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Hey Freepers, How about a thread of 2010 Election Voter Guides and Score Cards for some quick facts on incumbent voting records? Score Cards are a great way to learn how incumbents have voted in the past on issues. Politicians will say anything to get re-elected, but they can't deny their voting records, if you have the facts in hand. Don't forget to pass this along to your friends and family before Tuesday! Here are a few to start with: AFA is conservative, christian & pro-family. The SBE appears to be pro-business and pro-entreprenuerial organization. I've been familiar with the...

"The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage." -- from Emperor Hirohito's surrender announcement to Japanese, August, 1945. "By most accounts, the Democrats stand to lose seats in both the House and Senate this coming Tuesday." -- Media Matters, Oct. 29,2010 By most accounts? So by some accounts, Democrats do not stand to lose any seats in the House and Senate on Election Day?

The Democrats can’t garner votes in the 2010 general elections by bragging about their legislative achievements—greater government control of our health care, more wasteful spending than ever in human history. Nor can they run on the results of their governing—chronic high unemployment and economic stagnation. So, of course, they complain about the election process, specifically about campaign spending by what they label “special interest groups.” These are not to be confused with the groups pushing special interests—government employee unions, trial lawyers—that give big bucks to them. The “process posse” has bemoaned this year’s Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United...

Political whizkids on both sides of the ideological spectrum have one thing in common as voters head for the polling booths this week into next: they're all attempting to guess, or predict how many congressional seats the Republican Party will gain on election day. Some are predicting a tsunami of 60 or more seats to the Republican Party, something that hasn't happened to either party since the GOP gained 72 seats in the 1938 mid-term election. While others are simply downplaying Republican hopes with a prediction of 45 or more seats. Which is frankly, offensive to the electorate at-large. But...

The economic climate had never been worse, gold prices were skyrocketing, real unemployment had jumped to between 17 and 19 percent, and many of the unemployed were walking away from their newly built houses, unable to afford the mortgage. Banks were closing at a rapid rate, some 500 in the previous year. At the same time, over 15,000 companies followed the banks into failure. Europeans were dumping American stocks, looking for more stable investments for their assets. Government policy seemed to exacerbate the problems, and as the election neared, the Democrats, holding the majority of seats in the House, as...

Sharron Angle's new ad in the brutal Nevada race features Harry Reid among the glitterati as Nevadans struggle. (See the video; it is hilarious.)

Hurt, AG visit Rocky Mount businesses Friday, October 15, 2010 By CHARLES BOOTHE - Staff Writer Political campaign visits are usually accompanied by some publicity, maybe a rally, a speech and at least a certain amount of hoopla. But Tuesday afternoon, Franklin Street in Rocky Mount became the scene of a low-key, unpublicized stop by Fifth District congressional seat challenger state Sen. Robert Hurt. Hurt, accompanied by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, walked down the street, visiting each business along the way and talking to owners and customers. "I learn a lot about what's on people's minds," Hurt said after...

We concur with North Carolina's Renee Ellmers that "The terrorists haven't won. We should tell them in plain English, 'No; there will never be a mosque at Ground Zero.'" Ellmers spoke with Freedom Radio about the mosque and her campaign to unseat Congressman Bob Etheridge: Last year, eight Muslim residents of her Congressional district were arrested for plotting to attack the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia which demonstrated the threat posed by the rise of radical Islamists here is a national security concern. Her opponent for North Carolina's 2nd District seat, Congressman Bob Etheridge, reportedly "has never thought building...

OH - Portman (R) 53, Fisher (D) 37 CT - Bluementhal (D) 52, McMahon (R) 42 MO - Blunt (R) 50, Carnahan (D) 42 WV - Raese (R) 48, Manchin (D) 43 NV - Angle (R) 49, Reid (D) 46

Sen. John Thune said Thursday that Sarah Palin’s decision whether or not to run for president will “change the equation” for him and all other potential Republican contenders. “She is someone who has a tremendous following out there, particularly in some of the early states,” the South Dakota Republican said in an interview with CNN that will air later Thursday. “This is not a campaign where you start out and you run nationally right away,” Thune said. “It's all sequence, and you have to get through certain states. She has a big following.”(continued)

Congress is deadlocked over virtually every major issue still pending this year, including key economic matters such as a detailed federal spending plan and extending Bush-era tax cuts, yet lawmakers still hope to leave Washington by Friday and not return until mid-November. Chances are they'll approve a stopgap budget to keep the government running, maybe vote on extending the Bush administration tax cuts and call it a day. This desire to punt on the day's biggest issue could be one more reason for voters to turn against incumbents of both parties in November.

Can't link to DailyKOS on FR, but Johnson is up 52-41 over Feingold and Scott Walker (R) leads Tom Barrett (D) 50-41 in the race for WI Governor.

DE - Coons (D) 54%, O'Donnell (R) 39% Link OH - Portman (R) 49%, Fisher (D) 36% Link PA - Toomey (R) 48%, Sestak (D) 40% Link CA - Boxer (D) 47%, Fiorina (R) 46% Link NV - Angle (R) 46%, Reid (D) 45% Link

In a strange departure from Morning Joe's typical spontaneity, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski issued what was clearly a scripted, teleprompted, manifesto this morning. The statement purported to be non-partisan condemnation of "angry voices" and a call, citing a WWII poster, to "keep calm and carry on." But even a cursory analysis reveals that the manifesto's message suits Dem themes to a 'T', and carries clear echoes of a recent partisan speech by Pres. Obama at a political event. The manifesto amounted to a condemnation of the "angry voices" and the "political extremists" who, claimed Scarborough, "are dominating the airwaves...

CBS News is reporting a new line in President Acorn's campaign strategy. In at least sixteen political speeches this year, press statements and even the State of the Union address, President Acorn has referred to Republican efforts in Washington DC as holding an issue hostage. I suppose since the Republicans have controlled both Houses of Congress, this is a smart attack. It is not like the Democrats have 59 Senators and almost 80 more House members than the Republicans, right? Furthermore, since the American people are clamoring for a far more activist federal government, it makes sense to unload on...

Gallup might be seeing an historic spread in the Republicans' favor, and even Mark Halperin is predicting a GOP gain of as many as 60 seats. But amidst all the Dem panic and gnashing of teeth, the Pelosi party can still count on one true believer: Bill Press. Former California Dem chairman Press has predicted that when results come in on Election Night, GOP leader John Boehner's office will be a "morgue," while Pelosi's place while Pelosi's place is "where the party's going to be." View video here.

A University at Buffalo political scientist with a sterling record of prognosticating presidential elections is predicting that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will turn over her gavel to the GOP come January. The presiding Democrats stand to lose about 51 seats in November, says James E. Campbell, professor of political science at UB. His prediction stems from a crystal ball filled with scientific equations based on polling and current events, all pointing to a stunning reversal of fortune for Democrats, who took over the House in 2006. “After two election setbacks, they are poised for a comeback,” Campbell says of...

You've got to wonder when White House political guru David Axelrod will look at the churning pools of poll data and, like Chief Brody in "Jaws," say: "We're gonna need a bigger boat." The analogy isn't quite right, because in the movie, the shark ultimately loses. It's hard to imagine a scenario where Barack Obama and Axelrod victoriously paddle away on the flotsam of their own political wreckage. But in one sense, the analogy works just fine: This White House is rudderlessly lost at sea and inadequate to the challenges it faces. At the beginning of the year, retiring seven-term...

The AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) recently announced that they will spend a combined $88 million during this year’s election cycle. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) plans to spend about $50 million. Organized labor’s enormous war chests are largely derived from member dues—money that is deducted from workers’ paychecks and sent directly to the “representing” union. While some states have enacted paycheck protection laws that allow a worker to decide whether or not his dues are used for political purposes, a majority of states give workers no choice in how their dues...

Bailouts. Stimulus. Borders. Ground Zero Mosques. Health Care. Cap and Trade. Net Neutrality. DISCLOSE Act. Are you following all this? I doubt it. And I couldn’t blame you. Just as we get geared up to tackle something that is coming down the pike, two new ideas come barreling down the road at the American people. How can we keep up with everything Congress and the administration are trying to put into place? The short answer is that we can’t. There’s a political strategy at play here; set a big fire to distract from a dozen other small fires being set...