Pelosi thinks that Democrats might take back the house

[Measure_for_Measure]

@Measure_for_Measure

You seem to misunderstand the economic argument. Keynesians and followers of the standard macroeconomic textbooks believe that both fiscal and monetary policy loosening can fight recession.

@Saint_Cad

I understand that but not a lot of N-Ks do.

All living Keynesian economists agree with my characterization.

Now any claim beginning with “All” is hard to defend. But my point is that I’m betting that you won’t be able to show me an example of a mainstream economist who believes that conventional monetary policy is wholly ineffective outside of easily identifiable liquidity trap situations. OTOH, the Economist magazine will advocate a "2-handled macro policy (monetary and fiscal) as opposed to a one handled one.

Also, discussions we have had on this board tend to show the N-K true colors that spending reduction at anytime will have an intolerable negative impact on the US economy. I freely admit that whereas raising spending may have been approporiate during the economic freefall, the N-Ks will also justitify the spending increases during Bush “No new taxes” Sr.'s term.

Well, I dunno about pseudo-anonymous posters on a message board. I doubt whether any of those self-identifying as Neo-Keynesians would say that monetary policy is usually wholly ineffective. I also can’t recall reading posters here worrying about the macro effects of spending cuts during economic expansion, though of course there are other effects to worry about. But I would hardly be surprised to see examples of faulty economic reasoning: most haven’t studied introductory economics in college after all. Hey, my grasp of physics is pretty tenuous as well.

…as is my knowledge of Senate parliamentary procedure. Thanks to all posters here for their participation in that fork.

[BigAppleBucky]

Getting this thread back to the original topic, I heard my Congressman, Steve Israel, speak last evening. He’s the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In sum, he thinks there is a chance for Democrats to wrest control of the House away from the tea partiers. There are many close races. For example, Jim Graves is polling within two points of Michelle Bachmann.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc/49313256/#49313256

He did say that things looked better two weeks ago, before the first debate. We talked about the effect of the presidential race on downticket races.

Effect of the Presidential race/debate on downticket races? - Politics & Elections - Straight Dope Message Board

So if Obama surges, it’s Israel’s belief that his coattails may be enough.

[BigAppleBucky]

10 nastiest House races

Florida’s 18th District: Rep. Allen West (R) vs. Patrick Murphy (D)
California’s 30th District: Rep. Howard Berman (D) vs. Rep. Brad Sherman (D)
New York’s 24th District: Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R) vs. Dan Maffei (D)
New York’s 13th District: Rep. Michael Grimm (R) vs. Mark Murphy (D)
Massachusetts’s 6th District: Rep. John Tierney (D) vs. Richard Tisei (R)
Nevada’s 3rd District: Rep. Joe Heck (R) vs. John Oceguera (D)
Illinois’s 8th District: Rep. Joe Walsh (R) vs. Tammy Duckworth (D)
Rhode Island’s 1st District: Rep. David Cicilline (D) and Brendan Doherty (R
Nevada’s 4th District: Steven Horsford (D) vs. Danny Tarkanian (R)
New York’s 1st District: Rep. Tim Bishop (D) vs. Randy Altschuler (R)

That last race is in a district neighboring mine. I got a kick out of an Altschuler ad this spring blaming Bishop for high gasoline prices. Naturally the ad disappeared when prices fell.

[adaher]

Glad to see Duckworth taking on Joe Walsh. Duckworth is one of my favorite Democrats and she picked one of my least favorite Republicans to run against.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Is that the “you lie!” guy?

[BigAppleBucky]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Is that the “you lie!” guy?

Yes, Joe Walsh. He also accused his Iraq war wounded opponent of being unpatriotic.

Rep. Joe Walsh yells at his constituents

Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL) calls President Obama "son"

[suranyi]

@BigAppleBucky

California’s 30th District: Rep. Howard Berman (D) vs. Rep. Brad Sherman (D)

My parents are in this district in the San Fernando Valley. Both are longtime incumbents but they ended up in the same district after redistricting. That’s why it’s so nasty. Their positions on the issues are almost identical so it’s really hard to choose between them, my dad said. Their ads are starting to appeal to the few Republicans in the district just to pick up a few more votes.

[adaher]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Is that the “you lie!” guy?

No, he’s the didn’t pay his child support guy. the “you lie” guy is Joe Wilson and he’ll probably be easily reelected.

Walsh on the other hand is in a tougher district and he’s running against a future Democratic star.

[BigAppleBucky]

@adaher

No, he’s the didn’t pay his child support guy. the “you lie” guy is Joe Wilson and he’ll probably be easily reelected.

Walsh on the other hand is in a tougher district and he’s running against a future Democratic star.

My mistake - thanks.

It’s pretty amazing Walsh is even staying close.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/10/joe-walsh-debate-tammy-duckworth-dress-photo.php

Updated Oct. 10, 12:40 p.m. ET

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) deployed a strange attack on his Democratic opponent, Iraq War veteran and former Veterans Affairs official Tammy Duckworth, at a debate Tuesday night — brandishing a photo of her picking out a dress for the Democratic National Convention.

snip (Debate audience boo’d Walsh two times)

For her part, Duckworth accused Walsh of trying to distract from the issues — and she got in a kicker of her own.

“And yes, I do sometimes look at the clothes that I wear,” she said. “But for most of my adult life, I’ve worn one color — it’s called camouflage.”

[Saint_Cad]

@suranyi

My parents are in this district in the San Fernando Valley. Both are longtime incumbents but they ended up in the same district after redistricting. That’s why it’s so nasty. Their positions on the issues are almost identical so it’s really hard to choose between them, my dad said. Their ads are starting to appeal to the few Republicans in the district just to pick up a few more votes.

Wait what? I grew up in Berman’s district and remember Sherman from the next district over. I am going to have to watch this race.

[HurricaneDitka]

@BigAppleBucky

It’s pretty amazing Walsh is even staying close.

Maybe it’s because Duckworth doesn’t know that “camouflage” isn’t “one color”?

[adaher]

@BigAppleBucky

My mistake - thanks.

It’s pretty amazing Walsh is even staying close.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/10/joe-walsh-debate-tammy-duckworth-dress-photo.php

Duckworth is great on substance but a poor campaigner. She should have won in 2006 but didn’t. She’s the type who will have to advance through actually getting things done. It won’t be with her charisma or campaigning skills.