Democratic prospects for 2012 continue to dim

The election of Barack Obama may have been the best thing that could happen for the Republican Party. Obama's disastrous presidency has revived the GOP, giving it a majority in the House and bringing it closer to a majority in the Senate following the 2010 midterms electi0ns.

And prospects for 2012 keep getting better as Obama continues to stop from one landmine to another.

From Gallup:

Gallup's analysis of party affiliation in the U.S. states shows a marked decline in the number of solidly Democratic states from 2008 (30) to 2010 (14). The number of politically competitive states increased over the same period, from 10 to 18, with more limited growth in the number of leaning or solidly Republican states.

Read more at the link below:

Number of Solidly Democratic States Cut in Half From '08 to '10

Fourth Democratic Senator bails out before 2012

The election is still two years away, but at this rate, will there be any incumbent Democrats left in the U.S. Senate by 2012? Another high-profile Democrat has announced he will not seek re-election.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) joins Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) in announcing they will not face voters in 2012, which will be a tougher year for Democrats than 2010 ... and we know how well that went for the Dems.

Sen. Bingaman to retire - The Hill's Ballot Box

Politics by the Numbers: Good Omens for the GOP in 2012

Republicans had a great election in November 2010, picking up a solid majority in the House, 6 more Senate seats and the majority of governorships and state legislatures. Michael Barone says 2012 could be even better as voters reject Obama and the far left.

Politics by the Numbers: Good Omens for the GOP in 2012

Americans Upbeat: Tax Cuts Aid Morale

The historic repudiation of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi in November has set the stage for optimism over the U.S. economy.

Americans Upbeat, First Time Since '09; Tax Cuts Aid Morale - Investors.com

'It's morning in America again'

Did you notice the sun was shining a little more brightly today? The air was crisp and clean. It's a brand new day. It's morning in America again as Republicans took control of the House of Representatives.

Columnist: Obamacare mess is legacy of Dems' moment of power

Every so often, voters need to be reminded why they don't trust the Democratic Party. The disastrous two years under Obama/Pelosi/Reid have been a real eye-opener.

Columnist Byron York reminds us how Obamacare was passed by a fluke and why Democrats can never be trusted with power again.

From his latest column:

Obamacare is the product of a brief moment of total Democratic dominance in Washington. Key to that dominance was a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority. It wasn't a sure bet for Democrats; despite victories in 2008, the party's hopes for that majority depended on the outcome of a contested race in Minnesota. After a controversial recount, Al Franken became the 60th Democratic senator on July 7, 2009, giving Democrats an unassailable edge.

But that majority disappeared just 49 days later when, on August 25, 2009, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy died. State law called for a special election to fill the empty seat. That would have taken months, and as public opposition to Obamacare grew, Democrats became increasingly anxious to pass the bill as quickly as possible. Luckily for them, Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature came to the rescue, changing the law to allow the immediate appointment of Democrat Paul Kirk. Kirk was sworn in on September 24, 2009, giving Democrats 60 votes once more.

Obamacare mess is legacy of Dems' moment of power | Washington Examiner

Democrats Defect to GOP

And the hits just keep on coming!

From The Associated Press:

Staggering Election Day losses are not the Democratic Party's final indignity this year.

At least 13 state lawmakers in five states have defected to Republican ranks since the Nov. 2 election, adding to already huge GOP gains in state legislatures. And that number could grow as next year's legislative sessions draw near.

The defections underscore dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party — particularly in the South — and will give Republicans a stronger hand in everything from pushing a conservative fiscal and social agenda to redrawing political maps.

Ed Rendell blames dumb voters for Dem losses in PA

Dem Ed Rendell on PA Losses: 'Voters Don't Always Vote On Logical Reasons'

Another One Bites The Dust

Republicans pick up another House seat.

Another One Bites The Dust - HUMAN EVENTS

Turning the corner

A wake-up call for tone-deaf Democrats

Half of Americans want ObamaCare repealed. Just wait until a provision that requires anyone who does business in the U.S. to fill out a 1099 form for the IRS kicks in. You'll hear the outcry loud and clear, even if you're a tone-deaf Democrat.

From a new column by Daniel Henninger in The Wall Street Journal:

Calvin Coolidge once said, "The chief business of the American people is business." The Democrats just lost America because they forgot that.

On second thought, you can't forget what you never knew. The Democrats running things the past two years proved they have no clue about the business of business. In their world, the real world of the private economy is an abstraction, a political figment.

Daniel Henninger says that the Democrats decoupled from business - and lost the election.

Exhibit A: Along the road to ObamaCare, the party's planners inserted into the bill the now- famous 1099 provision, requiring businesses to do an IRS report for any transaction over $600 annually. No member of Congress, White House staffer or party flunky thought to say, "Oh, wow, this 1099 requirement will crush people running their own businesses. Are we sure we want to do this?" Yes, and that 1099 fiasco is a metaphor now for the modern Democratic Party.

Read the full column at the newspaper's website.

Captain Pelosi

Bad News Dems: 2012 Could Be Worse Than 2010

From The Associated Press:

Last week's election was bad for Democrats. The next one could be worse.

Senate Democrats running in 2012 will be trying to hold their jobs in states where Republicans just scored major congressional and gubernatorial victories - Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Virginia.

The Democrats' problems don't end with senators.

President Barack Obama carried those states in 2008, and he will need most of them to win re-election in two years. But this time they all will have Republican governors. These GOP governors can try to inhibit the president's policies and campaign operations. They also can help steer next year's once-a-decade House redistricting process in the GOP's favor.

Moreover, Democrats must defend Senate seats in hotly contested Missouri, and in four states that Obama has little chance of winning, assuming he even tries: North Dakota, Nebraska, West Virginia and Montana.

Bad News Democrats: 2012 Could Be Worse Than 2010 - Politics News Story - WFMZ Allentown

GOP CHAIRMAN MICHAEL STEELE: THANK YOU AMERICA!

Charles Krauthammer: 'Obama Agenda Is Dead'

RealClearPolitics - Video - Charles Krauthammer: "Obama Agenda Is Dead"

Sen. Jim DeMint: Less Government, More Freedom

From Sen. Jim DeMint, writing in The Wall Street Journal:

Congratulations to all the tea party-backed candidates who overcame a determined, partisan opposition to win their elections. The next campaign begins today. Because you must now overcome determined party insiders if this nation is going to be spared from fiscal disaster.

Many of the people who will be welcoming the new class of Senate conservatives to Washington never wanted you here in the first place. The establishment is much more likely to try to buy off your votes than to buy into your limited-government philosophy. Consider what former GOP senator-turned-lobbyist Trent Lott told the Washington Post earlier this year: "As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them."

Read the full column at the newspaper's website.

'Our long national nightmare is over'

From President Gerald R. Ford's Remarks On Taking the Oath Of Office As President on August 9, 1974:

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.

These words ring true today as the American people have stopped Barack Obama's march to socialism. Hope and change are on the way.

Pennsylvania turns red

Pennsylvania no longer has the blues. After trending Democratic in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, Republicans stormed back in a big way in 2010.

The Republican tide that swept across the nation Tuesday included Pennsylvania, where Republicans made significant gains at all levels of government.

Let's take a look at how the political landscape changed overnight in Pennsylvania: A Republican replaces Ed Rendell as governor; a Republican replaces Democrat Arlen Specter in the U.S. Senate; Republicans ousted five Congressional Democrats and held all current Congressional seats; Republicans held control of the Pennsylvania Senate by a 30-20 margin and Republicans regained control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives with a solid majority of at least 110 seats in the 203-seat body.

A Republican will move into governor's mansion with Attorney General Tom Corbett defeating Ed Rendell-clone Dan Onorato. Republican Pat Toomey defeated liberal Joe Sestak for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Arlen Specter.

Pennsylvania voters tossed out five incumbent Democratic members of Congress from Pennsylvania, helping the GOP retake control of the House in Washington, D.C. Republicans will hold 12 of Pennsylvania's 19 Congressional seats come January.

Among Election Night highlights from Pennsylvania: Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta defeated 26-year career politician Paul Kanjorski and Republican Pat Meehan beat Democrat Bryan Lentz in the race for the Congressional seat being vacated by Sestak.

All of this took place in Ed Rendell's back yard in a state where Obama and his minions campaigned heavily for incumbent Democrats.

The message sent by Pennsylvania voters Tuesday was loud and clear: The Democrats agenda of deficit spending and higher taxes has to stop.

GOP picks up 5 Senate seats; best hope is 50-50 tie

Republicans picked up five Senate seats on Tuesday but there's no way to win the Senate majority because of several victories by Democrats. The best the GOP can hope for is a 50-50 ties, but the Republicans would have to win every race that still hasn't been decided.

Republicans scored big wins, taking Senate seats from Democrats in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arkansas, North Dakota and Indiana. But Democrats held on to seats in California and West Virginia.

Democrat Blanche Lincoln Loses In Arkansas

Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln becomes the first incumbent to lose her bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate.

From The Los Angeles Times:

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln was defeated in her bid for a third term on Tuesday, giving Republicans a crucial boost in their bid to whittle away Democratic control of the Senate.

Lincoln, a centrist Democrat, was defeated by Republican Rep. John Boozman.

The Senate race in Arkansas was a showdown between a centrist Democrat and a Republican riding the GOP's wave of anger at Democratic incumbents and the Obama administration. Boozman attacked Lincoln on issues such as the healthcare insurance overhaul, increased government spending to stimulate the economy and the Wall Street regulation bill.

Arkansas Senate election: John Boozman vs. Blanche Lincoln - latimes.com