Free Republic

Here's the lead and following two graphs for The New York Times story on the results of its latest joint public opinion survey with CBS News: "At a time of deepening political disaffection and intensified distress about the economy, President Obama enjoys an edge over Republicans in the battle for public support, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. [Snip] Reading those graphs might well lead one to conclude that, while the president certainly has some problems, his difficulties are less severe than those facing Republicans and he enjoys significant public support on his major policies. But a...

Well there is no doubt that the Tea Parties are indeed a force in American politics. The democrats called it a fluke when they lost the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia. The loss at Massachusetts flipped them on their collective ears. So what do we do now? I say let's roll on even harder while we have the momentum. Now is not the time to rest on our laurels and wait and see what Sarah Palin and Scott Brown do now.

As Congress begins picking through President Obama's vast election year budget, many Democratic incumbents and candidates seem to be finding something they love — to campaign against. A Democratic Senate candidate in Missouri denounced the budget's sky-high deficit. A Florida Democrat whose district includes the Kennedy Space Center hit the roof over NASA budget cuts. And an endangered Senate Democrat denounced proposed cuts in farm subsidies. A headline on the 2010 campaign website of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), blares her opposition to Obama's farm budget: ``Blanche stands up for Arkansas farm families,'' it says. Heading into an election season in...

Forget the State of the Union speech last night. In fact, forget Washington and Beacon Hill. If you wanted to see the people who are changing the course of American politics, you should have been at a racetrack in Braintree on Tuesday night. That’s when I hosted a campaign training session for regular citizens who want to run for local and state offices. The room at F1 Boston’s conference facility was set up for 200. Half an hour before our start time, we had 300. By the time we began, we had nearly 400 attendees - and another 100 or...

Forget the State of the Union speech last night. In fact, forget Washington and Beacon Hill. If you wanted to see the people who are changing the course of American politics, you should have been at a racetrack in Braintree on Tuesday night. That’s when I hosted a campaign training session for regular citizens who want to run for local and state offices. The room at F1 Boston’s conference facility was set up for 200. Half an hour before our start time, we had 300. By the time we began, we had nearly 400 attendees - and another 100 or...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, Oklahoma's only Democrat in Congress, predicts his party will lose seats in elections later this year. "If we have a tight majority one way or another, that puts me in the driver's seat,'' the three-term lawmaker said. "In the 112th (Congress), I probably will have the most influence I have ever had, no matter who has the majority.''

A growing number of GOP members are bucking the party and backing non-establishment candidates in this year’s primary elections. Many are feeling liberated, particularly after seeing Conservative Doug Hoffman drive centrist Republican Dede Scozzafava out of the New York special election. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has drawn the most attention for supporting Marco Rubio in Florida’s Senate race and Chuck DeVore in California’s. But now, other members of Congress are also backing candidates running against establishment favorites hundreds of miles away. In Rep. Glenn Nye’s (D-Va.) district this week, two primary candidates running against national party-favored businessman Scott Rigell drew...

Action: Forget big national protests for media attention. Get in the face of each politician. "Track their scheduled local appearances. Organize locally to have protesters at their events. Instead of holding big "Tea Parties" on nationally scheduled dates, organize them locally by networking people who can show up on short notice to express their concerns directly to their own public officials. This is more effective than writing letter and e-mails for staff to tally and ignore, or answer in perfunctory ways just to create the illusion of listening. Instead, show up at their event and ask to personally deliver hundreds...

http://www.revoltwithyourvote.com

AMERICANS ARE STUPID! (text) I’m coming around to the idea that the bulk of the American people are basically stupid, stupid, stupid! Why? How else can we explain how Congress, which has a 9% approval rating, gets reelected about 95% of the time? Do we ever “throw the bums out”? Listen to these stats:Senate: As of 2008, of 100 Senators, 39 (39%) reelected for 18 yrs or more, 4 over 40 years! House: As of 2008, of 435 members, 143 (33%) reelected for 14 yrs or more, 5 over 36 years! And the longer these guys are in office, the...

For at least the last 10 years, we’ve noticed a trend that Congress does not support the will of the American people. Voters have sat back and re-elected the same people who are not heeding the wishes of the people, but have led the country deep into socialism and all its dilemmas. Even now, while we hang on the verge of a depression, the Congress approves bailouts which will cost almost a trillion dollars with the earmarks that have been attached. Congress treats the American people as if the voters are dumb children unable to think or take care of...

It isn't often that public outrage peaks so close to an election, but this is a rare moment in history when "we the people" can exact a price from the political leadership that has duped, scammed and lied to them, contributing mightily to the current financial mess. At the Senate Banking Committee hearings Tuesday, Democrats, led by Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut, seemed to think the mortgage crisis, aided and abetted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and other disasters, occurred on someone else's watch. Dodd, joined by ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama, criticized...

Some years ago it became apparent to me that politics stinks, and that the stinkiest part of politics is the US Congress. Judging from the fact that voter participation in all our elections runs from 40 to 50%, apparently a great many voters agree, and simply don’t vote So I made myself a commitment to start a campaign to “Tro Da Bums Out!” (All of them) First, I looked at Term Limits. Since 75% of Americans want term limits for Congress, I thought it would be easy. But... we need to get a bill for term limits thru Congress FIRST,...

Those good souls who are working to get a term limits amendment to put an end to corrupt Congresses should stop and realize that it is an impossible task. Congress will not, repeat NOT, allow a bill for such an amendment to pass. And, for the same reasons, they will NOT allow an Article V convention for amendments to happen. Those are the only two ways allowed by the Constitution to propose amendments. Therefore it is left to us, the people, to conduct our own de facto term limits, at the ballot box. It is a very simple strategy, to...

MY 'EXTREMIST' SUGGESTION TO CHANGE CONGRESS There was a time when I was generally and proudly optimistic about the prospects for our country. But the growth of an irresponsible, liberally biased media, the incompetent ever-growing leviathan of government, and the essentially permanent self-serving Congress, has turned me into a desperate ‘extremist’, calling for all voters to ‘Never Reelect’ anyone in Congress, lest we continue our descent into a ‘Dictatorship of the Congress’. It makes little difference who wins the Presidency. It is in Congress where the problems lie! I can think of no rational alternative to ‘Never Reelect’ any congressperson,...

Presidents are term limited, so they can only do so much damage to the country. What I am very concerned about is our crummy Congress, which gets worse every year, and needs to be term limited. But Congress has a LOCK on never letting us get term limits on them. So I suggest the only way to do it, is to NEVER REELECT any incumbent! In the meantime, we can try to use the presidential race to give us a boost. Such as the following: McCain is a maverick. He likes to make waves. And he specializes in townhall meetings....

Congress is not working, and that is chiefly due to the fact that its reelection rate is 98%. Why should they rock their boat when they always get reelected? Major national issues such as our need for energy remain unaddressed, while gasoline approaches $5/gal. Russia, Venezuela, China, et al, are all rushing to fill the demand at our expense. To solve this coming energy crisis, Congress could simply vote to remove its restrictions on domestic drilling in ANWR, off our coasts, our shale in the Rockies, on nuclear power, etc. And stop pushing foolish inefficient bio-fuels! But they won’t, because...

A REVOLUTION TO TAKE BACK THE US CONGRESS by tenurecorrupts.com I am proposing that we create a popular, bloodless, political revolution in our country. I believe that it is very necessary, very possible, and very doable. The object of this revolution is the destruction of the professional political class which currently dominates and corrupts the US Congress. I am convinced, as are many, many voters, that the bulk of our country's political problems arises out of this 'permanent' Congressional political class, and their devotion to party power and to the financial special interests keeping them in power. There is a...

This article recommends limiting the campaign war chests of encumbents in order to give new candidates a more equal opportunity to win elections.

The last two Republican debates finally offered the voters a look at the candidates as they are [sans] the You Tube foolishness. The debate was periodically laced with sarcastic innuendo otherwise they were very informative for the first time in this campaign. Fred Thompson as it turned out was every bit the Statesman of the group, I’m not sure the public is ready for a statesman. Statesmen are only crowned as such after their service to the nation is over. Fred Thompson has a long and distinguished career serving his country in a variety of positions. If he doesn’t become...