Sunday Clips

Republicans Peaking Too Soon?

Simon Rosenberg of progressive think tank - we have those too, just not as well funded as the righty ones - offers a must-read argument that Republicans peaked too soon in this year's mid-term elections. Key points:

"You've got trend lines where one party is dropping and one party is gaining -- it's indisputable at this point. If you're a Republican right now, and you look at this environment, the party that's dropping a month out usually loses. "

"As the Republican ads go up on the air, it's going to motivate Democratic voters because it's going to remind the Democrats how much they hate the Republicans."

Remember a couple days back when I imagined an alternate universe where Chuck Grassley got tea partied in the primary? Desmoinesdem fleshed that scenario out.

And more on the vote suppression effort in Illinois. Oops, they call it "voter integrity" (sic). In Wisconsin they're targeting students, but in Illinois there are the targeted areas:

[Chicago] South Side: 93 percent African American
[Chicago] West Side: 52.9 percent African American (and Greektown, for good measure)
Metro East: The St. Louis suburbs on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, including the notorious East St. Louis.
Rockford: 17.37 percent African American, but also known statewide for gang-ridden black neighborhoods

But the best part is Republican Senate nominee Mark Kirk dropping a rhyming code word: "...where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat." Somehow I don't think he meant a shot of booze when he said 'jigger.'

Remember: Democrats want to help people vote, Republicans want to keep people from voting.