Biggest political battle of 2010?

[HughMoran]

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Any battle will look like a two year old slap fest compared to what we went through last year.

I'm welcoming it!

[HughMoran]

2. Let's hope so

This past year was a real grinder - I certainly hope it gets better from here.

I heard (not sure where, but I remember thinking it was a reliable source) that the Senate will not take up cap & trade until after the midterms - have you heard similar?

[Drunken Irishman]

3. No. But it doesn't surprise me after what we just went through.

In fact, I think 2010 is going to be a 'quiet' year for the government.

[HughMoran]

4. I think Dems will do everything they can to expose the "Party of NO!"

& maybe a little of the "Party of Obstruction" as well. We need a friggin' break!

[Drunken Irishman]

5. A lot will hinge on Obama's approval numbers...which tie to the economy.

If the economy is in fact rebounding, then Pres. Obama will see a spike in his approval. If he's at 55+ by mid-2010, Republicans will be in trouble.

If he's between 50-54, it'll be a toss-up.

If he's below 50%, they'll be licking their chops and will try to go after him and the Democrats as much as possible.

[depakid]

6. The blame game

Read a little something that puts it in perspective:

The Republican Party collapsed as a trusted force for reasoned governance, driven into the ground by the incompetence of its president, by unjustifiable and devastating military campaigns, and by policies that turned the economy over to corporate powers, who took it over a cliff. Economic fundamentalism and neoconservativism are now understood to be dystopian fantasies, and all that’s left for those who remain in the party is to flail around with tea bagging, climate denial, and attempts to kill anything that doesn’t bolster the military-industrial complex, the wealthy, and big business.

vs.

The Democratic Party collapsed as a trusted force for reasoned governance when, in spite of having an overwhelming mandate from the American people for real change, elected officials allowed corporations and their lobbyists to call the shots on health care reform, regulation of Wall Street speculation, and climate legislation. The resulting policies shored up the stock market but did little to help ordinary people, who became increasingly alienated from the party.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/31-3

[HughMoran]

7. Does this result say that "winning" on DU is more important than winning politically?

Is it overly cynical of me to suggest this since I'm the one who started the poll?

...or do voters here believe that winning on DU is tied to winning politically? i.e. if we can't convince our own, how can we expect to convince independent voters?

Is DU a significant force in (or at least representative of) American politics?







(edit - missing verb)

[bigwillq]

10. I don't think DU is a significant force

I did not vote the DU option. DU is just a message board. I voted Jobs.

[WeDidIt]

8. Cap & Trade will be dropped from the agenda

A Jobs Bill will take priority when Congress comes back in session.

The biggest fight will be over financial industry regulation, and that will be taking place in late summer into the fall to get Republicans on record being opposed to regulating Wall Street.

[HughMoran]

12. I've already heard that about cap & trade

It won't be brought up until after the midterm as I stated above.

Jobs & financial reform sound like good goals to me.

[CK_John]

9. None of the above, this yr will be trying to hold onto the House. n/t

[Imajika]

11. Cap and Trade is dead in 2010...

That initiative is going nowhere anytime this year and probably not seriously considered again till after the next Presidential election. If the GOP doesn't make huge gains in November, we may see some further watered down version of Cap and Trade in 2011, but I seriously doubt it so long as unemployment remains high. The US economy will have to be roaring along before people will be willing to pay more in fees and taxes to combat Global Climate Change.

The Health Care fight is what is on the agenda in 2010. The battle over this legislation is not over, it will drag on till the end of February and sap the Congress of the will to fight over any other big issues till after the elections.

[TexasObserver]

13. Lack of realistic choices. It's a push poll. JOBS are 2010's issue.

The imbroglio at DU over loyalty to Obama v. loyalty to the party v. loyalty to principle will never end, and it shouldn't.

The big political issue for 2010 is JOBS. If we don't see a real drop in unemployment by August, we're in big, big trouble for November, 2010. The war, abortion, bank bailouts, taxes - all pale before the one issue that is paramount for 2010: JOBS.

If this party doesn't think JOBS every day and do something about it, control of congress will be a job we lose.