Free Republic

All politics may be local, but sometimes voters send all politicians the same message. Like on Tuesday. That message: Voters are fed up with the Washington establishment. Which explains in large measure why Pennsylvania Democrats ended party-switcher Arlen Specter's 30-year Senate career, while Arkansas Democrats forced Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a runoff. And why Kentucky Republicans chose Rand Paul, a political rookie with the enthusiastic backing of the Tea Party movement -- and the son of libertarian gadfly Rep. Ron Paul -- as their Senate nominee, rejecting a candidate with the backing of state and national GOP leaders. This follows...

This bit of news is fascinating, if only because it hews to what one side predicted, and the other did not: “A new Democracy Corps survey finds the passage of health care reform ‘did not produce even a point rise in the president’s approval rating or affection for the Democratic Congress… Virtually every key tracking measure in April’s poll has remained unchanged, including the Democrats’ continued weakness on handling of the economy. Both parties are equally reviled, reflected in their lowest ratings in history, while voters want to punish those in power — for the partisan bickering, bailing out the...

Only about one in five registered voters believe they can trust the government in Washington to do the right thing "just about always" or most of the time, while an overwhelming majority say it will do the right thing only some of the time or never, according a Pew Research Center poll conducted March 11-21. The survey found a strikingly negative view of their government among voters that it attributed to "a perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of government – a dismal economy, an unhappy public, bitter partisan based backlash, and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials."...

How long can Americans hold a thought? That will be the political test for the next seven-and-a-half months. If the majority of voters stay as angry as they are now about the passage of the national health care plan, it could spell real trouble for Democrats in the November elections. But if, as Democrats hope, the anger fades, then the losses by the president’s party are likely to be more manageable. Right now, after a year of stimulus plans, bailouts and now nationalized health care, driving deficits to historically high levels, 70% of voters are angry with the policies of...

A number of House Democrats have announced they are retiring, and party officials say more could follow in a tough midterm election year of high unemployment, a slow economic recovery and a very angry electorate. A growing number of Democrats have read the handwriting on the wall that tells of bleak prospects for their party in 2010 when Republicans are expected to pick up seats in the House and possibly in the Senate, too. Historically, the party out of power makes gains in an administration's midterm point, and that seems to be what is in store for the Democrats this...

I, like many, have had those heart-pounding dreams where I'm battling evil. When trying to cry out, I cannot utter a sound. I try to get away, but my legs won't move. At the height of fear, I wake up, relieved that it was only a dream. I wake up every day realizing that the America in which I am currently living is this nightmare, and I wish it were only a bad dream. Instead, the real-life heart-pounding is leading me to post-traumatic stress syndrome. I pray to get to the "post" part already because my heart cannot endure the...

UBS loses favour with angry Swiss It has been a hard year for the biggest Swiss bank, UBS. After losing millions in the US sub-prime mortgage market, it has had to beg the Swiss government for help. As Imogen Foulkes reports, its reputation in Switzerland may never recover. In Zurich, UBS head office sits astride Paradeplatz - Parade Square to you and me. But in recent months, the Swiss have renamed it Piratenplatz - or Pirate Square - to signify what they believe is the daylight robbery that has taken place over the last 12 months. Not of their biggest...