Vulnerable Incumbents in the Senate

A few long-time US Senate incumbents are in a fight for their political lives.

One vulnerable incumbent is first-term Republican David Vitter (LA). Vitter won in 2004 with 51% of the vote, but has since been implicated in a prostitution scandal.

There are more Democrats who run the risk of losing in 2010. The most vulnerable Democrat is 30-year incumbent Chris Dodd (CT), who has consistenly run behind in the polls by double-digit numbers. Majority Leader Harry Reid is also running behind in Nevada. Short of the GOP taking over the House, the defeat of Reid would be the biggest story in the 2010 elections. Arlen Specter (PA), who won his previous five senate races as a Republican has since switched parties and is fighting a serious primary challenge.

Polls in California show that 3-term Democrat incumbent Barbara Boxer's race is now a toss up. Rounding out the list of vulnerable incumbent's are Michael Bennet (CO) who was appointed to his seat less than a year ago, and Blanche Lincoln (AR), whose support for health care reform has been unpopular in Arkansas.

When a rising star begins to fade ...

Senator Evan Bayh's roots as a popular Democrat hailing from a traditionally red state (Indiana) once earned him the keynote address at the Democratic convention in 2000. After considering a presidential run of his own back in 2004, he was one of a handful of Democrats on Barack Obama's short list to be Vice President during the summer of 2008. Apparently, the sky was the limit for Bayh's political prospects.

What a difference a year makes.

According to Chris Cillizza, who blogs on "the Fix" at Washingtonpost.com (See http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/), Bayh is no longer the darling of his party. Whereas Bayh voted 84% of the time with the Democratic majority in 2007-2008, he now ranks as the most conservative Demnocratic Senator in the 111th Congress. He has crossed party lines on the abortion funding measure, and has been an outspoken critic of several of the Obama Administration's economic policies.

Moderates don't win presidential nominations, and so Bayh must be setting his sights elsewhere....

The "Great Recession" versus "The Great Depression"

How does the current economic recession compare to the Great Depression of the 1930's? Our latest Political Perspective newsletter looks at a variety of economic indicators and compares these two time periods. The newsletter also provides ideas for teaching your American Government students about the American politics and the economy.

To read at the newsletter:

http://wadsworthmedia.com/emarketing/Fall_09/10E-PO0023/f09_ss_psych_nl_10E-PO0023OV.html

Public Opinion about Jobs Creation

Today President Obama is hosting a summit to discuss the problem of unemployment and ways to create new jobs in America. In late november, the Gallup Poll asked a national sample of Americans the question: "In your opinion, what would be the best way to create more jobs in the United States?" Here is the advice the public had to offer: 18% favor keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S., 14% favor lowering taxes, 12% prefer giving aid to small businesses, 10% support creating more infrastructure for work, 7% want to reduce government regulation, 6% favor creating more green jobs, and 4% say -- that's right -- they would provide more stimulus funding.