It's Election Day in America, and as is so often the case in this
fickle land, the results of the 2010 midterm elections are up in the air. Although President Obama's party is expected to suffer significant losses,
record numbers of districts remain competitive, and even minute errors in polling could mean the difference between
a historic Republican landslide and
an unexpectedly robust Democratic defense. At stake are control of not just the Senate and House, but myriad state and local offices, many of which will play key roles in the dynamics of the 2012 presidential race -- and, more subtly but no less crucially, the once-in-a-decade
congressional redistricting process. Much uncertainty surrounds the behavior of the electorate -- how many will turn out, and how informed will they be? To help move those statistics in the right direction, look inside for voter guides, national and state fact checkers, and an assortment of other resources to keep tabs on as the results roll in.
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Nov 2, 2010 -
858 comments
Republican Dirty Tricks "From the spring of 2002 until at least April 2003, members of the GOP committee staff exploited a computer glitch that allowed them to access restricted Democratic communications without a password. Trolling through hundreds of memos, they were able to read talking points and accounts of private meetings discussing which judicial nominees Democrats would fight -- and with what tactics.
The office of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William Pickle has already launched an investigation into how excerpts from 15 Democratic memos showed up in the pages of the conservative-leaning newspapers and were posted to a website last November." They just can't get Nixon out of their system, huh?
posted by owillis
on Jan 22, 2004 -
124 comments
Senators were told Iraqi weapons could hit U.S. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said Monday the Bush administration last year told him and other senators that Iraq not only had weapons of mass destruction, but they had the means to deliver them to East Coast cities.
If this is true, is he in trouble for saying it?
posted by bas67
on Dec 17, 2003 -
32 comments
More election hilarity expected!!! So, does anyone here still remember the 2000 election? Its not through with us yet. The GOP could regain control of the Senate
immediately following the Nov. 5 elections, thanks to a nutty legal wrinkle associated with
Sen. Jean Carnahan's appointment to the seat Missouri elected her deceased husband to. That is, if she loses, and if the Democrats don't pull the trick William Safire
expects them to.
posted by gsteff
on Oct 2, 2002 -
26 comments
Drop the marker and back away from the CD-RW drive. Add Senator Joe Biden (D - Delware) to the list of politicians eager to put the brakes on technology, kowtow to Hollywood and otherwise stop the Earth from turning:
Biden's new bill would make it a federal felony to try and trick certain types of devices into playing your music or running your computer program. Breaking this law--even if it's to share music by your own garage band--could land you in prison for up to five years. And that's not counting the civil penalties of up to $25,000 per offense.
Biden's bill is on the fast track and not getting the same press attention that
Sen. Holling's CBDTPA bill had earlier this year.
posted by scottandrew
on Jul 29, 2002 -
28 comments
House likely to approve homeland security bill that erodes labor protections "But the Senate, which likely takes up the matter next week, so far has pursued a much different course. On Thursday, the Democratic-led Senate Governmental Affairs Committee crafted legislation that would protect all current civil service protections and make it more difficult for the president to move workers out of unions. Bush and other Republicans said the measure would give the president less authority than he has now."
The House seems to be so much more conservative and extremist than the Senate. Heck they're
still working on trying to ban selected types of abortion procedures even when there's a strong chance it won't pass constitutional muster and the Senate isn't likely to support them.
Is it your perception that the House is more conservative? If so, why do you think that's true?
posted by Red58
on Jul 26, 2002 -
19 comments
Silicon Valley backs Senate bill that would allow companies to report computer network attacks to the government without having to worry about the public finding out. The reasoning: it would encourage
more companies to report the problems and help the
government track down the culprits. A
similar bill is in the House.
posted by thescoop
on Sep 25, 2001 -
3 comments
Shudder... At least Helms
tries to pretend he's offended...
Warning: Quicktime file, may put you off your feed.
posted by GriffX
on Sep 6, 2001 -
15 comments
So Help Me God :
"Ninety-five percent of the people believe in God. An invocation of his name, in conjunction with the seriousness of telling the truth, has an importance beyond mere legal requirement," Sessions said Thursday. [via
NextDraft]
posted by gleemax
on Aug 3, 2001 -
66 comments
Senate passes amendment withholding money from schools that deny use of their facilities to the Boy Scouts on the grounds of their exclusion of homosexuals. Says Jesse Helms, sponsor of the amendment to Bush's education bill, this is meant to combat "the organized lesbians and homosexuals in this country of ours." Is this justified in light of the Supreme Court's
ruling that the Scouts have the right to exclude whomever they wish, or just flat out anti-homosexual?
posted by zempf
on Jun 14, 2001 -
34 comments
Statement of Senator Feinstein opposing John Ashcroft. I hope he doesn't get in. A friend of mine told me he saw some "Roe v. Wade is dead" demonstrators on TV outside the capitol building and the first thing he thought was Triumph of the Will had descended upon Washington.
posted by kliuless
on Jan 25, 2001 -
5 comments
It's a split Senate. Democrat Maria Cantwell has been confirmed as the winner of the close Washington Senate race, thus bringing the Senate count to an even 50-50 split. And for 17 days, the Democrats will have a majority of sorts.
posted by solistrato
on Dec 2, 2000 -
2 comments
If Al Gore becomes the president, Mickey Kaus has a
wickedly devious idea on how the Dems can stick it to the senate Repubs. It hinges on Joe Leiberman refusing the vice-presidency.
posted by nikzhowz
on Nov 9, 2000 -
10 comments
No-one here seems to be paying attention to the Senate. The following states replaced Republican Senators with Democratic Senators: Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri.
Meanwhile, Virginia replaced a Democrat with a Republican.
Washington State is too close to call. If Washington goes D, we get a 50-50 Senate and THAT will be a confusing mess; who gets to head all the committees? There won't be a majority party. [more]
posted by Steven Den Beste
on Nov 8, 2000 -
23 comments
"No Senate Race in New York in 2000." I was at the
my AOL page and from there, two-clicked my way to their
election 2000 link to find my local races; where I was greeted with the aforementioned quote, in red. At first I thought it was a reference to the New York State Senate. But the top of the page clearly says, "U.S. Senate Race."
Am I the only person being duped by the AOL election information services?
posted by tamim
on Oct 17, 2000 -
2 comments
THE ROBINSON REPORT: "A Complete Report to the Citizens of the Commonwealth on the Personal Background of a Candidate for the United States Senate" -- written by the candidate, in the spirit of full discolsure. [more inside]
posted by palegirl
on May 28, 2000 -
6 comments
