October 31, 2010
Inundated in CT
Catch the wave this Tuesday. This definitely has the makings of a historical shift in Congressional control. My own district (CT-5) is definitely in play. Probably the most GOP-leaning district in Connecticut (if there is one), the 5th can be described as a true "swing" district. While historically represented by Republicans, it was re-created in 2002 when the 6th district was lost and the new gerrymandering made it about a third registered Dems, a third registered GOP and a third unaffiliated.
I get the distinct feeling the incumbent Chris Murphy is going down. Sweeping out RINO Nancy Johnson in 2006, Murphy was elected as a "change" candidate in the face of growing dissatisfaction with the Bush Administration and the three "S"s of the GOP controlled Congress - spending, scandals and stupidity. With Captain Fantastic at the top of the ticket in 2008 he was reelected.
Currently he has a 100% rating from the Uber-Left Americans for Democratic Action and he's been one of Pelosi's most loyal minions to date.
His challenger, Sam Caligiuri, is slightly ahead of him in the polls. I have been getting hammered by robocalls to get out and vote (one yesterday from Chris Christie) and the Mrs. (who is unaffiliated) got one from Caligiuri's Mrs. yesterday as well.
In the 4th district, Jim Himes is in a real race against his GOP challenger, Dean Debicella. These two districts have a very good chance of going GOP if this wave holds. And these aren't even races included by most pollsters as ones to watch.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of voters are suffering from Linda McMahon fatigue as you can find her campaign materials in your mailbox EVERY.FREAKING.DAY. Not to mention that a lot of female voters may be turned off by the whole WWE thing. Personally, I have to agree with Rich Lowry at National Review that Professional (ahem) Wrestling is to the popular culture what the BP oil spill was to the Gulf of Mexico. I'd love another GOP seat in the Senate but I pull the lever for Mrs. Smack-down unenthusiastically. I personally don't think she'll win.
The Gubernatorial race is a toss-up when it shouldn't be - Republicans have governed this Blue State since 1995 and it's ripe for takover. But Democrat Dan Malloy hasn't seem to have closed the deal yet.
Not so fearless prediction for Tuesday:
House - GOP net gain 72 seats
Senate - GOP net gain 9 seats
Governors - GOP net gain 8 pick-ups
So say we all!
Posted by Gary at October 31, 2010 07:41 AM | TrackBackJim Himes and the 90% Tax Bracket
In a push for ever more spending, taxes, and regulation, our incumbent congressman Jim Himes has favored a role for government wherein economic winners and losers are increasingly picked in Washington, D.C. So, it seems reasonable enough for us to ask, “Who is winning and who is losing?”
WINNERS: The government has been particularly generous to itself over these past few years. The public sector is enjoying a bull market with an explosive increase in payroll and compensation. Today, Jim Himes is fortunate to be one of over 22,000 federal employees earning over $170,000. The headcount in this part of the Federal payroll is up over 90% since Himes took office. As many as 16,500 new IRS agents will be needed just to collect and audit the new taxes mandated by the recently passed healthcare law. Each of these new IRS agents should be grateful to congressmen such as Jim Himes for their jobs.
LOSERS: The taxpayers who may someday soon be on the other side of these audits are faring less well. Once we include the cost of the recent healthcare law, the growth of government is outstripping the growth of our economy at such a pace that taxes will have to skyrocket in order to pay for it. Specifically, we can calculate the necessary rates that would be required to keep pace with the trajectory of new spending: the 10% bracket would become 23%, 25% would become 57% and the top marginal tax rate would become 90%.
A 90% tax bracket? What can we do (besides looking for jobs from the IRS)? History shows that it is very difficult to do much about the size and expense of entitlement spending once it is in force. However, congress delayed enactment of much of the healthcare law for a few years in order to hide from us is full cost. It is during this time that we will have a chance to repeal this unaffordable spending, send 16,500 new IRS agents packing, and to restore our country’s balance. The repeal process can start in November – on November 2, we can repeal Jim Himes.
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