September 25, 2019
DEMOCRATS' 2020 U.S. SENATE TAKEOVER ODDS SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN 50-50
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin's (D-IL) 2020 re-election is a certainty. The perpetuation of the Republicans' current 53-47 U.S. Senate majority is not such a certainty, however. And the ability of the president elected in 2020 to effectively govern makes control of the Senate a necessity. There are 33 seats on the table in 2020, plus vacancies in Georgia and Arizona. Republicans occupy 23 of those 35 seats, and 21 of those Republican seats are in states that Donald Trump won in 2016. Only 12 Democratic seats are on the ballot, and only one - Alabama - is in a state won by Trump. Current projections are that Republican senators in Maine, Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina are at risk, as is Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama, who won a special 2017 election. Full Article...
September 18, 2019
2019 ELECTIONS WILL TEST REPUBLICAN, TRUMP BASES
There will be 2019 elections for governor in three states -- KY, MS and LA -- and the outcomes will give a clue as to whether the Trump Nation is energized, and whether they will direct that energy toward electing Republicans. Trump won 65.5% in KY, 58.1% in LA, and 57.9% in MS, yet it is possible that a Democrat will be elected governor in each state. Or there could be a Republican sweep -- if the Trump majority turns out. Republicans have pushed a non-Trump brand in Mississippi, cutting state taxes. and in Louisiana, where the Democrat substantially raised state taxes. In Kentucky, the incumbent (R) has governed much like Trump. Full Article...
September 11, 2019
BAIL-OUTS PROLIFERATE AMONG DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEEMEN
Here is a multiple-choice question. A Chicago Democratic ward committeeman is (a) at the top of the political food chain, (b) at the bottom of the political food chain, (c) holds a non-paying post which is utterly inconsequential, and/or (d) believes it’s a steppingstone to glory and power. Anybody who is now or has been a committeeman would answer (b) and (c). Anybody who aspires to and is running for committeeman in 2020 would answer (a) and (d). And everybody else, including this columnist and the readers of this column, would give a resounding (c). Who cares? After all, the sitting Democratic committeemen of the 1st, 39th, 40th, 41st, 45th and 49th wards, elected in 2016, lost 2019 bids to be elected or re-elected alderman, and the 50th Ward committeeman and the former 32nd Ward committeeman lost 2018 state senator and county commissioner races. The bail-outs have begun. Full Article...
September 4, 2019
TRUMP USHERS IN A 3-PARTY SYSTEM: PRO-TRUMP, NON-TRUMP, ANTI-TRUMP
There are two kinds of failed presidents: Those who have the wrong governing philosophy and those who have no governing philosophy. Donald Trump is more of the latter than the former. He governs by Tweet. A 3-party system has emerged: Pro-, non-, and anti-Trump, with the antis having a whole lot of leftist, crackpot, unworkable proposals that will not sell to the center, where the non-Trump votes lie. Five states with 79 electoral votes, which Trump won in 2016 -- FL, MI, IA, WI, PA -- are the key...not the party's leftist, socialist contingent. Trump won 306-232. Subtract 36 votes from those 5 states, and Trump loses. If Democrats nominate a "democratic socialist" and economy remains robust, Trump wins. Full Article...
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