetings of Mouthing Off!, a group for students at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, always start the same way. Members take turns going around the room saying their names and the personal pronouns they want others to use when referring to them — she, he or something else.

It's an exercise that might seem superfluous given that Mills, a small and leafy liberal arts school historically referred to as the Vassar of the West, only admits women as undergraduates. Yet increasingly, the "shes" and "hers" that dominate the introductions are keeping third-person company with "they," ''ze" and other neutral alternatives meant to convey a more generous notion of gender.

"Because I go to an all-women's college, a lot of people are like, 'If you don't identify as a woman, how did you get in?'" said sophomore Skylar Crownover, 19, who is president of Mouthing Off! and prefers to be mentioned as a singular they, but also answers to he. "I just tell them the application asks you to mark your sex and I did. It didn't ask me for my gender."

Via: CNS News

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