Midwest Democratic Candidates Launches Attacks on GOP Rivals

Things are certainly heating up for the November midterm polls especially with just less than 4 weeks left before that historic moment. Democrats are in an uncomfortable situation especially when recent polls suggest that people grew weary and tired of the failures of the Obama administration. Anger and frustration are the main themes of the upcoming polls with much criticisms all directed to the Democratically-controlled House and Senate. With this, several Democratic candidates are stepping up their efforts to overcome their tough Republican rivals. In fact, three Midwestern Democrats have recently launched attack ads against their GOP candidates tagging them as an unethical insider who cannot be trusted.

In the Indiana Senate race, Democratic candidate and representative Brad Ellsworth is facing a stiff challenge against the well-funded Republican candidate Dan Coats. Recent polls by EPIC-MRA suggest that Coats is leading by 18 points against Ellsworth. Also, the recent Rasmussen Reports telephone survey also tells that Coats is leading Ellsworth with a 50% to 29% margin. In an effort to reverse the expected results, Ellsworth launched an ad that branded Coats as a lobbyist who sold out Indiana to line his pockets and supported controversial free trade laws. Democrats now believe that Anti-Washington attacks may well work for the Democratic Party too.

The Democratic Party is now strongly looking at the strategy of pairing Republicans to special interest and also linking them to corruption. Democratic Senate candidate to Missouri Robin Carnahan recently launched a new attack ad against her Republican rival Rep. Roy Blunt. The ad pointed Blunt to have sold earmarks in exchange for campaign contributions. It also explains how Blunt received a huge chunk of money days after million-dollar congressional earmark is passed. Blunt is also rumored to have used his congressional immunity in order to not get prosecuted. Her ads may have worked like a charm especially that recent polls suggest that Carnahan is only lagging by a single digit margin.

In the state of Wisconsin, Democratic candidate Russel Feingold is also stepping on the gas and has recently launched attack ads directed towards not only his rival, Ron Johnson, but to the whole Republican party as well. His ads depict the excessive celebrations undertaken by Republicans such as in football games. Feingold mentioned “It’s exactly the kind of behavior the corporate special interests and Ron Johnson are engaging in”. He also added “They’re dancing in the end zone because they think they’re going to take down the U.S. senator who’s been named the No. 1 enemy of Washington lobbyists. With barely 4 weeks to go, we expect more political ads to surface especially that numerous candidates are in the tick of the tide in their respective races.

1st White House Summit on Community Colleges: Increasing Competitiveness

In line with his aim to improve the U.S. educational system and increase its competitiveness in the global arena, President Barack Obama announced last Tuesday that he expects to see community colleges producing 5 million more graduates by year 2020. This is in line with his belief that schools are equally important in maintaining the future competitiveness of America especially in the field of economics and finance. Pres. Obama, while at the East Room during a White House summit on community colleges, said that his purpose is to boost the schools that provide millions of students with skills training and knowledge.

With today’s academic institutions facing high dropout rates, Obama is devising ways to improve the education system. The president tagged community colleges as “unsung heroes of America's education system”. Though they may not be as attractive as other universities and though they may not receive more funds just like the others, these colleges are in fact the gateway for millions of Americans unto getting jobs and earning a source of living. He also used the event to accuse congressional Republicans of planning to cut education spending which will deprive community colleges of the needed resources to provide quality education millions of Americans.

Vice President Joe Biden, who used to taught the English subject at community colleges for 17 out of the his 30 years as an educator, said the following words “Community colleges are entering a new day in America” and “For more and more people, community colleges are the way to the future. They're giving real opportunity to students who otherwise wouldn't have it. They're giving hope to families who thought the American dream was slipping away”.

A day before the event, Pres. Obama announced his new initiative for the education sector which aims to create a public-private partnership that will link the top business corporations of America to community colleges. It will devise a curriculum which will directly fit to the needed skill sets of these companies. Through this, students will have an easier time in searching for jobs in the future. Corporations such as Gap Inc., McDonald's and Accenture have already expressed their support for such initiative. It is also remembered previously Obama’s prosopal to increase the academic calendar. He sees this as a major barrier in increasing competitiveness of students. By adding another 1 month in the academic calendar, American students will be able to remain competitive with the rest of the world.

The event was highlighted by various commitments from private institutions. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation owned by the world’s richest couple, Bill and Melinda Gates, announced the launching of the Completion by Design. It is a $35 million, five-year competitive grant program to boost community college graduation rates. Obama’s initiative to increase competitiveness in the education sector is also part of the president’s plan to save the economy. He sees the students as future leaders and holders of the economy. The president now has to put the pieces together in order to come up with one comprehensive educational system where every student is eligible to cheap yet quality education.

Obama’s announces His New Initiative towards for Education Sector

It is a given fact that America and its citizens are experiencing tougher times especially that the economy hasn’t really fully recovered yet from the devastation brought by the recent economic recession. Unemployment levels all throughout the country are still high with many layoffs still occurring each day. People are beginning to feel impatient and angry with the way the Obama administration and the Democratically-controlled house and senate has been handling the situation. And for that, Republicans have been clinging on to that anger that they think is key for them to regain control of the house and senate.

One of proposals of Republicans in order to reduce the budget deficit is to implement budget cuts in various government departments such us in the educational sector. While republicans and dissatisfied citizens are strongly opposing further spending, Obama and his team are thinking otherwise. He argues that for the economy to grow, it should first boost consumer spending in order to increase demands for goods and services resulting in more jobs more people. And while Obama said he agrees with the GOP that America's fiscal situation is "untenable “, he also sees the plans as a way to force a 20 percent cut in education funding which not acceptable.

As a solution, Pres. Obama recently announced his new initiative called “Skills for America's Future” which aims to create and provide strong partnerships between various community colleges and America’s top business companies. The partnership will enable students to focus on various skill sets which will fit the needs of the industry. Obama also said the partnership plan aims to improve industry partnerships with community colleges and build a nationwide network to maximize workforce development and capabilities.

In a White House fact sheet, Pres. Obama said the following words, “We want to make it easier to join students looking for jobs with businesses looking to hire”. He also added “We want to put community colleges and employers together to create programs that match curricula in the classroom with the needs of the boardroom”. According to a White House official, the initiative has already received support and backing from various top American corporation such as Gap Inc., McDonald's, Accenture and more.

Obama’s focus on education has been very evident lately especially when he proposed the plan to increase the academic calendar. He argued that American students are lagging behind various countries by 1 month. He plans to add another month to the academic calendar as a way to cope up with recent standards and increase the American competitiveness especially in the field of finance and economy.

White House Report: Stimulus Bill is on the Right Track

One of the most talked-about issues in the coming Midterm elections is the state economy. In fact, the votes for this election will be greatly influenced by how candidates will address the very sensitive issue of unemployment. During the past couple of months, there have been mostly negative feedbacks towards the stimulus program that was approved by President Obama more than a year ago. In fact, some sectors in society even tagged it as an ultimate failure. There are numerous criticisms as to why the stimulus was unable to live up to its expectations of creating and saving between 900,000 – 3.5 million jobs.

Despite the numerous and sometimes harsh criticisms, the White House now claims the $800 billion stimulus bill is still on tract in producing the targeted amount of jobs since it was passed in Congress. It was remembered that the stimulus bill was signed by Congress February of last year as a way to minimize the destructive effects of the economic recession and jumpstart the economy. The funds will be spent for the next ten years with the bulk of it on tax cuts and tax breaks. Its major goal was to increase consumer spending in order to also generate more jobs.

But critics most especially Republicans said that the bill was ineffective and was only able to come up with a very minimal number of jobs. They also cited the increasing national rate of unemployment which now stands at over 9.6%. In a report presented by Vice President Joe Biden to President Obama, he underlined the consistent progress of their commitment to create jobs that is slowly being achieved by the stimulus. He also added that taxes have been lowered in over 95 percent of working families.

The report also mentioned that about $300 billion has been spent for the continuity of unemployment benefits, government projects and various grants to states in order to avoid layoffs of public workers. Another $243 billion was allocated for tax cuts where business institutions and institutions will surely benefit. Also included in the funding was Obama’s “Making Work Pay” policy where it gives $400 worth of tax credit to individuals while $800 for couples. The office of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also claims that the bill is credited to over 1.4 to 3.3 million jobs.

Also included in the report is the renewal this year of unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless and funding aid to state governments and local school boards. Other projects such as reforms in the transportation sector (high speed rail) and other research and development projects (Information Technology) were also in high note. What’s more impressive is that only 0.2 percent of stimulus projects were investigated for reasons of fraud. This number is significantly lower than typical federal programs.

But several Republicans have criticized various stimulus projects. For example, Sen. Tom Boburn pointed out dozens of unreasonable projects such as the $554,000 used to replace the windows of a visitor center in Mount St. Helens. The center was reportedly closed three years ago by the state government. Also, another $90,000 was used to replace a five-year-old stretch of sidewalk in an Oklahoma town that led to a ditch. But a report on Friday by the Commerce Depart indicated that there was a big increase in construction spending which helped to reverse the negative effects of the recession to the sector.

Congress is Adjourned, Decides to Campaign Instead

With just 5 weeks left in the campaign period before voters decide the fate of aspiring lawmakers, members of the US Congress are rushing up things in order to proceed with their different campaign events. Instead of taking up major issues such as Bush-era tax cuts and coming up with a comprehensive budget, congressmen and senators are more than willing to face the anger of their constituents and seek for their votes. There are actually numerous politicians who are seeking reelection and our counting on their campaign efforts to convince disgusted and uninspired voters to give them another chance.

With recent polls pointing to an impending Republican victory this November, Democratic congressional leaders decided to postpone their voting of the controversial tax cuts and other requests for spending by President Barack Obama. Instead, they passed a temporary bill which will assure them that the government will be running until the midterm elections. Because of these, several politicians from the Democratic and Republican Party have joined hands in protesting before Congress. They argue that these lawmakers should stay in session and continue with their work instead of facing their voting constituents before the November polls.

Despite of intense pressure and a string of protests, the session was still adjourned thanks to one vote. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is expecting a tight reelection bid in Nevada against Republican candidate Sharron Angle, mentioned the following words, “All 100 senators want to get out of here and get back to their states”. Candidates for the November polls most especially Democrats are so eager to face the voting population and convince them that their reelection or appointment will easily translate into a productive economy and a better society.

Late Wednesday, the Senate was able to approve the temporary spending bill with 69 “yes” votes as opposed to 30 “no” votes. Hours later, the House also voted with a 228-194 result. It will now await Pres. Obama’s signature for it to be signed into law. During the last few months, we saw Obama’s tough stance towards expiring tax cuts for people earning more than $250,000 a year. But several moderate and conservative Democrats are now joining Republicans in calling for the extension of tax cuts regardless of income. It is now unclear whether Democrats are really in favor of extending them or follow Obama’s agenda instead.

Americans will have to wait till November if Congress pushes for the extension of these tax cuts. If no bill is passed by the end of December, American households are expecting to face higher rates of taxes. It is interesting to know that only two of a dozen annual appropriations bills have passed the House this year. None of those has passed the Senate as Democratic leaders have opted against lengthy floor debates and politically difficult votes on spending. Out of desperation, our lawmakers are going home while leaving unfinished business behind.

Defeated By the Tea Party, GOP Candidate Wages Write-In Candidacy

The Tea Party Movement is perhaps the biggest story coming in to the November midterm elections. With the string of upsets that it has accomplished in various Republican primaries, the Tea Party is displaying its strength and is riding on the anger of the people. The most popular of them all is Christine O’Donnell’s victory in the Delaware Republican primary where she vanquished high-favored GOP nominee Mike Castle. But another Tea Party-backed candidate worth mentioning is Joe Miller who was successful in his upset victory over Lisa Murkowski during last month’s Republican primary.

Unwilling to fade into the Alaska political arena, Murkowski is now waging a write-in candidacy against Miller. She is hoping that voters will realize her huge contributions to the state. It is interesting to remember that Murkowski was the one responsible for bringing billions of dollars in Federal projects to the people of Alaska. While it may be a difficult task, history tells us that it is indeed possible for a write-in candidate to win over legitimate and established candidates. Murkowski is now alone in waging war against those newcomers who derailed them during their primaries.

While other veteran Republicans who were toppled by Tea Party candidates chose to simply give up the race, others are still very enthusiastic in having a comeback. After suffering from a humiliating defeat at the hands of Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio in the GOP nomination, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is reportedly running for the Senate as an independent candidate. In Delaware, the disgruntled former governor and Republican representative Mike Castle is also eyeing on the possibility of him running as an independent candidate. It will certainly be a long and bumpy road for these candidates as they will be running without the support of a major party and without a formidable cash-raising apparatus.

Murkowski will be using her association with one of the state’s most popular figure for a quarter century, the late Senator Ted Stevens. She will also banking on the name and recognition of her father, former Governor Frank Murkowski who once held the Senate seat in Alaska. While political analyst do not expect Murkowski to win, she still has a greater chance considering the high number of upsets achieved during these elections and the unprecedented influences and trends which could potentially work for Murkowski.

A particular and tougher challenge now for her is what form of her name should be written on ballots so that it would count as a vote. She is now asking the people of Alaska to come up with slogans, write letters to the editor, call-in to radio talk shows and make videos and upload it to YouTube. She is also busy handling out sample ballots which will guide voters in how to write her name in actual ballots. She also plans to use the radio to teach voters how to do the write-in voting process.

A Democratic Defeat This November is Still a WIN for the President

With barely 5 weeks to go before the Midterm elections, some things are now slowly beginning to shape up. The recent unveiling of the “Pledge to America” by GOP leaders is a clear indication that Republicans are dead serious in winning this November and are now ready to take over Congress. Despite the efforts by Pres. Obama and his team to fire up young voters and their avid supporters, it is more likely that Democrats will finally lose control of Congress. Despite of this, the president might still see this as an opportunity rather a threat. There are assumptions that a Democratic defeat this November is considered a WIN for the President.

For the past couple of months, the people saw the steady decline of democratic support and influence. People began developing doubts if the President along with the Democratically-dominated Congress is indeed capable of saving the economy and driving the nation towards progress and development. The steady increase in unemployment which now stood at 9.6% (national average) has been the primary concern of the people. Obama’s stimulus package that amounts to over $800 billion was assumed to be a total failure for not creating any significant number of jobs at all. It is a given fact that the people of America most especially the middle-class are struggling and are blaming the administration for their failures.

With this, Republicans are again energized to finally defeat their Democratic rivals and regain back power and control of Congress. Republicans are so confident of their impending victory that they already published their 21-page legislative agenda for the next Congress. The agenda highlights various key points that are directed towards economic recovery such as repealing mandates for small businesses in the new health care law and stopping job killing hikes. The agenda aims to replace the campaign promises that Obama had but was not able to attain. One such promise was to stimulate job-creation in high numbers though millions of Americans today are desperately looking for jobs.

Polls conducted by various poll mechanisms such as RealClearPolitics are all pointing to a Republican victory these midterms. In March of 2010, House Republicans were projected to win by a margin of 47 seats. Another poll in May saw the margin rise to 56. And by mid-September, the polls predict a Republican victory with 67 seats. Trends from InTrade betting markets also show the same patterns. Also In March of 2010, House Republicans received a 43 percent chance of winning the majority. In May, the figure rose to 47 percent and by mid-September, it significantly rose to a whopping 70 percent.

While for most people, a Republican-dominated Congress will be bad news for the president, others realize it otherwise. In fact, if the economy will still be dismal after Republicans takeover of Congress, the President will be blaming them for it. This will transfer the blame from Obama and his democrats to the Republicans instead. It is good to know that both the President and the Congress have equal legislative powers. The President will just say that Congress (Republican Majority) has been unkind and has played as obstruction to his programs and platforms. This will be a good sign to the president especially for his reelection. So if ever Democrats will lose this November, the President will still have the last laugh.

The Rich are Getting Richer, The Poor are Getting Poorer

It is doubt that the Republicans along with Tea Party candidates are stealing the spotlight from Democrats with less than 6 weeks left before the midterm elections. The larger disagreements by people and with the declining approval rating of the President have urged Democrats to push the panic button. Despite of the criticisms and disagreements faced by these people, it is still commendable to mention the few who stand by their principles and fight for what they think is right and good. Democrat Robert Reich is the author of numerous books including “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future”. He now talks about the existing imbalance in the economy and the weakened stand of his fellow Democrats unto this very sensitive issue.

With the recent economic recession bringing chaos in the economy and in society, it is quite reasonable to determine who to blame for such catastrophe. Not many people may have noticed it, but the distribution of wealth in the United States is uneven. In a recent article by Mr. Reich, he mentions that this year, the wealthiest persons in America got even wealthier while most of them are paying only minimal taxes. In a recent survey released by Forbes magazine, they noted an 8% increase in the combined net worth of the 400 richest Americans which now amounts to $1.37 trillion. 217 members of the list saw their wealth rose while only 85 experienced a decline.

He highlights several members from the list including Charles and David Koch. These energy magnates were known to pour vast sums of money into Republican and Tea Party-candidates all over America. It is interesting to note that for the past year, their wealth climbed to $21.5 billion with a $5.5 billion increase. Another survey indicated that 25 top hedge-fund managers each obtained an average of $1 billion but was only paying an average of 17 percent in taxes. Because much of their income was considered capital gains, they were taxed only at 15 percent based on the Bush tax cuts bill. The Wall Street continued to dominate the entire list with 109 out of the 400 were either in finance or in investments.

In the article, Reich mentioned about the massive imbalance in wealth in America. While the rich got richer, the poor now got poorer. With unemployment levels reaching 9.6% and with most middle to lower-class earning well below standards, the poverty rate in the nation is now reaching post-war high. Mr. Reich also noted about the softening stance of Democrats with regards to the Bush-era tax cuts. Deciding on whether to extend the tax cuts for the top 2 percent of Americans or for the bottom 98 percent, Democrats have decided to delay their voting until after the mid-term elections. For Reich, it was a golden opportunity for Democrats to show to the nation what is really happening in the nation for the past three decades – the imbalanced distribution of wealth where those who are sitting on top are the ones who are gaining the vast majority of the nation’s wealth.

Pledge to America: A Republican Manifesto for Change

With just a few weeks to go before election time, political parties in the U.S. are busy campaigning and convincing people about how good their intentions are. In particular, Republicans have been drawing strength from the dismal performance of the economy and the allegedly poor mishandling of the Obama administration. They blame Democrats for implementing policies and projects that only add up to the already bloated budget deficit of the United States. The Stimulus Package for example, was deemed a failure and was no near to creating jobs for the people. They are now more than determined to regain control of the U.S. Congress and implement change in it.

In an effort to convince the people about how clear and concise their plans are for the nation assuming that they get the majority vote after the election, Senior House Republicans have drafted a 21-page document entitled “Pledge to America” which they say will guide them after regaining power in Congress. Republican Kevin McCarthy of California uttered the words, “The land of opportunity has become the land of shrinking prosperity ... Our government has failed us”. He also added “We will take back our country. We will restore for a better future. This is our pledge to you”.

The “Pledge to America” contained numerous proposals which aim to cut on taxes and excessive spending. It also indicates their intentions in cutting down government regulation. With regards to President Obama’s health care reform law, Republicans aim to full repeal it. The documents also mentioned an end to the stimulus program which is widely considered a total failure. Various high-profile Republicans have shown their strong support for the pledge including the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Haley Barbour, and other Senate Republicans.

With recent polls showing massive dissatisfaction to Obama’s administration, concern for the economy and anger towards government officials, the document shows a clear agenda to change the way how Congress works. They want every bill to be cited to its constitutional authority such as requiring every bill to be made public for three days before undergoing any votes. Meanwhile, Democrats claimed that the GOP agenda was mere recycled ideas and will only contribute to the troubles of the nation. Recent polls clearly show that Republicans have a higher chance in regaining the majority this November compared to Democrats.

Democrat Leaders Aims to Get Voters and Core Constituencies All Fired Up

The string of Tea Party victories in various Republican senate primaries has in fact done little impact in downgrading the morale of the Republican Party. With just six weeks left before the November midterm elections, Republicans are all fired up and are ready to reclaim control on the U.S. Congress. And Democrats are in a state of panic for fearing that they might suffer massive losses come election time. The Democratic Party strongly believes that a Republican victory this November would mean endangering various government projects such as health care reforms and the controversial stimulus bill.

Democratic leaders are desperately pushing for issues that will sound good to their constituencies such as removing the ban on gays serving openly in the military. This step is seen as way to allow young illegal immigrants who attend college in the U.S. or join the military to become legal U.S. citizens. Likened to the energy they had during their 2008 campaign, President Obama in a Philadelphia rally last Monday told Democratic donors that this is the time that counts the most. He also uttered the following words, “I want all of you to remind yourselves why you got involved and why you care deeply and not lose heart. But gird yourself for a battle that's worth fighting”.

Recent polls show that Republicans are more excited about the November elections than Democrats are. It also indicated the desires of Independent voters in supporting heavily the GOP. Earlier, President Barack Obama urged his Congressional Black Caucus to redouble his efforts. He called on everybody to go back to their neighborhoods and tell them that they got more work to do. One particular challenge among Democrats is to mobilize their core constituencies and urge minorities and Democrat supporters to show up at the polls and vote for their candidates. There have been rumors that Democrat supporters were so upset that they might instead stay at their homes come election time.

In Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is locked in a close race against Tea Party-backed and Republican candidate Sharron Angle. During a party immigration legislation, he granted some Democratic-leaning Hispanics a favor. As a majority in the U.S. senate, the Democratic front forced a vote last Tuesday repealing the law that bans gas from openly serving in the U.S. military. Despite of his efforts, Senate Republicans were able to block the “don’t ask, don’t tell” legislation defeating Democrats. Nevertheless, Democrats were able to send a strong message to gay rights advocates telling them: “We're working for you, now work for us”.

Starting next week, the president is expected to participate in four big-city rallies which will be staged in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada. He aims to fire up backers from his 2008 presidential campaign. Democrats are well aware that the last two national elections where a complete opposite of what it is today. Republicans back then were so depressed and were seeking to fire up their core constituents. As a result, they failed miserably losing much of the elections.

In Defense of the Stimulus Package

Since the passing of the $814 Billion stimulus package that was strongly supported by most Democrats and U.S. President Barack Obama, American citizens had doubts whether this bill will in fact create jobs or instead add up to the already ballooned budget deficit of the government. The stimulus packages calls for massive borrowing and spending which will compensate the reduced spending of consumers and private sectors. A year later, thousands of Americans are still without jobs and people now believe that the stimulus is in fact a huge failure. Despite of what people perceive as a huge failure in attempting to revive the economy, various authors of the bill are still able to highlight key accomplishments since the bill was passed.

Republicans have been ultimately aggressive in claiming that the stimulus is just a waste of taxpayer’s money as the national average for unemployment is now reaching 10%. Last Friday, a report released by Vice President Joe Biden negated criticisms on the stimulus program by showcasing over 100 projects that satisfied the goal of the bill which is to create more jobs and stimulate economic growth. One such project was the $175 million spent by Department of Transportation of the City of New York to rehabilitate bridges, eight vehicular and one pedestrian, and one parking field. An audit showed that more than 120 people got to work for the project aside from the boost it has given to the local economy of New York.

In Ohio, the transportation department has been busy constructing a newer, 8.5 mile, four-lane highway within Nelsonville. It aims to remove freight traffic from local roads while also helping trucks reach their destinations more quickly. With a budget of $138 million, the project has reportedly created 300 jobs since its groundbreaking during the last fall. A research on a possible cure for cancer was also implemented through the initiative of the Cancer Genome Atlas project which reportedly cost more than $153 million in stimulus fund. The project is considered wide-scale as it involves 15 research institutions across the country. More than 150 researchers are directly involved in the project. Not only did it give jobs to people but it also gave human cancer patients a fighting chance to cure their disease.

The stimulus package and job creation are issues that will surely influence the votes this coming November. We the continuous dipping of Obama’s trust and confidence rating, Democrats are now coming up with ways in convincing the public that a Democratic majority in the House and Senate will be best for the country. The White House was only able to disclose 20 out of the 100 projects as the report hadn’t been fully released yet.

Change of Heart: More Democrats now oppose the Obama Plan for Tax Cuts

With just a couple more months to go before the U.S. midterm elections, American politicians are now more than busy wrapping up their campaigns and at the same time deciding on critical issues in order to boost their image. Since the start of the recession, the nation has been very consistent in asking the government for one specific thing and that is to create jobs. The previous stimulus package presented by no other than Pres. Obama was seen as a failed attempt in generating employment. And today, the voting population has been very concerned about creating jobs up to the point where it will greatly influence their votes come election time.

The previous tax cuts by then President George Bush are already expiring and Congress has been puzzled by the possibility of extending it. Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama has called for the expiration of these tax breaks. He later proposed that these tax cuts will only be extended to families who earn less than $$250,000 a year. It is interesting to note that over half of the total income in the United States is concentrated to the top 10% of the list of wealthiest people in the nation. He wanted to raise taxes especially to the wealthy class stating that this will generate enough income for the government to pursue other projects and avoid any further deficit.

Previously, Democrats have strongly supported Obama’s stance on this matter. But on Wednesday, and upon seeing the disagreement and discontent of millions of American citizens, numerous Democrats have softened their stance and now support the extension of tax cuts for all people regardless of income. Democrats have received intense pressure on their stance for this matter especially those who are running this November. Rep. Jim Marshall of D-Ga. argued that at this time of recession, the government should be well aware of consequences and avoid raising taxes.

Recently, there were about 31 nervous Democrats who signed a letter that was urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, to abandon the Obama plan and support the extension of Bush-era tax cuts to everyone. With 435 House seats, 37 in the Senate and the Democratic majorities in both houses on the line, Democrats are afraid of being afraid of being tagged as “Tax Hikers” especially that the election is getting nearer. Obama has blamed the sudden change of heart to Republicans who wanted to take hostage the middle class tax cuts so that they can come up with an additional tax cut for the wealthiest 2% of the nation.

While Obama only supports tax cuts for people earning $250,000 and less, Republicans support a full renewal of all tax cuts, regardless of income, despite a 10-year cost to the government of about $700 billion above Obama's plan. House Republican leader John Boehner said that “If we're serious about helping our economy this month we need to stop the tax hikes, and we need to cut spending,". With several weeks to go, we can expect both parties to come up with strategies in order to win the hearts of the people and gain control of the House and the Senate.

Democrats in Ohio may have a Good Chance in Winning After all

At a critical time of the campaign period, both political parties of the U.S. (Democrats and Republicans) are closely watching the chances of their candidates on their respective races. The GOP has been very vocal about its intentions in taking control of the U.S. Senate this November. And with the continued faltering of Obama’s trust rating, Democrat candidates have been very worried about their chances. Some are even opposing Obama’s plan in order to get adequate support from different voting sectors.

One of the most crucial and tightly guarded races is in Ohio. Ohio’s governor Ted Strickland and lieutenant governor Lee Fisher are expecting a very tight race especially that Ohio residents are not so pleased by the present governance. Figures show that during the Strickland-Fisher administration, Ohio since 2007 have lost over 400,000 jobs. The state also had an unemployment rate of 10.5% which is higher than the national average of 9.6%. Both Strickland and Fisher are very much worried that people are not satisfied of their performance and will instead vote for their Republican counterparts.

Amazingly, early polls have shown that Strickland and Fisher may actually have a higher chance of bagging the Senate position this November. The reason for this is that despite of the hatred that was developed towards Democratic candidates, voters are still doubtful on GOP especially that it drastically failed expectations during the previous Bush administration. In fact, a TIME poll in July indicated that voters nationwide are not so much inclined to vote a Republican over a Democrat for the November midterm elections.

This goes to show wounded Democrats may still have better chances of bagging a seat in Senate or in Congress. It was remembered that Strickland took office in 2007 bringing along with him the promise of improving Ohio’s economy though he was unsuccessful. Despite of this, there are still accomplishments done by Strickland that are still worth mentioning. Just this spring, 50,000 jobs were added. He mentions that progress may take some time but he is quite sure that they are at the right path.

At a time where ad spending has been at record highs along with the number of attack ads, Strickland expects a tough battle against a former Republican Congressman that was known in the 1990’s as one of Washington’s toughest budget hawks, John Kasich. Last June, the Republicans Governors Association featured a TV ad portraying a pair of hardened construction workers who called Strickland as “a bad governor” who blames everyone else for Ohio’s huge job losses. Obama has already scheduled a visit to Ohio in order to boost the campaigns of Democratic candidates in the area.

Anti-Obamacare Democrats and the November Midterm Elections

On March 23, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Act (PPACA) or more commonly known as “Obamacare”. It is the byproduct of efforts from Congress to implement a reform on the U.S. health care system. The law included various provisions in health care such as Medicaid eligibility, insurance premium subsidies, incentives for business who effectively provide health benefits and strengthening medical research. Despite of its good intention, a lot of citizens and policymakers have rejected the bill stating that it is too expensive and will violate the freedom of citizens.

It was remembered that during the time where the House was about to finally pass the Obamacare bill, about 34 Democrats opposed it with 31 of them running for reelection. Some of these notable democratic personalities are Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, Bobby Bright of Alabama, Glenn Nye of Virginia, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, Frank Kratovil of Maryland, and Glenn Nye of Virginia. Most of them have been constantly running television ads bragging about their “No” stand to the bill. Nye even stated that the bill will cost the American people too much money.

Currently, there are two petitions in the House to discharge the Obamacare bill. The first one was sponsored by Rep. Stephen King of Iowa which aims to simply repeal the act. The second one came from Rep. Wally Herger of California which not only repels the act but also replace it with other alternative proposals. While most Republicans decided to pick one petition, not a single one of the 31 Democrats have signed either of the petitions. Glenn Nye opposed the bill because he said it was very costly back then. With the projected cost rising to over $2.7 trillion, Nye seems to be a little confused by not signing the petition to repeal the act.

If these Democrats are strongly opposing Obamacare, why didn’t they sign any petition to repeal the act? Are they seriously opposing Obamacare or are they just doing this so as to get enough political support for their campaign? With the November midterm elections fast approaching, political candidates are busy persuading the public about their agendas and platforms. It has become a test for these policymakers to behave according to their principles especially if they are under pressure of criticisms from the voting sector. If their views are strongly opposed by public opinion, will they still be willing to fight for it or will they instead find some cover in order to get the much needed votes.