In college...

Midterms were never good to me either. And so it is for the Democrats, but there remain a few bright spots, particularly in the west, like Colorado and Washington, as well as "Left Coast" California, where the progressives more or less prevailed. And good riddance to the "Blue Dog" rubbish that was thrown out of office. These were conservative Dems who ran away from health care reform, Wall Street reform, and the stimulus, in order to save their own political hides in conservative districts, mostly in the mid-west and plains. Of 54 Blue Dogs in Congress, 24 were voted out. After all, if you're going to vote for a Republican, vote for a Republican, not a faux model. The "Progressive Caucus" did measurably better, losing 8 of 80 last Tuesday.
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Watching Jon Stewart interview Texas Governor Rick Perry on The Daily Show, I was immediately suspicious of what the governor - plugging his book, "Fed Up" - claimed about American history. What Perry was trying to sell to Stewart, was that the growth of federal government really began in 1913, with Progressivism and the coming of the 16th Amendment. This ushering in income taxes, which gave the federal government virtually limitless power over the states. Governor Perry is an unabashed "Tenther" who also advocates secession if needs be, for Texas. He also blamed a Democrat by name for this federal over-reach: President Woodrow Wilson. But wait - wasn't Teddy Roosevelt,a Republican, considered the 1st Progressive President? And Congress sent out the amendment proposal in 1910. Republican President William Howard Taft was in office then. Wilson's 1st term began in January of 1913, barely before the ink was dry on the Revenue Act of 1913, the trigger for federal income taxes, took effect.
Jon Stewart didn't catch it, but he's not a history teacher! BTW, Texas was the 9th state to ratify the 16th Amendment - in 1910.
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Book Recommendation for November: The Whites of Their Eyes, by Jill Lepore. An easy read from the professor of American History at Harvard, explaining how the Tea Partyers have tried to remold America's Founders, and the American Revolution into their own image. Good stuff.