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In an odd coincidence, the last two election cycles have seen a drastic, unexpected drop in the unemployment rate immediately before the election. And in 2012 and 2010, the unemployment rate increased the month or the next after the election. Just as big a coincidence, both 2014 and 2012 saw the drop come in September, but reported in October, the best time to report supposed good news on the economy.

Secretary of State John Kerry's speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Diplomacy Center in Washington, D.C. Wednesday included an intriguing aside that appeared to reference the upcoming 2016 presidential election. Kerry spoke after remarks by each of the five former secretaries of state in attendance: Henry Kissinger, James Baker, III, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, and Hillary Clinton (Condoleezza Rice and George Shultz were not present.) After extolling the accomplishments of each of the five former top diplomats, Kerry said, "Join me, all of you, in thanking five of our six living former secretaries of state... They all look...

South Dakota state Rep. Stace Nelson (R) met with a handful of national conservative groups last week in Washington — an indication they continue to search for a challenger to former Gov. Mike Rounds (R) in the state’s open Senate race. The Republican primary field is already wide, and a bruising contest could jeopardize a pickup that is crucial to GOP efforts to take back the Senate in 2014. Nelson met with Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) office, Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist and the Club for Growth. “To say things went well is an understatement,” Nelson told The Hill....

Public Policy Polling’s newest South Dakota Senate poll finds that Mike Rounds’ support has dropped all the way down to 35% in the wake of voter anger over the EB-5 scandal, and that Rick Weiland continues to be better liked and within single digits of Rounds. Key findings from the poll include: -Rounds is at just 35% to 28% for Weiland, 24% for Larry Pressler, and 8% for Gordon Howie. A majority of South Dakotans have a negative opinion of Rounds, with just 41% rating him favorably to 51% with an unfavorable opinion. Weiland’s favorability, at a positive 42/38 spread,...

Former Gov. Mike Rounds has acknowledged he made an inaccurate statement in written testimony he sent to lawmakers last week, and now he wants to change that testimony. Rounds sent a letter Thursday to state Sen. Larry Tidemann, R-Brookings, the chairman of the Legislature’s Operations and Audit Committee. In the letter, Rounds seeks permission to amend one of his earlier written responses to the committee’s questions about state involvement in the federal EB-5 immigrant-investor program. In the answers Rounds sent to legislators last week, he wrote that “the governor’s office was not served” with papers regarding an EB-5 related lawsuit...

Shop at Amazon through https://smile.amazon.com and .5% of each purchase will be donated to the NRA. An easy way to donate. Few people know about this. You need to remember to go through that link each time however.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is widely considered to be running for president in 2016. But he was really put out that someone apparently connected to him said so, anonymously, in a National Journal story and Cruz took to social media to make his point. “Heidi and I have not made any decisions about political plans past the mid-term elections,” Cruz posted on Facebook, referring to his wife. “Clearly we have an overzealous supporter out there making freelance comments, but to be clear, no decision has been made. “Whoever this ‘anonymous advisor’ was, he or she had no authority to...

MILWAUKEE — She can rouse a crowd as she did here this week, connect with women and drive turnout among African-American voters. Yet despite the nail-biting closeness of state contests to decide which party will control the Senate, Michelle Obama has been largely absent from the campaign trail so far. Unlike Hillary Rodham Clinton, who as first lady crisscrossed the country for Democrats in 1998, Mrs. Obama will keep to a fairly limited path. In a measure of how deeply unpopular her husband is in Republican-leaning battleground states, Democratic Senate candidates there worry that Mrs. Obama’s presence would tie them...

It’s been the most remarkably enduring story line of Election 2014: three Democratic senators defying their states’ deep red complexion and their president’s abysmal approval ratings to stay competitive in races that should have, on paper, been lost long ago. The question all along has been, Could it possibly last? Now, a month out from the election, Republicans are seeing subtle but perceptible signs that contests in Alaska, Arkansas and Louisiana — all three pivotal in the battle for the Senate — are finally breaking their way. In Alaska, the conservative base has rallied behind Republican Dan Sullivan after a...

Half of Americans think there's a high risk of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, yet only a third are closely following news of U.S. airstrikes against Islamic extremists in the Middle East. According to the poll, most think there's a high risk of a terrorist attack inside the United States, 53 percent, though just 20 percent call it an "extremely high risk." An additional 32 percent say the nation is at moderate risk of a terrorist attack and 12 percent say it faces a low risk of terror attacks.

A limited number of free tickets are being offered on a first come, first served basis for next Tuesday’s political rally in Bakersfield featuring Vice President Joe Biden. A ticket is required for entrance to the event, dubbed the “Rally for the Valley.” The rally will be held at Cal State Bakersfield’s Icardo Center. Doors will open at 1 p.m. Complimentary tickets are available at California Democratic Party Central Valley offices in Bakersfield. Call 559-776-27XX for more information or to get on a list for tickets.

According to the latest Florida Chamber Political Institute (FCPI) poll released today at the Future of Florida Forum in Orlando, likely voters continue to have a more positive view of the future and favor Governor Rick Scott in the state’s top leadership race. Jobs and the economy (29 percent) continue to be the number one issue among voters, followed by education (19 percent) and healthcare (6 percent). “Florida voters are smart. They continue recognizing Governor Scott is doing what he said he would do,” said Marian Johnson, Senior Vice President of the Florida Chamber Political Institute. “More than 640,000 private-sector...

House Speaker John Boehner says he isn’t worried about a conservative revolt that could oust him from his leadership post—asserting there’ll be “very few” votes against him when he seeks a third term in January. And he also dismissed suggestions his leadership team would strip committee assignments from GOP lawmakers who vote against him, telling USA Today Tuesday: “I just don’t think it’s necessary.” Boehner’s optimism may be whistling in the wind, The Hill reports. The news site last week reported frustration with Boehner’s leadership style was triggering talk among some House Republicans about ways to replace him, including Arizona...

In an election climate in which issues favor Republicans and polls indicate a potential GOP landslide, conservatives need still be wary of Democrat skullduggery and its impressive ground game. The trend of 21st century politics shows that issues and national sentiment have taken a back seat to get-out-the-vote efforts, particularly given Democratic Party reliance on voting constituencies that pay far less attention to the issues and are less up to date on news and current events. Despite having a solid advantage on the issues, the Republican Party risks seeing its hopes for November glory washed away by busloads of Democrats "useful idiots"...

If President Obama and his spinners won’t accept conservatives’ take on the failures and missteps leading up to the Islamic State and the region-wide chaos in the Middle East, maybe they will believe the New York Times. Strangely enough, it confirms the facts and arguments conservative critics have been making for years now. What is also evident is that President Obama picked on the wrong people; the intelligence community is striking back by going to the media with chapter and verse of the president’s dereliction. The report substantiates eight key points: 1. Leaving Iraq with no troops was a disaster....

The transfer of prisoners out of Guantanamo Bay has ground to a halt amid a slow Pentagon approval process, causing deep frustration within the administration and raising doubts that President Barack Obama will be able to fulfill his campaign promise to close the offshore prison for terrorism suspects. Obama has said Guantanamo's continued operation hurts U.S. standing overseas and is a recruitment tool for terrorists. "The president would absolutely like to see more progress in our efforts to close Guantanamo," Obama counter terrorism adviser Lisa Monaco said. "He wants it closed. He's pushing his own team very hard, raising it...

Most businesses offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on their goods or services. We have heard about it all time, most of us even taken advantage of this offer from time to time. In light of this, it would be interesting to ask whether the U.S. Chamber of Commerce offers the same level of guarantee to their members that the rest of us get from them. Because if they do, it is about time their members start asking for their money back. Members of the Chamber join because they need a voice in Washington to fight against the federal intrusion we...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz says he's not sorry he spoke out in favor of Israel and the Jewish people at a Sept. 10 conference where he was shouted down and forced to leave the stage, the Washington Free Beacon reported. He said he felt it important to honor his commitment to speak, especially about the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East, even as he was met with boos as he went after Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al- Assad. “Look, I anticipated that there were one or two radical speakers who I didn’t expect would be happy with...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Thursday ripped U.S. Senate Democrats for blocking his bill that would revoke the U.S. citizenship of those who join the ISIS terrorist organization, noting that they are abandoning something Hillary Clinton supported when she was Secretary of State. The Democrats blocked Cruz’s bill on Thursday, a bill that would revoke citizenship from Americans who join ISIS. Cruz’s bill is very similar to one that then Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA)—who is now running in New Hampshire against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)—and then Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) offered a couple of years ago.“As then-Secretary of State Hillary...

When Pat Roberts faced a conservative primary challenge this summer, he did what most Republican senators have learned to do: turn hard right. Now, facing an unexpectedly strong independent challenge, Roberts is doubling down. On Thursday, the three-term Kansas senator turned to tea party darling Sarah Palin to rally voters behind his flagging campaign. The former Alaska governor praised Roberts for standing with Sen. Ted Cruz a year ago during his marathon floor speech against President Obama's healthcare law, which preceded a strategy that resulted in a government shutdown. "He [was] one of the few senators fulfilling campaign promises, doing...