Arrogant Americans, Mr. President?

[Varmit]

It may not be a political position, but it is an elected offical position and therefore (according to wilma) anyone who wants to be elected must lie in order to get elected.

[kshillbillys]

The way I look at it, if an election is involved then it's political....It doesn't matter if it's for dogcatcher. If there's an election, you will have the ones that like you and the ones that hate you and the ones that don't care one way or the other. People are elected to keep people safe and to make rules and regulations and back them up. That includes everyone from the President, to Governor, to County Commissioner, to Sheriff, to City Council and the list goes on and on.


My point exactly, Billy...

[Wilma]

The further from local you get, the more likely they are to lie to get elected.

I heard someplace that in 2010, next year, that all of the House and half of the Senate is up for election.  Of course the House is as their terms are for two year, but how about the Senate?  Is it true that half of them will be up for grabs?  How many of them have served more than two terms? 

[frawin]

Elections to the United States Senate will be held on November 2, 2010, with at least 36 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate being contested. Thirty-four of these are to six-year terms, from January 3, 2011 to January 3, 2017. They will join Senate Class III, which traces its roots back to the senators who served full six-year terms from March 4, 1789 to March 3, 1795. Elections to the United States House of Representatives as well as some state and local elections will occur on the same date.

In addition to the 34 senators in Class III, there will be two special elections in 2010 to fill unexpired terms. One of these elections will be in Delaware to fill the last four years of the Class II seat previously held by Vice President Joe Biden. In 2008, Biden was simultaneously reelected to his seat in the U.S. Senate, a seat he had held since 1972. His resignation from the Senate seat resulted in Democratic then- Governor Ruth Ann Minner appointing Democrat Ted Kaufman to the seat until November 2010. Kaufman has since stated that he will not run for the unexpired term in 2010. This seat will again be up for election in 2014 for a full six-year term. The other special election will be held for New York's Class I seat previously held by by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton was reelected to her second term in 2006 but was confirmed as Secretary of State in January 2009, which resulted in Democratic Governor David Paterson appointing Democratic U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to the seat until November 2010. Gillibrand has stated that she will run for the unexpired term in 2010. This seat will again be up for election in 2012 for a full six-year term.

The current composition of the U.S. Senate going into the 2010 elections is a result of the 2008 elections, in which Democrats gained eight seats. The Democratic Party gained another seat with the political realignment of Arlen Specter on April 28, 2009. The U.S. Senate is currently composed of 57 Democrats, 40 Republicans, and two Independents—Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, both of whom caucus with the Democrats—and one outstanding seat in Minnesota. Of the seats expected to be up for election in 2010, 18 are held by Republicans and 18 by Democrats.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairman Robert Menendez of New Jersey has stated he does not expect any other Democratic retirements besides Ted Kaufman. [1]

[Wilma]

So the Republicans need to win all of the available seats now held by Democrats and not lose any to just even it out.

I am also wondering about the ages of the Senators and how long they have held their seats.  I am all for term limits and age limits.  I don't think that serving in the Senate should be a lifetime profession.

[Diane Amberg]

I sure agree with that, but who would vote for it?

[Wilma]

Not the Senators and probably not even the House.

[Varmit]

Term limits, absolutley

Age limits, why should that be a factor?

[Wilma]

Because some of the doddering old senators can't put two words together without pausing for breath.  Ted Kennedy refuses to resign his seat even though he has an incurable brain tumor.  What we have running our country for us have been there so long, they probably have made their fortunes selling favors.  Why should the president be limited to 2 terms when senators and reps can serve as long as they can get elected?

[kshillbillys]

He agreed with the term limits...but the AGE THINGEE is DISCRIMINATION!