2010 elections

Broad And Deep: A Quick Look The GOP's Big Victory In The House

Brian Beutler | November 3, 2010, 8:58AM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) with members of the GOP leadership

The midwest was the key to the GOP's 60-plus seat victory in the House of Representatives. Where Democrats were able to stave off losses in the west and northeast and even parts of the south, they were creamed by upwards of two dozen seats in states like Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, where the recession has taken a brutal toll.

Dems had a significant majority going in to yesterday's election, so the greatest losses were suffered by junior members. Most of them were fully expected. But when you lose this many seats, invariably some surprises get swept along with the tide.

Read more »

Democrats

Dead Dems Walking: TPM's List Of Candidates Who've Been Written Off By Their Party

Brian Beutler | November 2, 2010, 7:24AM

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer with other House Democrats

Returns for 435 House elections will start rolling in a few hours from now. Well before they do, though, most Dems had long conceded that more than a handful of races are already lost. With these seats for all intents and purposes off the table before the polls opened, the number of truly contested seats the GOP needs to win control of the House is effectively much smaller than the magic 39.

Assuming the House does change hands, then, the big open question is how big the swing will be. There are scores of seats in play, but the battle lines have already moved past over a dozen House members who, in most cases, have already been written off by their own party.

If you're keeping score tonight, don't hold your breath for any of these Democrats.

Read more »

Bush Tax Cuts

House Progressives Press Pelosi Not To Pass Extension Of Bush High-Income Tax Cuts

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2010, 9:08AM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Thirty-two House progressives have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her not to allow a vote on extending President Bush's high-income tax cuts.

"[W]e respectfully urge you to bring to the floor, before Congress adjourns in October, a vote on President Obama's recently proposed tax plan: permanent tax cuts for the middle-class while allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans to expire, using any additional revenue to close our budget deficit," the letter reads.

The effort was organized by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, along with Reps. Mary Jo Kilroy and Alan Grayson.

Read more »

Social Security

55 Dems Sign Letter To Obama Opposing Social Security Cuts, Privatization

Brian Beutler | September 20, 2010, 3:18PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Over 50 House Democrats have now signed on to a letter, first obtained by TPM earlier this month, warning President Obama they'll oppose any effort on his part, or on the part of his fiscal commission, to cut Social Security benefits or privatize the program.

The letter was spearheaded by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. It was originally cosigned by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Dan Maffei (D-NY), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and CPC co-chair Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). The advocacy groups Social Security Works, P Street Project (the lobbying arm of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee) and MoveOn helped organize the effort to add signatures.

They will continue to round up signatures through tomorrow, before the letter goes to the White House.

Read more »

OH-15

Ohio GOP Photoshops Very Big Sign Into Tea Party Rally

Eric Kleefeld | April 28, 2010, 2:31PM

The Ohio Republican Party is being lampooned on both liberal and conservative blogs and message boards, over a mailer featuring a sign Photoshopped into a Tea Party rally -- a very big sign.

The sign shows a Tea Party rally, along with a sign "Vote Steve Stivers May 4th," referring to a candidate in next week's House primaries. Stivers has the party's endorsement for the GOP nomination to run against freshman Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, who narrowly defeated Stivers in the 2008 open-seat race.

The sign is added in. It is also very large, relative to the people and other protest signs in the rest of the photo. As has been pointed out elsewhere, the sign would have to be 30-50 feet high. The liberal Plunderbund site gave it a satirical news headline: "58 Tea Party protesters killed by falling giant Stivers sign."

Read more »