Supreme Court a Major Factor in 2012
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on December 13th, 2011 5:38 am by HL
Supreme Court a Major Factor in 2012
With the Supreme Court’s recent decisions to review the controversial Arizona immigration law, the Texas redistricting case, and the Obama administration’s landmark healthcare reform law this term, The Fix notes that the Court “has signaled that it will become a major player in the 2012 election.”
“All three rulings, on their surface at least, favor Republicans, as the GOP had been seeking to get the high court to tackle those issues. But even as we don’t know how the cases will pan out, simply raising the issues to such prominence could have a major impact on the 2012 presidential and congressional elections. At the same time, it’s not exactly clear which party will benefit.”
Romney’s Wealth Problem
Jonathan Chait notes that Mitt Romney’s wealth and the Republican Party’s focus on a “policy agenda that involves enriching people in Romney’s tax bracket…renders him an especially poor vehicle for the GOP agenda.”
“He looks and sounds like a paragon of the upper class, with his regal appearance, precise diction, and dignified graying sideburns. This has forced him to defensively cast himself as a middle-class champion, foreswearing at every turn any interest in benefiting the rich… Republicans have usually sought to avoid this problem by nominating candidates who can at least sell themselves as authentic representatives of the middle class. George W. Bush may have been handed enormous wealth by his patrician family, but he crafted an image of himself as a kind of Texas dirt farmer, with his modest ‘ranch’ serving as the background. Nominating Romney, stripped of any such cover, raises the risk for Republicans that he may be a pacifist in the class war.”
Quote of the Day
“I’m not in trouble. I’m in a great spot. I could become our nominee, or someone else might become our nominee and I could go back to business and go back to my family. Either one of those is a very nice outcome.”
— Mitt Romney, in an interview with Politico.
Dan Amira: “To successfully run for president, you have to have a fire burning inside of you… So maybe it’s a bad sign for Mitt Romney’s chances that he doesn’t seem to give a shit about the possibility of losing. If he wins, great. But whatever.”
Obama Trails in the Swing States
A new USA Today/Gallup poll in 12 swing states finds President Obama now trails Mitt Romney among registered voters by 5 points, 43% to 48%, and Newt Gingrich by 3 points, 45% to 48%.
That’s a bit worse than the president fares nationwide, where he leads Gingrich 50% to 44% and edges Romney 47% to 46%.
Key finding: Voters who identify themselves as Democratic or Democratic-leaning in these key states is down by 4 points since 2008, while the ranks of Republicans have climbed by 5 points.
The swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
