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Post by adlai52 on Mar 9, 2021 13:33:43 GMT
Roy Blunt, Republican Senator from Missouri, is the latest to drop out of running in 2022. Likely to remain safely GOP as an open seat, but there is always the chance that the GOP nominates someone like Eric Greitens and the Dems go with a Jason Kander or even Claire McCaskill. Even in this scenario though, Missouri has shifted firmly to the Right and even a Todd Akin redux might not be enough for Democrats to take a Senate seat here anymore. Democrat's priorities have to be Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while nailing down tough holds in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and New Hampshire - although they could make the GOP spend money in Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Missouri.
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timmullen1
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Post by timmullen1 on Mar 9, 2021 13:47:34 GMT
Roy Blunt, Republican Senator from Missouri, is the latest to drop out of running in 2022. Likely to remain safely GOP as an open seat, but there is always the chance that the GOP nominates someone like Eric Greitens and the Dems go with a Jason Kander or even Claire McCaskill. Even in this scenario though, Missouri has shifted firmly to the Right and even a Todd Akin redux might not be enough for Democrats to take a Senate seat here anymore. Democrat's priorities have to be Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while nailing down tough holds in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and New Hampshire - although they could make the GOP spend money in Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Missouri. Kander and McCaskill have already ruled themselves out; I suspect only the GOP nominating Greitens would bring this seat remotely into play, although if Greitens enters the primary the Democrats might be tempted to interfere on his behalf, recognising him as the weakest candidate. On the flip side of the ledger, despite two heart surgeries in recent years, John Boozman has announced he will seek a third term in Arkansas.
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Post by adlai52 on Mar 9, 2021 14:51:42 GMT
Likely to remain safely GOP as an open seat, but there is always the chance that the GOP nominates someone like Eric Greitens and the Dems go with a Jason Kander or even Claire McCaskill. Even in this scenario though, Missouri has shifted firmly to the Right and even a Todd Akin redux might not be enough for Democrats to take a Senate seat here anymore. Democrat's priorities have to be Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while nailing down tough holds in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and New Hampshire - although they could make the GOP spend money in Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Missouri. Kander and McCaskill have already ruled themselves out; I suspect only the GOP nominating Greitens would bring this seat remotely into play, although if Greitens enters the primary the Democrats might be tempted to interfere on his behalf, recognising him as the weakest candidate. On the flip side of the ledger, despite two heart surgeries in recent years, John Boozman has announced he will seek a third term in Arkansas. Are there any state-wide Dems left in Missouri now? Or has the GOP swept all the state-wide offices? Would Ann Wagner be interested on the GOP side? Fits the McConnell mold, but I suspect would face a tough primary.
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Post by riccimarsh on Mar 9, 2021 16:57:17 GMT
Kander and McCaskill have already ruled themselves out; I suspect only the GOP nominating Greitens would bring this seat remotely into play, although if Greitens enters the primary the Democrats might be tempted to interfere on his behalf, recognising him as the weakest candidate. On the flip side of the ledger, despite two heart surgeries in recent years, John Boozman has announced he will seek a third term in Arkansas. Are there any state-wide Dems left in Missouri now? Or has the GOP swept all the state-wide offices? Would Ann Wagner be interested on the GOP side? Fits the McConnell mold, but I suspect would face a tough primary. State auditor Nicole Galloway is the only state-wide Dem left in Missouri.
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timmullen1
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Post by timmullen1 on Mar 9, 2021 23:47:35 GMT
Kander and McCaskill have already ruled themselves out; I suspect only the GOP nominating Greitens would bring this seat remotely into play, although if Greitens enters the primary the Democrats might be tempted to interfere on his behalf, recognising him as the weakest candidate. On the flip side of the ledger, despite two heart surgeries in recent years, John Boozman has announced he will seek a third term in Arkansas. Are there any state-wide Dems left in Missouri now? Or has the GOP swept all the state-wide offices? Would Ann Wagner be interested on the GOP side? Fits the McConnell mold, but I suspect would face a tough primary. According to Daily Kos Elections these Republicans have publicly expressed an interest in running: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, State House Speaker Tim Jones, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Rep. Jason Smith, Rep. Ann Wagner. They go on to say David Drucker of The Washington Examiner has said Reps Billy Long and Blayne Luetkemeyer are considering, the Missouri Independent’s Jason Hancock reports 2012 Senate candidate and 2016 Gubernatorial candidate “wealthy businessman” John Brunner is “thinking about campaigning for the seat”. To further quote DKE: “Various media organizations, meanwhile, have mentioned Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Rep. Sam Graves, and retired NASCAR driver Carl Edwards as possibilities. Hancock also name-dropped both Gov. Mike Parson and state Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, though he said it was unlikely either would run”. Just in a sign of Blunt’s length of political involvement, his first campaign was as a volunteer for Jay Ashcroft’s father, former Senator and US Attorney General, John Ashcroft. EDIT: State Attorney General Jay Ashcroft has ruled himself out of the race, whilst on the Democratic side former Governor Jay Nixon has said he will give the race “careful thought” but Missouri insiders don’t expect him to give up what has apparently become a lucrative career as a corporate attorney.
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Post by matureleft on Mar 14, 2021 8:25:21 GMT
The Iowa second district result challenge will be considered by the House. The Democrats voted down a Republican call to dismiss it.
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Mar 17, 2021 16:49:08 GMT
Some interesting things going on in California. It's looking likely that a valid recall petition against Gov Gavin Newsom (D) will be presented, triggering a recall election which Newsom looks likely to win.
Meanwhile there's a lot of gossip about how Dianne Feinstein is losing some mental acuity, but insisting on serving out her term until 2025. The speculation goes that Biden will engineer her resignation by appointing her husband to one of the more coveted Ambassadorships.
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Khunanup
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Post by Khunanup on Mar 17, 2021 17:14:49 GMT
Some interesting things going on in California. It's looking likely that a valid recall petition against Gov Gavin Newsom (D) will be presented, triggering a recall election which Newsom looks likely to win. Meanwhile there's a lot of gossip about how Dianne Feinstein is losing some mental acuity, but insisting on serving out her term until 2025. The speculation goes that Biden will engineer her resignation by appointing her husband to one of the more coveted Ambassadorships. What's the background to the recall?
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Mar 17, 2021 17:28:46 GMT
Some interesting things going on in California. It's looking likely that a valid recall petition against Gov Gavin Newsom (D) will be presented, triggering a recall election which Newsom looks likely to win. Meanwhile there's a lot of gossip about how Dianne Feinstein is losing some mental acuity, but insisting on serving out her term until 2025. The speculation goes that Biden will engineer her resignation by appointing her husband to one of the more coveted Ambassadorships. What's the background to the recall? Pretty much just partisan opposition but linked with anti-COVID restrictions campaigning. The recall campaign is here: recallgavin2020.comNewsom is trying to link them with QAnon and all sorts of far right groups though I don't really think they need their 'help'.
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timmullen1
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Post by timmullen1 on Mar 17, 2021 17:43:09 GMT
Some interesting things going on in California. It's looking likely that a valid recall petition against Gov Gavin Newsom (D) will be presented, triggering a recall election which Newsom looks likely to win. Meanwhile there's a lot of gossip about how Dianne Feinstein is losing some mental acuity, but insisting on serving out her term until 2025. The speculation goes that Biden will engineer her resignation by appointing her husband to one of the more coveted Ambassadorships. What's the background to the recall? The Republicans have tried to recall every Democratic Governor since they successfully recalled Gray Davis and inserted Schwarzenegger. They’ve been helped with this one by the legislature extending the signature filing date by nine months because of Covid, and have expanded their base beyond just hardcore Republicans and drawn in the anti lockdown/anti mask/anti vax brigade, along with some teachers unions who are unhappy with Newsom reopening schools. As for Feinstein, don’t expect anything until they’re sure it’s a Democratic Governor appointing her replacement, and apparently it’s her husband himself who’s let it be known he wants an Ambassadorship; some extra pressure is on Biden because there’s some criticism that with Harris’ elevation there are no African American women Senators, and on a national TV interview on Monday, Newsom pledged to appoint one should a vacancy occur.
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CatholicLeft
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Post by CatholicLeft on Mar 17, 2021 17:59:31 GMT
What's the background to the recall? The Republicans have tried to recall every Democratic Governor since they successfully recalled Gray Davis and inserted Schwarzenegger. They’ve been helped with this one by the legislature extending the signature filing date by nine months because of Covid, and have expanded their base beyond just hardcore Republicans and drawn in the anti lockdown/anti mask/anti vax brigade, along with some teachers unions who are unhappy with Newsom reopening schools. As for Feinstein, don’t expect anything until they’re sure it’s a Democratic Governor appointing her replacement, and apparently it’s her husband himself who’s let it be known he wants an Ambassadorship; some extra pressure is on Biden because there’s some criticism that with Harris’ elevation there are no African American women Senators, and on a national TV interview on Monday, Newsom pledged to appoint one should a vacancy occur. Nonetheless, on the Feinstein issue, given that her husband is 85 years old and has had some questionable investment involvement with China, his is not the best way to resolve things.
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Richard Allen
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Post by Richard Allen on Mar 17, 2021 18:03:33 GMT
The Republicans have tried to recall every Democratic Governor since they successfully recalled Gray Davis and inserted Schwarzenegger. They’ve been helped with this one by the legislature extending the signature filing date by nine months because of Covid, and have expanded their base beyond just hardcore Republicans and drawn in the anti lockdown/anti mask/anti vax brigade, along with some teachers unions who are unhappy with Newsom reopening schools. As for Feinstein, don’t expect anything until they’re sure it’s a Democratic Governor appointing her replacement, and apparently it’s her husband himself who’s let it be known he wants an Ambassadorship; some extra pressure is on Biden because there’s some criticism that with Harris’ elevation there are no African American women Senators, and on a national TV interview on Monday, Newsom pledged to appoint one should a vacancy occur. Nonetheless, on the Feinstein issue, given that her husband is 85 years old and has had some questionable investment involvement with China, his is not the best way to resolve things. The talk is that he would be given a prestigious ambassadorship in Europe, not one where he would actually have to do all that much serious diplomatic work.
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Post by finsobruce on Mar 17, 2021 18:05:42 GMT
Nonetheless, on the Feinstein issue, given that her husband is 85 years old and has had some questionable investment involvement with China, his is not the best way to resolve things. The talk is that he would be given a prestigious ambassadorship in Europe, not one where he would actually have to do all that much serious diplomatic work. Switzerland?
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john07
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Post by john07 on Mar 17, 2021 18:17:58 GMT
Is that the US equivalent of being appointed Ambassador to the Bahamas?
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timmullen1
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Post by timmullen1 on Mar 17, 2021 18:36:12 GMT
The talk is that he would be given a prestigious ambassadorship in Europe, not one where he would actually have to do all that much serious diplomatic work. Switzerland? Paris, London and Berlin are probably the top three, and there’s usually an Irish Catholic who wants Dublin (Clinton appointed one the JFK/RFK sisters) and I note former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is said to be angling for an Ambassadorship; given his Irish ancestry, Dublin seems a natural fit for him. Richard Allen is quite right though, Feinstein’s husband has had his own ethical troubles, and there’s no room for manoeuvre in a 50-50 Senate.
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Post by finsobruce on Mar 17, 2021 18:43:21 GMT
Paris, London and Berlin are probably the top three, and there’s usually an Irish Catholic who wants Dublin (Clinton appointed one the JFK/RFK sisters) and I note former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is said to be angling for an Ambassadorship; given his Irish ancestry, Dublin seems a natural fit for him. Richard Allen is quite right though, Feinstein’s husband has had his own ethical troubles, and there’s no room for manoeuvre in a 50-50 Senate. Indeed. my friend works for the American diplomatic service and everyone wants Europe, she eventually got Vladivostock. Given Richard's point though I would have thought the top three would involve some work, even if you tried to avoid it.
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Post by greenchristian on Mar 17, 2021 18:49:39 GMT
The talk is that he would be given a prestigious ambassadorship in Europe, not one where he would actually have to do all that much serious diplomatic work. Switzerland? Vatican City?
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Post by finsobruce on Mar 17, 2021 18:51:19 GMT
I thought of that too, but given that Biden is a Catholic I suspect there may be more than a few issues, good and bad, over the years.
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timmullen1
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Post by timmullen1 on Mar 17, 2021 18:57:28 GMT
Almost always, as far as I can see, goes to a practicing Roman Catholic (as does Rome).
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Richard Allen
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Post by Richard Allen on Mar 17, 2021 19:25:12 GMT
Paris, London and Berlin are probably the top three, and there’s usually an Irish Catholic who wants Dublin (Clinton appointed one the JFK/RFK sisters) and I note former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is said to be angling for an Ambassadorship; given his Irish ancestry, Dublin seems a natural fit for him. Richard Allen is quite right though, Feinstein’s husband has had his own ethical troubles, and there’s no room for manoeuvre in a 50-50 Senate. Indeed. my friend works for the American diplomatic service and everyone wants Europe, she eventually got Vladivostock. Given Richard's point though I would have thought the top three would involve some work, even if you tried to avoid it. Well obviously it entails some work, but the US ambassador to somewhere like France is unlikely to be involved in a great deal of sensitive negotiations on major geopolitical matters. It isn't like being ambassador to China, a position normally taken by a political or diplomatic big hitter.
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