Hoyer Guarantees Democratic Victories In November

By Rob Sanna - Talk Radio News Service

On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) downplayed speculation that Democrats may lose the House in the upcoming mid-term elections. Hoyer said the election is going to be a simple referendum on which party Americans want to lead the nation, adding that Republicans are eager to bring back the policies of the Bush years.

“The public is very concerned about the economy, [Democrats] share that concern,” he told reporters during his weekly press briefing.

“We have been working very hard to get this economy out of the very deep ditch that the Bush administration policies put it into, which were almost unanimously supported by Republicans in the House and Senate, who are now saying they want to return to that exact same agenda.”

Those policies, said Hoyer, created the “worst economy that we’ve had, worst job production, large deficit…That, in my opinion, is what America is going to vote on.”

Democrats need to prevent a Republican net gain of at least 10 seats in the Senate and 40 seats in the House in order to keep their majority this November.

Reid: Democrat’s Support of Specter is Not Conditional

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Photo by Michael Ruhl

According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Democratic Leadership will stick by Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter through thick and thin. The remarks came at a power breakfast on Capitol Hill, where Reid addressed, among other things, Specter’s recent defection to the Democratic Party.

President Obama, Vice President Biden and Reid have all pledged to support Specter when he comes up for reelection in 2010. When asked today whether or not that support was dependent on Specter voting a certain way, Reid said that it wasn’t.

“I’m not going to be in a forever, never position, but the facts are that he’s going to vote with us most of the time,” Reid Said. “I can’t foresee him doing anything that would be so mean spirited that Obama, Biden, and Reid would turn against him.”

If Al Franken wins the Senate Seat in Minnesota, which is still being contested in court, Specter would be the 60th Democrat in Congress, the number needed to stop a Republican filibuster.

“I don’t think [Specter is] going to be an automatic vote, but I don’t have any automatic votes,” Reid said. He was referring to fears from the right that Specter will be the key vote in stifling Republican policy.

Critics believe that Specter is going to help the Democrats steamroll through radical legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called the filibuster-proof Senate a “threat to the country.” He it would allow the Democrats to “have whatever it wants, without restraint, without a check or a balance.”


Specter's defection became a reality when he was assured by Reid that his seniority in the Senate would not be compromised. Reid has publicly stated that no members of Congress will be “bumped” from a committee position to make room for Specter.

The deal struck regarding Specter’s seniority was that upon defecting, he would be treated as though he had been elected a Democrat in 1980.

Not this Congress, at least.

Reid left open the door to moving Specter up in the ranks next Congress, and said, “We’ll work something out,” adding that in every new session of Congress, committee positions are worked out at the beginning of the term and restructured as necessary, and that the next Congress will not be an exception.