Republicans Make Gains in

2010 Midterms
Simon Jackson | February 2009 | Election 2010
The Republican Story
Republicans have picked up eight seats in the House of
Representatives, cementing the largest GOP House Majority in
over sixty years. The win came as Democrats struggled to
develop a solid message to deliver to the American people.

With a Republican majority in the House, it is guaranteed President

Joseph Murphy will have to continue to try and negotiate with
Republicans in Congress on major agenda items. With a past
unwillingness to do so, commentators have suggested the government
will prove to be a failure-to-launch.
 The Democrat Story
Democrats were able to retain the Senate, despite Republicans
picking up two seats in the chamber. It has been suggested this
is no credit to the Democrats, as Republicans made critical
strategical errors and likely could’ve secured a majority in the
highest chamber if not for a lack of focus.

With a Democrat majority in the U.S. Senate, Democrats will still have a
tool in Congress to pressure Republicans on key agenda items. It also
offers President Murphy a cushion, as any new appointments in his term
are likely to be approved and it could prove critical in judicial
appointments, especially if another Supreme Court seat were to open up
before the 2012 election.

The Real Story

The midterms laid a clear victory for Republicans, with a house
majority likely not going anywhere anytime soon, as well as a few
pickups in the Senate. But by no means is this the victory Republicans
wanted — gaining a majority in the Senate was the real concern and
they failed to do so. In a seat like Missouri, Republicans failed to protect
their own turf, and suffered for it.

This midterm election could potentially a glimpse into the future. If

President Murphy doesn’t do more to gain some good-will from the
American people, his reelection chances will look bleak. And if the
economy continues to lag without big jobs numbers, it will make it even
more tough for the President to face reelection.

Nonetheless, even with Republican pickups, the 2010 midterms aren’t

exactly consequential — the norm has been retained, by vote of the
people, and it is likely they will expect some tough compromises to be
made on important issues such as healthcare, immigration, and further
economic relief.
 The Long Con
An Inside Look at Ruby Walter’s Real Reason
for Dramatic Exit from the GOP

Tamara Powell | January, 2011 | Feature Story

 In a dramatic exit from the Republican Party, Senator of Oregon Ruby

Walter announced her intention to begin caucusing with Democrats effective
immediately, directly after a competitive election in a press conference in the
Senate Caucus room. In her explanation for the exit, Walter explained that
the Republican Senate caucus had been ‘hijacked’ and that Senate Minority
Leader Cory McKnight (R-SC) was complicit in conspiring against the
interests of the American people.

It was this, coupled with the GOP’s alleged shift to the ‘far-right’, Senator
Walter explained it was simply too much to bear, and that she must exit. In
her speech, she offered high praise of President Jospeh Murphy as well.

“When our Commander in Chief looks across the aisle, he does not see a
political opponent to be conquered, he sees a fellow American,” Walter told
reporters. The disdain for Republicans and its leadership, and admiration for
Democrats and the President, was striking.

Further, an in editorial published and circulated by the Associated Press,

Walter doubled-down on her claims, and struck a sharper tone. Walter called
Republican leadership ‘a disgrace’ to past leaders, saying Republican
leadership has debased the values the party was founded on.

At first glance, one might come to the conclusion Senator Walter was a
moderate driven to the brink by a party unwilling to compromise. A Senator
who still believed in her party, but couldn’t find a place in it.

But the truth, revealed in new documents and statements from numerous
anonymous sources, draws a different story altogether. One which serves as
evidence Senator Ruby Walter was involved in a long con all along.
 In new documents
provided to Bally by two
independent anonymous
sources, it is shown that
Senator Ruby Walter
personally paid for polling out
of her own campaign war-
chest on several elections,
including the 2010 Indiana
Senate race as well as possible Walter hasn’t been entirely forthcoming about
matchups in the 2012 Presidential her efforts behind the scenes.
election. After receiving this polling,
Walter’s own staff apparently ‘dressed
up’ the polling by using news-style
graphics to depict the polls which were then provided to members of
Republican leadership, including the office of Senate Minority Cory
McKnight, who was a subject to one of the polls.

According to one anonymous source, Senator Walter continuously

stressed the need for more polling, telling members of the Republican
Senate Caucus to “trust the polls.”

Sources said Senator Walters

Walter allegedly became ‘obsessed’ with
polling numbers, spending millions of dollars
on internal polls outside of Oregon.
didn’t like to participate in
functions within the party —
such as fundraisers or caucus
meetings — so the polls being
provided were immediately
met with skepticism.. Even
more curious, according to
these insiders, were the fact
that the polls were dressed up
in news-style graphics, instead of a
hard-data as they normally would be.
 Images of private polls provided by Senator
Walter to Republicans weeks before leaving the
party.

Cory McKnight is the Republican Senate Minority
Leader and target of recent attacks by Ruby
Walters.
According to our sources,
information provided to
Republicans by a private
polling firm indicated there was
conflicting information on the
polls provided which indicated
they were not accurate. Our
sources provided us new
numbers, ran by the same
polling firm, which shows drastically
different numbers than those
Senator Walter provided her
Republican colleagues.

New polling numbers show that Richard Lugar led Joe Donnelley in
polling, 49% to 44%. They show that Richard Mourdock was, in fact,
losing in polling to Donnelley, 48% to 43%. And they also show that
Senate Minority Leader McKnight had an eight-point lead over
President Murphy in Indiana, 54% to 46%, not 48% to 41%. The
discrepancy in these polls indicate that Senator Walter’s office not only
‘dressed up’ the polls, but also potentially fabricated the actual numbers
when providing them to Republican leadership.

The reason for this discrepancy, and why Senator Walter and her office
would fabricate these polls, was unclear. So we continued to do some
digging. According to a high-level Republican staffer, who asked to
remain anonymous, Senator Walter continuously pressured Republicans
to ‘dump Dennis Hastert’ as Speaker of the House of Representatives,
and also tried to influence the choice in other Republican Senate
primaries, advocating for ‘less conservative’ choices.

By all accounts, it appears Senator Walter participated in an insidious

con-job to influence Republicans to move away from long-standing
conservative stalwarts, respected statesmen within the party, for less
conventional choices. And it appears, when she did not get her way,
 when she was denied influence and power, she thought up the best
possible strategy to strike back at those who were denying her that
influence and power. In doing so, she concocted a nationally televised
stunt — made for television and a viral moment on Youtube — to
dramatically exit the Republican Party, praise President Joseph Murphy
to the highest degree while maligning members of Republican
leadership and publicly airing her grievances in the process.

“By all accounts, it appears Senator Walter participated in an

insidious con-job to influence Republicans to move away from
long-stand conservative stalwarts, respected statesmen within
the party, for less conventional choices.”

In fact, if the behind the scenes, back-room dealing is to be

believed, the real reason the junior Senator from Oregon left the
Republican Party has absolutely nothing to do with ideology, and
everything to do with a hunger for power and influence. It has nothing to
do with Senator Walter’s commitment to the value of ‘compromise’ and
‘reaching across the aisle’ and everything to do with revenge and a
political cunning which she never thought would catch up to her.

Senator Walter could’ve had everyone fooled, if she didn’t leave a paper
trail in her tracks. The act of a moderate who was lost in a party of
extremists could’ve plastered headlines across the country, she could be
seen as a new, fresh face in the Democrat Party — someone willing to
compromise, but firm in her values — but now, with these revelations,
we know the truth; it was nothing but a long con.

Bally remains committed to full transparency. All information in this article has been
verified and fact-checked to be completely accurate.
Iranian protests shed light
on a tyrannical government
Renee Bower | January, 2011 | International News

After the Iranian government restricted a reformist party from

participating in their national election, violent protests broke out. In
recent days, those protests have turned even more violent than before,
with al-Qaeda taking advantage of the situation and taking credit for
several suicide bombings across the country, targeting the police and
military installations.

The Islamic government has been working to crack down on the

protests, especially in light of violent uprisings springing up across the
North Africa, in an attempt to curb dissent and move on from the
controversial election. The Ahmadinejad regime is likely to push back
even more forcefully, likely with the price of lives of protestors looking
for more fair elections and a more free society.
 The dramatic scenes coming
out of Iran can be seen
clearly on television. In
response to the protests,
President Joseph Murphy
briefly spoke to reporters on the matter.

The President ‘strongly

condemned’ the use of violence
against protestors, but used
softer language later on,
indicating he believed the
Ahmadinejad regime would
“engage with their people and
reach a resolution.” These
seems unlikely, as the Iranian
President has a history of using
rhetoric which glorifies violence
and indicates he is willing to do
anything to grasp on to power.

It is the responsibility of the United

States to meet a violent response by
Iran with consequences —
particularly economic sanctions. It is
also the responsibility of the United
States to foster democracy and
provide hope to people around the
world that free and fair elections are
possible. It is up to President
Murphy to meet this moment by
responding with strength and
courage.