Ken shares his thoughts on political news and history in his blog.
Back in August, when Rep. Rodney Alexander (R) announced his resignation to take a job in the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal, the conventional wisdom was that the next congressman from Louisiana’s 5th District was going to be GOP state Sen. Neil Riser. It was a logical expectation. Riser had the backing of nearly everyone …
The world has lost a remarkable journalist and an even greater human being. Raul Ramirez, the executive director of news and public affairs at KQED in San Francisco, lost his battle with cancer on Friday. He was 67. An excellent recounting of his life on the KQED web site.
A month ago, we were talking about the disunity in the Republican Party, with the Tea Party and “establishment” wings of the GOP pointing fingers at each other for the mess the government shutdown was creating for them. Now the focus is on the other guys. Democrats, who stood as one during the entire 16-day …
It’s going to be hard to make a case that today’s results are going to represent some sort of foreshadowing of what may happen in next year’s midterm elections. But for the political junkie there are still some things to watch: Virginia: As noted in last week’s post about Virgina, every gubernatorial winner since 1977 …
The polls have made it clear that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is in serious trouble in his bid for re-election next year. An incumbent governor going down to defeat is not exactly unusual in this country, but it certainly is in the Keystone State. But Corbett has not made things easy for himself, comparing same-sex …
There is always the tendency to over-interpret election results, especially in a cycle where very little is at stake. The few statewide races that appear on the ballot the year after a presidential contest – as is the case this year – get exaggerated coverage for that very reason. But sometimes the results are seen as …
This week’s Washington Post poll showing Terry McAuliffe with a 51-39 percent lead over Ken Cuccinelli for governor in Virginia is not just good news for the Democrats and bad for the Tea Party. It’s also about to end a streak that goes back to 1977. In every Virginia gubernatorial election these past 36 years, the winner has been from the party …
If there was one lesson learned that came out of the congressional battle over the shutdown, it was that Democrats were united and Republicans were not. We’ve already discussed the GOP divisions in detail. Democrats, vulnerable or not, Red State or Blue State, all stuck together. But now there may be some cracks. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a conservative …
Remember James Watson? Back in the day, he was a Republican senator from Indiana. In 1926, in a bid for a full second term, he survived his re-election bid by the barest of margins. Six years later, in 1932, a disastrous year for the national economy and the GOP, Watson lost his seat in a landslide. …
There haven’t been too many good days for John Boehner since the 2012 elections that kept him in the position as speaker of the House. In fact, the headaches were evident last January, during the balloting for speaker itself. Ten Republicans refused to vote for Boehner, who won a second term by only three votes. He had more defections than Newt …