2018 mid-term

Big Red 40 said:
So is Dems gaining control of the house a big deal or not ? How so ?

Is the GOP increasing their majority in the senate a big deal ? Why ? 

I’m Getting mixed answers all over on those questions what do you guys think ? 
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Clifford Franklin said:
House - yes. They will be able to provide oversight on Trump because they will assume control of all House congressional committees. The majority has a majority on committees as well, so they can subpoena and investigate things they are concerned about re: Trump, his cabinet, Congress itself or anything else in the public interest. They may not be able to pass a lot of dynamite legislation out of the House because their majority may not be as large as it would be without gerrymandering, meaning they run into the same problem the GOP had in the Senate.

Senate - Yes, but less so, IMO, since they already had the majority. They can pass more conservative, Trumpy stuff if they want but it won't get through the House if there is no bipartisan support. Honestly the rural red areas leaning more strongly into Trump and the GOP itself becoming more Trumpy are the biggest stories of the night here. A lot of the new GOP senators won by explicitly hugging Trump as much as they could. Most of the Dem moderates lost. Also, in the House, the House Freedom Caucus is going to get bigger. Things are going to get more partisan. Our rural/urban divide is getting larger.
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+1. But to expand a little...

Winning the House is HUGE, the single biggest news of the night: 

  • Republicans and Trump now can't pass a single bill without House Democrats allowing it. Party leaders will control what gets to the floor in the first place. No more Obamacare repeal, tax cuts for the rich, "entitlement" (SS, Medicare, Medicaid) cuts, etc.
  • Like Clifford Franklin pointed out, Democrats now control all House committees. Devin Nunes, Trey Gowdy, et al will no longer be able to run interference for Trump. Adam Schiff now runs Intelligence (Russia). Elijah Cummings now runs Oversight and Government Reform (Trump, family, and Cabinet grifting). They have the subpoena power now.
  • There were a lot of Trump districts that flipped (14), 6 of which were +5 Trump.


    NY22 (upstate) was +16 Trump.
  • OK05 (OKC area) was +13 Trump.
  • NY11 (Staten Island & SW Brooklyn) was +10 Trump.



Senate:

  • Short term, I don't think it is as huge deal for the GOP. Even with a slim minority, they were still able to get their Judges through. If you can plow Kavanaugh through with only 51, 54-55 doesn't make a huge difference. That will continue. I just pray RBG and/or Breyer don't die.
  • Long term, it is a big deal. It makes it a lot harder for Democrats to flip the Senate in 2020. 


    "As of now, 20 Republican-held seats are on the ballot in 2020 — including in states like Colorado, Arizona, Maine, Iowa, North Carolina, and Georgia, where Democrats should at least have a plausible chance of winning the seat away from Republicans. However, they will also have to defend 11 seats, including in deep-red Alabama, where Sen. Doug Jones is up for his first reelection after his shocking 2017 win."



State Mansions:

  • Florida was a big win for Trump, no doubt about it. His race-baiting and fear-mongering tactics seemed to have push DeSantis over the finish line, which is disheartening for his future campaigns. 
  • Locally, Trump & Brownback disciple Kobach got worked over in deep-red Kansas. 
  • Democrats flipped 6-7 governorships, including big presidential election states that Trump won (Michigan & Wisconsin). 
 
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sho said:
I'm not surprised at all, I think the hype and talk of the 'blue wave' for months led to motivating the 'Pubs to get out and vote to cancel out the blue wave.   Numbers show it was great for voter turnout, but not surprising that it wasn't a landslide for one party.
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I think you misread what I said.....

 
JJ Husker said:
I think you misread what I said.....
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I did, clearly I need to finish my coffee before posting.

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StPaulHusker said:
This is actually the way ANY voter ID needs to be handled.

If the US Government wants to require an ID for a RIGHT to vote, then the US Government should issue those ID's to everyone free of charge.
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I'm in favor of voter ID.  As long as it's free and readily accessible, I think I should have to show at least as much identification to vote as I do to write a check at the supermarket.

 
Frott Scost said:
Is obamacare perfect? Hell no. So why didnt repubs try and fix the bill we already have in place? Makes no sense to come out with an even worse bill and try and push it through within 2 weeks. 

Are there freeloaders on medicaid? Yes. But working in healthcare I can tell you that 90% of the people on medicaid have major health issues and/or work but do not have high paying jobs. A lot of kids on medicaid also while their parents have insurance. Most likely because they have some sort of pre-exisiting condition that would bankrupt the parents if the kid had regular insurance. Thats the reason I voted for medicaid expansion. I see it first hand everyday, the pros and cons. 
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It's because they weren't interested in fixing what was wrong with Obamacare; they're interested in stirring up their base by being able to say that they "beat Liberal Democrats". That's their party platform, no matter how nonsensical it is. 

 
Part of Hal Daub’s e-mail to Hank Bounds. 

Are we approving offending our flag and our military service personnel because we excuse extreme conduct that is televised? We are not a forum for personal ethic or racial grievances. Do they think they will get a Pro contract with this kind of citizenship? Is this conduct going to continue to the potential detriment of our University? The next game will tell, I really hope this has ended. It is also very disrespectful to their teammates on whom it rubs off. I will have more to say about this in the future if this fringe conduct continues to be condoned. Hank, small occurrences can get out of control. I am deeply concerned. And I am embarrassed. Hal.
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https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/10/25/13337820/nebraska-cornhusker-football-players-protest-kneel-national-anthem

 
StPaulHusker said:
This is actually the way ANY voter ID needs to be handled.

If the US Government wants to require an ID for a RIGHT to vote, then the US Government should issue those ID's to everyone free of charge.
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there should be free ID cards for people that want/need them even if it is not tied to voting...

 
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