Notorious Nancy

House Democrats Keep Nancy Pelosi as Leader

Despite the major losses the Democrats encountered in the congressional elections earlier this month, they chose to keep Nancy Pelosi as their leader. Some argue that the party needs a new face due to the loss of 60 House seats, but she remains popular among many liberals who head the party's House caucus. Democrats of the House were defending Pelosi saying that the reasons for the party's failures were due to "bad economy and high unemployment." House representative Tim Ryan said that after the substantial loss, the Democrats have got to get their message right, "There's a lot of people that just think we need to take our time and reflect about the direction we're going in, what issues we're going to focus on, what could we have done better....It's important that the next step that we take is very well thought out."

DRUMROLL PLEASE... And the winner is:

2010 Midterm Election Results

Well, the results for the 2010 midterm elections are in and they are quite interesting! Overall, Democrats won majority of the Senate, while the House was won over by the Republican Party. In the state of California, Democrat Barbara Boxer is our senator once again, and our new governor is Jerry Brown. The propositions that passed are 20, 22, 25, and 26; while 19, 21, 23, 24, and 27 did not.

I did not know which way the race for governor was going to go and I must say I was a little shocked. As to all the money Meg Whitman has spent over the past few weeks and months, it could have been spent on something better for our state, or nation even. Meg Whitman's background dealt with big business, not politics. I feel like she set the bar a little high for herself. Maybe if she had stepped into a smaller position and eventually gained trust and appreciation from the public, things could have been better for her, and one day she could have run for governor. I think voters in California just did not care in the end and because Jerry Brown was a familiar name from the past they voted for him. Or it could be because they were both poor options and they thought "Hey! I'll just go with the Democrat." These results and all the buzz around it have made the whole business of politics annoying and unattractive. I wonder how things will be when it's my turn to vote...

Research Questions

1. Why are Republicans hopeful their party will gain Congressional seats during the 2010 midterm elections? What factors might disrupt these hopes for the Republicans?

• Republicans are hopeful that their party will gain Congressional seats during the 2010 midterm elections because of America's views towards the Democratic party currently. "They were bracing for grim confirmation of history's traditional midterm election curse: The party in power usually loses congressional seats, and prospects this year were made even worse by the sour economy." Unfortunately, this does make sense. In an article I was reading, a registered Democratic woman is planning on voting Republican, because although she does not agree with their views she strongly believes that Democrats will "continue spendig" and sour the economy further.
• Source(s): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39938201/ns/politics-decision_2010/
• http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/10/22/voters.in.middle/

2. Explain the reasons the Tea Party formed and what message this sends to both Republican and Democratic parties. What impact do you think the Tea Party will have on the 2010 midterm elections?

• The Tea Party movement began with organized protests in response to Federal laws. The movement does not have a central leadership, but a loose affiliation of smaller local groups. The movement's main concerns include are cutting back the size of government, lowering taxes, reducing wasteful spending, reducing the national debt, and adherence to their interpretation of the United States Constitution. The Tea Party sends such a negative message to the Republican and Democratic party. From my understanding, a member of the Tea Party is a more radical Republican, almost like a cousin. I feel as though the Tea Party is trying to wiggle and inch their way into the public and steal the votes and attention from Republicans and Democrats. If the Tea Party becomes the best option for a majority of the people then maybe not for the 2010 elections, but soon, the Tea Party will be the most popular and voted for.
• Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement