bobbyw24
05-16-2010, 06:52 AM
Tuesday's primaries could provide early answers for election year
By Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 16, 2010; A01
An angry electorate, which already has delivered a series of shocks to the political system, will render a fresh verdict on Washington, incumbency and both party establishments in a slate of high-stakes contests Tuesday that are shaping up to form one of the most important voting days of the year.
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) could be the next incumbent to fall, but by late Tuesday night, everyone from President Obama to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could feel the sting of voter anger that has shaped the election climate and that could produce a dramatic upheaval in Congress by November.
Everyone has a different definition of the anger: anti-incumbent; anti-Obama; anti-establishment; anti-Washington. But the expressions of displeasure are everywhere. Some voters think Washington is spending too much and is infringing on their rights. Others say Washington is not doing enough -- to penalize bankers or to oversee the cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico as oil gushes from a broken well.
Republicans have their own intraparty warfare to contend with on Tuesday. Kentucky has become a laboratory for measuring the relative powers of the "tea party" movement vs. the GOP establishment in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.). There, upstart Rand Paul is seeking the nomination against Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who enjoys the support of McConnell, the state's preeminent Republican.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/15/AR2010051502816.html?hpid=topnews
By Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 16, 2010; A01
An angry electorate, which already has delivered a series of shocks to the political system, will render a fresh verdict on Washington, incumbency and both party establishments in a slate of high-stakes contests Tuesday that are shaping up to form one of the most important voting days of the year.
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) could be the next incumbent to fall, but by late Tuesday night, everyone from President Obama to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could feel the sting of voter anger that has shaped the election climate and that could produce a dramatic upheaval in Congress by November.
Everyone has a different definition of the anger: anti-incumbent; anti-Obama; anti-establishment; anti-Washington. But the expressions of displeasure are everywhere. Some voters think Washington is spending too much and is infringing on their rights. Others say Washington is not doing enough -- to penalize bankers or to oversee the cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico as oil gushes from a broken well.
Republicans have their own intraparty warfare to contend with on Tuesday. Kentucky has become a laboratory for measuring the relative powers of the "tea party" movement vs. the GOP establishment in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.). There, upstart Rand Paul is seeking the nomination against Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who enjoys the support of McConnell, the state's preeminent Republican.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/15/AR2010051502816.html?hpid=topnews