Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950, as Stevland Hardaway Judkins),[1] known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A child prodigy, he has become one of the most creative and loved musical performers of the late 20th century.[2] Wonder signed with Motown‘s Tamla label at the age of eleven[2] and continues to perform and record for Motown as of the early 2010s. He has been blind since shortly after birth.
Among Wonder’s works are singles such as “Superstition“, “Sir Duke“, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You“; and albums such as Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life.[2] He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist, and has sold over 100 million albums and singles, making him one of the top 60 best-selling music artists.
Clinton would back changing border law
By Jesse Byrnes
..
Hillary Clinton said Thursday that she was open to changing a 2008 trafficking law to help the administration deal with an influx of child migrants crossing the border illegally.
“I think it should be looked at as part of an overall package,” Clinton said on NPR’s “On Point.”
Clinton said Obama needed more “flexibility” to deal with the crisis on the border, noting that the large number of migrants are fleeing their countries for many reasons.
“We do need more resources very quickly deployed, which is what the president and the Democrats have asked for. We need some flexibility within the laws,” she added.
The 2008 law has become a sticking point in the debate over how to handle the large number of child migrants who have entered the U.S. this year.
About three-quarters of the unaccompanied children crossing the southern border are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. More than 50,000 have immigrated to the U.S. since October.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/213251-clinton-backs-changing-border-law#ixzz38Pf39aNh
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook
SPLC lawsuit: Tennessee deprives residents of Medicaid coverage
Earlier this year, a high blood pressure episode put April Reynolds in the hospital. In fact, doctors told the mother of three that she could have died if she had waited any longer to seek medical treatment.
Reynolds put off going to the hospital because she didn’t have a way to pay for medical treatment. She had been trying to get coverage through Tennessee’s Medicaid program, but the state’s policies have deprived thousands of people like her the coverage they need even though they are eligible.
Now, Reynolds owes $20,000 in medical bills and needs monthly checkups. But she has been to the doctor only once since the episode because she’s afraid of accruing more debt.
Today, the SPLC filed a federal class action lawsuit against Tennessee for adopting policies that break its decades-old promise of health care to Reynolds and other vulnerable residents
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-lawsuit-tennessee-deprives-residents-of-medicaid-coverage?utm_campaign=140723MCTD&utm_medium=email&utm_source=EOACLK
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Last Call For More Help Less Republicans
Like myself, Steve M is somewhat uneasy about the blase’ attitude of liberal pundits towards the Halbig decision earlier this week. Somehow it’s going to end up at the Supreme Court, and there’s no guarantee that the government would prevail.
But Republican governors, especially from the tea party class of 2010, have been harming large numbers of people quite openly — depriving unionized workers of collective bargaining rights, curtailing voting rights, dismantling democratically elected local governments in Michigan, curbing reproductive rights … and, apart from Pennsylvania’s Tom Corbett, they all have a shot at reelection. Voters who aren’t specifically targeted by these governors sure don’t seem to be displaying much empathy for those who are.
The prevailing sentiment is that somehow, there’s a bridge too far that the GOP will cross, and when that happens, voters will punish them resoundingly.
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2014/07/last-call-for-more-help-less-republicans.html
‘Eat what you kill’: Bentley tempted to take a bite out of education to recruit industry
By J.D. Crowe | jdcrowe@al.com
on July 24, 2014 at 9:53 AM
Gov. Bentley’s hungry to lure new businesses to the table and he’s tempted to take a bite out of the Education Trust Fund to git ‘r done, apparently.
Wednesday afternoon, Al.com’s Brendan Kirby reported Bentley plans to call a special session after the November elections to use education funds to pay for industrial recruiting.
“Who pays for the incentives? It’s not education, but they benefit from it totally. … You ought to eat what you kill,” he said, according to Kirby’s report.
Like a man on a slippery rock looking over a steep cliff, later in the day he backed away from some of those comments, saying his calls for a special session were “misinterpreted.”
Earlier in the week, Kyle Whitmire wrote: Job numbers show Bentley isn’t getting the job done.
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/07/bentleys_appetite_for_educatio.html
THIS WITCH RIGHT HERE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBkXG-9Vkns
Fuck you, Scari-anna Huff & Puff. Talk to us, when you’re sick and tired of REPUBLICANS fundraising.
BYE BITCH!
Check email
This Kid Made an App That Exposes Sellout Politicians
By Hannah Ewens
Jul 7 2014
With US politics swimming in so much corporate money that it’s pretty much an oligarchy, it can be hard to keep track of which particular set of lobbyists is trying to milk more cash out of health care, fossil fuels, and other very important issues from one week to the next.
But thanks to 16-year-old Nick Rubin, keeping track of just how much politicians have sold out has become a lot easier. He created Greenhouse, a new browser plug-in that operates under the motto “Some are red. Some are blue. All are green.” The plugin aims “to shine light on a social and industrial disease of today: the undue influence of money in our Congress.” It sounds like a bit of a lofty aim for an app, but it’s actually pretty simple and effective—it provides a breakdown of a politician’s campaign contributions when that politician’s name comes up in an article. It is currently available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari and is completely free. As you can imagine, reading about how your member of Congress voted in a recent health bill becomes all the more enlightening if you know how much money the health industry showered him in at the last election.
I spoke to Nick Rubin about the plugin, politics, and what he calls the “money stories” behind what you read in the news.
http://www.vice.com/read/greenhouse-app-hannah-ewens-nick-rubin-201
What if Mitch McConnell loses?
\
By MANU RAJU and JOHN BRESNAHAN | 7/23/14 5:09 AM EDT Updated: 7/23/14 7:28 AM EDT
It’s a taboo subject among Senate Republicans but one that’s on many senators’ minds: What if Mitch McConnell loses his reelection bid?
There appears to be no clear answer to that question, at least not right now.
In interviews and private conversations with more than half of the 45-member Senate Republican Conference, there is a split over a potential McConnell successor. His top deputy, John Cornyn of Texas, is favored to succeed him, several GOP senators said. But others ranging from John Thune of South Dakota to Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander — or a dark horse — are among those who could get serious consideration in the event of a leadership vacancy.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/gop-mitch-mcconnell-lose-senate-kentucky-109262.html#ixzz38Ou5XZWu
Unions put teachers on streets — for votes
By STEPHANIE SIMON | 7/24/14 5:05 AM EDT
This story is part of an ongoing POLITICO series on how national policy issues are affecting the 2014 midterm elections.
Teachers unions are struggling to protect their political clout, but as the midterm elections approach, they’re fighting back with their most popular asset: the teachers themselves.
Backed by tens of millions in cash and new data mining tools that let them personalize pitches to voters, the unions are sending armies of educators to run a huge get-out-the-vote effort aimed at reversing the red tide that swept Republicans into power across the country in 2010.
The unions have plenty of money: They spent $69 million on state races in 2010 and are likely to top that this year. But as they gear up for the most intense and focused mobilization efforts they have ever attempted, they believe it’s their members who will give them an edge. Americans may be frustrated with public schools and wary of unions, but polls still show respect and admiration for teachers.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/unions-teachers-streets-votes-109305.html#ixzz38OnWRSGh
https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/492306334998855680
That’s cute.
Study Finds Kids Prefer Healthier Lunches. School Food Lobby Refuses to Believe It.
[….] For a study just published in the peer-reviewed journal Childhood Obesity, researchers asked administrators and food service staff at 537 public elementary schools how their students were liking the meals that conformed to the new standards. Half of those surveyed said that the students “complained about the meals at first,” but 70 percent said that the students now like the new lunches.
Rural districts were the least enthusiastic about the new meals—there, some respondents reported that purchasing was down and that students were eating less of their meals. But respondents from
schools with a high percentage of poor students were especially
positive about the new standards: They found that “more students were buying lunch and that students were eating more of the meal than in the previous year.”[….]
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2014/07/school-lunch-study-student-perceptions
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Republicans Help Less Over Obamacare
Greg Sargent makes this catch on CNN’s latest Obamacare poll:
With the political world still pondering what yesterday’s court rulings mean for the future of Obamacare, CNN has published a fascinating new poll that asks a question I haven’t seen before. It asks whether the law has personally helped respondents, but then follows up and asks whether respondents think the law has helped others.
And guess what: A huge majority of Republicans and conservatives don’t think the law has helped anybody in this country.
Among all Americans, the poll finds that 18 percent say the law has made them and their families better off. But another 35 percent say the law has made other families better off, for a total of 54 percent who say they or others are being helped. Meanwhile, 44 percent say the law hasn’t helped anybody — a lot, but still a minority.
Crucially, an astonishing 72 percent of Republicans, and 64 percent of conservatives, say the law hasn’t helped anyone. (Only one percent of Republicans say the law has helped them!) By contrast, 57 percent of moderates say the law has helped them or others. Independents are evenly divided.
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2014/07/republicans-help-less-over-obamacare.html
In an article that originally appeared in the September 29, 1979 issue of “The Nation,” James Baldwin wrote that “Jews and Palestinians know of broken promises.”
But the state of Israel was not created for the salvation of the Jews; it was created for the salvation of the Western interests. This is what is becoming clear (I must say that it was always clear to me). The Palestinians have been paying for the British colonial policy of “divide and rule” and for Europe’s guilty Christian conscience for more than thirty years.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/07/this_is_what_james_baldwin_wrote_about_israel_and_palestine_in_1979.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+racewireblog+%28Colorlines.com%29
**Now this is where the real work of citizens should begin
State of Tennessee Sued for Depriving Residents of Medicaid Coverage
WED JUL 23, 2014 AT 07:58 PM PDT
The Southern Poverty Law Center has just filed a class-action lawsuit against the state of Tennessee claiming damages for several Tennessee residents who are suffering health problems because of the refusal of Tennessee politicians to properly implement Medicaid.
From the SPLC news release:
According to the lawsuit, the state has violated federal law by discontinuing in-person help for applicants to its Medicaid program, TennCare. Instead, Tennessee forces applicants to apply for TennCare through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace website, which was not designed for this purpose, causing some residents – including those with serious medical conditions – to go needlessly without health care. To make matters worse, the state has stopped accepting TennCare applications in person.
Several people are listed as complainants in the case including an infant:
One plaintiff in the lawsuit is a baby identified as “S.G.,” who was born two months premature. He was born into CoverKids coverage, but Tennessee revoked it the moment he left the hospital. S.G. has not had coverage since leaving the hospital.
As a premature child, S.G. is at high risk of contracting the potentially fatal respiratory and airway virus RSV. He requires monthly shots – at $3,000 each – to prevent this illness. His parents can’t afford the treatment.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-lawsuit-tennessee-deprives-residents-of-medicaid-coverage?utm_campaign=140723MCTD&utm_medium=email&utm_source=EOACLK
ACTION ALERT: How You Can Help Pay Delinquent #DetroitWater Bills
July 24, 2014 by Sepia
A Twitter convo between Tiffany Bell (@tiffani) and Kristy Tillman (@KristyT) about the water crisis in Detroit led to the creation of a website called The Detroit Water Project that allows people to pay the delinquent water bills of Detroit residents.
Here’s details from the website on how you can help
http://pragmaticobotsunite.com/action-alert-how-you-can-help-pay-delinquent-detroitwater-bills/
Death row Christian woman flies out of Sudan, meets Pope
ROME/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity, then detained after her conviction was quashed, flew into Rome on an Italian government plane on Thursday and hours later met the Pope.
Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, whose sentence and detention triggered international outrage, walked off the aircraft cradling her baby and was greeted by Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi.
Soon afterwards, Ibrahim, her husband and two children had a private meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican. “The Pope thanked her for her witness to faith,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said.
The meeting, which lasted around half an hour, was intended as a “sign of closeness and solidarity for all those who suffer for their faith,” he added.
There were no details on what led up to the 27-year-old’s departure after a month in limbo in Khartoum, but a senior Sudanese official said it had been cleared by the government.
“The authorities did not prevent her departure that was known and approved in advance,” the senior official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
http://news.msn.com/world/death-row-christian-woman-flies-out-of-sudan
Missing Air Algerie plane from Burkina Faso has crashed – Algerian official.
http://news.msn.com/world/contact-lost-with-air-algerie-plane-carrying-116-people-from-burkina-faso
Twitter finally released the breakdown of their workforce
https://g.twimg.com/blog/blog/image/Screen_Shot_2014-07-23_at_12.23.10_PM.png
I’m shocked-SHOCKED, I tell you!
http://youtu.be/d9ELTgk6p54
LOL You want go down in history as the MAN who KILLED THE FUNK?!
If you ain’t ever been down, how you gone ever get on up?
Can’t wait to see this movie.
https://twitter.com/HumanAfrica/status/465474873213849600/photo/1
https://twitter.com/pewresearch/status/490142461327855616/photo/1
Review: Dui Jarrod’s Compelling ‘Lesson Before Love’ Contests Conventional Cinematic Representations of Blacks
by Andre Seewood
July 23, 2014 8:02 PM
There is an African proverb that says,” He who speaks truth has very few friends.” And as if to test the veracity of that proverb the film LESSON BEFORE LOVE (2014) tells the emotionally complex tale of ambition, love, sex and lies among a quartet of Black thirty-somethings. Although it has become rather customary to refer to such ambition and relationship films among males and females as “hetero-normative”, I don’t think the critics who are using this term are doing so out of spite, but more so out of boredom. The problem with so many bourgeois hetero-normative relationship films is that they are often too predictable. Watching many of these films as either a romantic comedy or dramedy is like watching someone recite the alphabet and having to pretend that you don’t know that the last letter is Z.
Yet what makes the often told tale of love, sex and ambition in LESSON BEFORE LOVE so refreshingly compelling is both the complexity of its characters and the emotional intricacy of its circumstances delivered to us via a nuanced screenplay and inspired cinematography and editing.
In a (stereo)typical Black relationship film (e.g. Tyler Perry, Tim Story, Malcolm D. Lee, etc) we usually have the presentation of everyone’s circumstances of dissatisfaction, then some major dramatic event which leads to the pursuit of a love object that is blocked by the advice or the lies of other friends or family. In the final act the lead characters get their come-uppance by having their vanities torn down and true love is finally attained. It is a plot summary that can be seen in many of Tyler Perry’s works and various other relationship films like THE BEST MAN, THINK LIKE A MAN and various other lesser known straight-to-DVD Black films.
Yet Brooklyn based independent filmmaker Dui Jarrod has written and directed his feature length film LESSON BEFORE LOVE as if he were inspired by a declaration from French painter Auguste Renoir who said, ”I often paint bouquets from the side I haven’t arranged.”(1) That is to say, the four principal characters – Eric (Kenneth Brown Jr.), Alexis/Leslie (Shamea Morton), Cullen (Peyton Coles), and Janae (Reece Odum) – are placed in a narrative that literally reverses the plot summary of the typical relationship film that was described above. Indeed, the first twenty minutes of the film is an emotional tinderbox with each character getting their come-uppance delivered to them by the truth telling Eric character, who narrates many of the contradictions and ironies in voice-over. Everyone’s illusions and vanities are picked apart with a surgeon’s precision, saving Eric’s own seemingly fruitless pursuit of the coquettish Alexis/Leslie as the final egocentric tear down.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/review-dui-jarrods-compelling-lesson-before-love-contests-conventional-cinematic-representation-of-blacks-20140723
Check Out Yaya DaCosta Alafia as Whitney Houston in Behind-the-Scenes Telepic Footage
Television.
by Tambay A. Obenson
July 23, 2014 9:29 PM
Above, ET Online goes behind the scenes of the production of Lifetime’s upcoming Whitney Houston biopic, which is being directed by Angela Bassett (her debut), starring Yaya DaCosta Alafia as Houston, and Arlen Escarpeta as Bobby Brown.
The clip features Bassett, Yaya and singer Deborah Cox (who is providing the vocal tracks for the telepic), talking about the production, using Whitney’s original music, and addressing some of the push-back the project has faced – notably from Houston’s family, and some audience reactions to Yaya’s casting.
You’ll also find footage of both lead actors performing in character (as Whitney and Bobby), although just brief glimpses scattered throughout – mostly of Yaya as Houston.
The telepic will chronicle the headline-making partnership between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model, and singer, songwriter Bobby Brown – from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity, to their courtship and tumultuous marriage.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/check-out-yaya-dacosta-alafia-as-whitney-houston-in-behind-the-scenes-telepic-footage-20140723
TV One Gets Into Original Movies. Will Premiere ‘Girlfriends’ Getaway’ Starring Garcelle Beauvais, Terri J. Vaughn
by Tambay A. Obenson
July 23, 2014 12:58 PM
TV One has announced the network’s premiere of the 2-hour original movie, “Girlfriends’ Getaway,” which stars Garcelle Beauvais, Terri J. Vaughn, Malinda Williams and Essence Atkins, in a dramedy, shot entirely on location in Trinidad, that tells the story of an innocent birthday getaway taken by 4 longtime friends that turns into a life changing adventure.
Set to air on Saturday, August 30 at 8PM/ET – with an encore at 11PM/ET and at 11AM/ET on Sunday, August 31st – “Girlfriends’ Getaway” is directed by Roger M. Bobb (“Raising Izzie”), who also served as the film’s Executive Producer with Angi Bones serving as Producer.
The film was written by Cas Sigers-Beedles, and is a co-production between Bobbcat Films and Siger’s and Vaughn’s Nina Holiday Entertainment.
“As summer winds down this Labor Day weekend, we are excited to bring this hilarious and fun film to our audience to serve as a reminder to appreciate our friendships every day,” said D’Angela Proctor, SVP of Programming and Production for TV One.
Beauvais stars as Vicky Holmes, a successful business owner, who is outwardly hitting a stride in love and life. However, just days before a romantic birthday trip, she is blindsided by her boyfriend’s decision to relocate and end their relationship. Vicky ultimately decides to bring her best girlfriends – who are all facing turning points in their lives as well – with her, for a grown-up girls getaway in Trinidad. After their first wild night, an innocent mistake sets off a chain of events that will forever change each of their lives. When the very pregnant Sophie (played by Vaughn) is kidnapped and held for $10,000 ransom, the remaining girls have 24-hours to come together in order to get Sophie back safely or end up in jail.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/tv-one-gets-into-original-movies-will-premiere-girlfriends-getaway-starring-garcelle-beauvais-terri-j-vaughn-20140723
Microsoft Word whiz from Harlem to compete in Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship
Dominique Howard will put her software-savvy skills to the test this weekend when she competes for the coveted Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship title against some 30 international computer geeks.
BY Frank Green /
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS /
Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 7:51 PM
This Microsoft Word master is taking on the world.
Harlemite Dominique Howard will put her software-savvy skills to the test this weekend when she competes for the coveted Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship title against some 30 international computer geeks.
“There’s no way that I can’t be excited,” said the 21-year-old JPMorgan Chase receptionist, who uses Word and Excel regularly at work. “They’re all good feelings. They’re overwhelming, but they’re good feelings.”
Howard proved she could do more than copy and paste in June when she won the U.S. championship as a Microsoft Word 2007 wizard.
She reformatted documents with speed and precision, tracked changes, encrypted and mail-merged like a pro.
It landed her a ticket to Anaheim, Calif., where she’ll vie against finalists from more than 30 countries for $5,000.
“A lot of people know the basics,” said Howard, who received a perfect score on a Microsoft Word certification test last summer.
“There’s a secret developer tab that helps in design mode,” she added. “There’s macros, which is a whole bunch of fun.”
The Empire State College business student also had a perfect score on Excel 2007. But she could only enter the playoffs with one Microsoft specialty.
The Comic-Con fan and self-confessed “biggest nerd” said mastering the program was another dorky thing she wanted to do.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/harlem-woman-best-world-word-article-1.1876474#ixzz38OAnzvai
Regina King Joins ‘American Crime’ Cast, Returns to ‘Big Bang Theory’ + Will Direct Episode of ‘Scandal’
by Tambay A. Obenson
July 23, 2014 11:22 AM
We’ll be seeing a lot of Regina King during the next season, both in front of and behind the camera apparently.
First, in front of the camera, the actress has joined the cast of John Ridley’s new ABC drama series, “American Crime,” and will return to CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” to reprise her role.
“American crime,” which Ridley is writing, directing and executive producing, follows a racially-charged murder case and the trial that follows, as audiences will experience the murder and trial through the eyes of several different people who are, in some way, connected to the events. It’ll frankly tackle matters of race, class and gender politics in the USA.
King will play the devoutly religious sister of one of the series’ key characters, who comes to Modesto in order to help her brother handle a judicial system that she believes is stacked against him.
King will appear in 7 episodes of the new series, with an option for two additional.
As for her return to CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory”… The show is primarily centered on 5 characters living in Pasadena, California: roommates Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon’s equally geeky and socially awkward friends and co-workers, mechanical engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali.
Regina King plays a Mrs. Davis (a role she first played in 2013), who is the head of human resources where the physicists are employed, who previously was responsible for questioning Sheldon after he landed in hot water following an uncomfortable conversation with his sexy assistant, Alex (Margo Harshman).
Meanwhile, behind the camera, King will direct the 16th episode of ABC’s “Scandal” during its fourth season, although she will not be appearing on the series as well. Just directing an episode that will air during the second half of the upcoming 4th season.
This comes after the actress made her feature film directing debut with a TV adaptation of author ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s novel “Let the Church Say Amen,” which is set up at BET, but hasn’t yet aired
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/regina-king-joins-american-crime-cast-returns-to-big-bang-theory-will-direct-episode-of-scandal-20140723
Obamacare Gets Nearly 1 Million Sign-Ups After Enrollment Deadline
[….] For months, journalists and politicians fixated on the number of people signing up for health insurance through the federal exchange created as part of the Affordable Care Act. It turned out that more than 5 million people signed up using Healthcare.gov by April 19, the end of the open-enrollment period.
But more surprising than that, according to federal data released Wednesday to ProPublica, there have been nearly 1 million transactions on the exchange since then. People are allowed to sign up and switch plans after certain life events, such as job changes, moves, the birth of a baby, marriages and divorces.
The volume of these transactions was a jolt even for those who have watched the rollout of the ACA most closely.[….]
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/obamacare-1-million-sign-ups-after-deadline
@JimAcostaCNN: POTUS at Shonda Rhimes fundraiser said Dems ask: “What happened to Nancy Pelosi?” Obama replied “what happened is ya’ll didn’t vote.”
The Future Looks Bright
by BooMan
Wed Jul 23rd, 2014 at 06:10:19 PM EST
I can’t blame Stu Rothenberg for bitching about a polling firm that won’t show its work, but I think he’s just annoyed that polling keeps coming out that doesn’t look good for Republican Senate candidates and governors. In the end, Rothenberg doesn’t even really doubt that the race in Montana has grown closer and he lists it as a Toss-Up/Tilts Republican race, which is maybe even a little more of a pessimistic assessment than is warranted by the polling. I’d say that Montana Leans Republican right now, and the only toss-up part of it is that a lot can change between now and November.
A look at the latest polls shows Gov. Scott Walker in real trouble in Wisconsin, Gov. Rick Scott trailing in Florida, Udall and Hickenlooper up narrowly in Colorado, Sen. Kay Hagan up in North Carolina, Gov. Andrew Cuomo up by 37 points in New York, Michelle Nunn crushing David Perdue in Georgia, Rep. Gary Peters up by nine in Michigan, Mary Landrieu up in Louisiana, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen comfortably ahead in New Hampshire. People have already written obituaries for Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, and the Republican governors of Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, and Michigan aren’t looking like they’re in too great a shape, either. The last poll out of Maine has Democrat Mike Michaud win a narrow lead in a three-way race.
The news isn’t all good. Some races are scarily close, for example, the Senate races in Iowa, Arkansas, and Colorado. But only in Arkansas does an incumbent look to be in truly serious danger. Unless these races all tilt against the Democrats in the end, the GOP is on course for a galactically bad election night.
This is not the same kind of polling data that I was looking at in 2010. In 2010, the polling data was so consistently bad that I almost went insane. I could see that shellacking coming from a million miles away and I couldn’t believe that the “professional left” was stuck on infighting instead of girding their loins for battle. This year is different. What I’m seeing is consistently positive poll numbers. Some places I’d like to see bigger leads, but there’s also polling out of places like Virginia, California, New York, and Pennsylvania that is just astoundingly bad for the Republicans. A party can’t be losing governor’s races by 30 or 40 points, or Senate races in swing states by 25 points. The Democrats, meanwhile, have candidates that are polling ahead in states like North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida.
I’m still concerned about weak economic growth, although I think the worst of the slump ended with the cold winter. The president’s approval ratings are a bit of a drag, but there’s a good chance that they can improve.
Finally, I don’t want to get into skewed polls territory, but I think there is a possibility that the pollsters are going to miss some likely voters this time around. I don’t fault their methodology. After all, Democratic participation in the primaries has been down, and down a lot more than Republican participation. But I think this data is an artifact of the Republicans having more competitive primary contests than the Democrats. The real work is being done behind the scenes with the Democrats’ The Arbor Project and the DNC’s Voter Expansion Project. It’s not like the party hasn’t known about its midterm turnout problem.
The aggregate of polls is probably going to be very accurate, but I think there is a chance that the Democrats can do better at turning out the vote this time around, and so there is the potential for them to consistently outperform the polls. At the very least, I think it’s more likely that they will outperform than underperform.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2014/7/23/181019/256
Want to thank everyone for their prayers. Peanut’s Mother is doing better.
Good Morning, Rikyrah.
Wonderful to hear that Peanut’s mother’s doing better.
I will continue lifting them both up in prayer.
Good Morning, Everyone :)