Senate candidate who ousted Lugar credits Tea Party, as Dems pounce
[FoxNews.com]
Published May 09, 2012
The conservative challenger who ousted longtime Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in the Indiana primary Tuesday is pointing to his victory as a sign the Tea Party is alive and well — as Democrats pounce on the win to argue the GOP is once again taking an “extremist” turn.
State Treasurer Richard Mourdock crushed Lugar, who has held his seat since 1977, by more than 20 percentage points. The frustration of defeat showed overnight, as Lugar criticized Mourdock’s “unrelenting partisan mindset.”
Mourdock, in an interview with Fox News Wednesday morning, said Lugar is “in my thoughts.”
“He is a great American, a historic figure,” Mourdock said, adding that his margin of victory must be “difficult” for Lugar.
But, he said, “it’s time to move forward,” and was unapologetic about the hard-charging race he ran and his vision for a strong conservative majority across Washington. In pointing to his win, he rejected the idea that the Tea Party is moving toward irrelevance.
Obama to give 10 states a pass on No Child Left Behind deadline
[FoxNews.com]
Published February 09, 2012
AP – Feb. 7, 2012: President Barack Obama talks with, from left, Janet Nieto, Gwynelle Condino, and Ana Nieto, all from Presidio, Texas, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington during the White House Science Fair.
WASHINGTON – President Obama is set to give 10 states a pass regarding an approaching deadline under the No Child Left Behind law, after the states struggled to meet the proficiency standards for reading and math.
The executive action will circumvent Congress, which has been stuck on how to rewrite the law. A White House official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday that the 10 states will receive “flexibility” allowing them to miss 2014 targets for student proficiency. However, those states will be required to set new targets, and implement “comprehensive” plans to reward high-performing schools, punish low-performing schools, prepare students for college and the work force and evaluate school officials.
Soros Funds Union Effort in Indiana
[BigGovernment.com]
Posted Jan 18th 2012 at 12:41 pm
For the second time in a session that is only weeks old, Indiana House Democrats refused to show up for work on Tuesday, effectively delaying the passage of right-to-work legislation. The first delay was a three-day boycott that finished with Democrats coming back to the table to continue other legislative business. House Republicans expected to have a vote on the contentious right to-work bill after Democrat leader B. Patrick Bauer (known for vainly sporting a toupee) made public and private promises that his caucus would show up and participate in the legislative process.
But while Bauer and his fellow Democrats have been throwing temper tantrums and obstructing legislative business, other opponents of right-to-work legislation have been busy producing and distributing studies that purport to show how the reform would hurt Indiana’s economy. The several studies and reports reach a variety of conclusions. Some say that right-to-work would undermine private sector pension plans and others say that the reform will not have any meaningful impact on drawing job creators – especially those in the manufacturing sector – to the state. South Carolina’s success in attracting a new Boeing plant seems to go unmentioned.
Leading the way among those providing intellectual firepower and talking points for pro-union right to-work opponents is the Economic Policy Institute. EPI, a D.C. based think-tank that specializes in state-based research, has released a steady stream of information and research allegedly debunking the benefits of the reform and calling on Indiana policymakers to bend to union demands by killing the legislation.
EPI has been successful in influencing the debate in Indiana. Their work has been mentioned in news reports.
But make no mistake – there is an agenda behind the research produced by EPI. That agenda is George Soros and another far-left Chicago-based group, The Joyce Foundation.
According to IRS filings (summarized by a third-party here), the Economic Policy Institute received over $6.4 million in funding from the Open Society Institute between 2005 and 2009, the latest year for which documents are available. The Open Society Institute is the organization liberal billionaire George Soros founded to manage his investment in hyper-liberal infrastructure. The amount they gave to EPI makes EPI the 11th largest recipient of Soros money over that time period.
Rasmussen: Two-thirds of voters oppose fleebagging
HotAir.com
Update: WI poll shows voters split evenly on bill
I think we can call this a consensus, at least on a national basis:
Half of America’s voters favor public sector unions for government workers, but they strongly oppose the tactic by Wisconsin state senators to flee their state to prevent a vote that would limit the rights of such unions.
SHIFT IN WASHINGTON STATE BOOSTS GOP SENATE HOPES
Signs of an unmistakable Republican trend are brightening the chances of a GOP takeover of the US Senate. Yesterday, a new Rasmussen Poll showed Republican Dino Rossi one point ahead of incumbent Senator Patty Murray. The Rossi lead – obviously within the margin of error – came after he had trailed by three points in previous polling.
Most significantly, Rossi led by two points among those who had already voted using Washington State’s early voting option. Murray led by a point among those who had not yet cast their ballots (some of whom would presumably never do so).
If Rossi wins in Washington State, it would be the ninth Republican takeaway with ten needed for control. Right now, Republicans lead in the races for the following Democratic held Senate seats: North Dakota, Arkansas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nevada, Colorado, and Washington State. Only in West Virginia has the Democrat, Governor Joe Manchin, gained in recent days. If John Raese, the Republican nominee, can close the three point gap that now separates him from Manchin, the Senate will go Republican.
In the past week, Republicans have improved in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Washington State, the signs of a trend are developing.
CWNews Posted Comments