Time again for BlaskaBlog's prodigious Election Day prognostications and political punditry.
My crack research team has fired up the Remington Rand Univac computer one more time. It was touch and go there, for awhile. The plutonium that has powered our machine since 1954 has gone missing. But we hooked the clanking contraption up to a Farmall tractor power take-off and fed it a steady diet of punch cards (and some grapefruit rinds and coffee grounds).
(Once again, as the machine hummed and churned, the earth loomed over my right shoulder, causing great wonderment.)
After grinding away through the night, this morning Old Smoky burped out these election predictions. Note, that unlike lesser imitators, the Blaska Policy Research Center and Experimental Work Farm provides hard numbers and marks incumbents with this cute little fella: *.
Take these predictions to the bank in lieu of your next mortgage I.O.U.:
WI governor: Scott Walker (R) +6 over Tom Barrett (D)
WI attorney general: J.B. Van Hollen* (R) +10 over Scott Hassett (D)
U.S. Senate, WI: Ron Johnson (R) +3 over Russ Feingold* (D)
8th Congressional: Reid Ribble (R) +2 over Steve Kagen* (D)
7th Congressional: Sean Duffy (R) +5 over Julie Lassa (D) in the "Obey seat."
3rd Congressional: Ron Kind* (D) +4 over *Dan Kapanke (R)
2nd Congressional: Tammy Baldwin* (D) +12 over Chad Lee (R)
WI House make-up (currently 5-3 Dem): 5-3 GOP
77th Assembly: Brett Hulsey (D) 56% Ben Manski (G) 36%
27th State Senate = Kurt Schlicht (R) +2 over Jon Erpenbach* (D)
OTHER Assembly: Keith Ripp* (R) in Columbia County/northern Dane's 47th, in an open seat Dan Henke (R) in Green County/southern Dane's 80th, Tom Clauder (R) unseats Sondy Pope-Roberts* in Fitchburg-Middleton's 79th. All other Dane County incumbent Dems (Joe Parisi*, Helen Kelda Roys*, Gary Hebl*, Terese Berceau*, Mark Pocan*) are winners.
WI state assembly (now 52-46-1 Democrat): 55-44 Republican
WI state senate make-up (now 18-15 Democrat): 19-14 Republican
Dane County RTA commuter rail referenda (46 of 61 municipalities): 62-38% NO
Dane County Medical marijuana: 52-48 YES (Folks, leave this one blank to protest the County Board's strange priorities in putting this question on the countywide ballot and not commuter rail.)
MATC $133.8 million spending referendum (Dane County-only): 51-49 YES
California U.S. Senate: Carly Fiorina (R) +1 over Barbara Boxer* (D)
Nevada U.S. Senate: Sharron Angle (R) +1 over majority leader Harry Reid* (D)
Number of Republican pickups in the U.S. Senate (10 needed for majority): +7
Number of Republican pickups in the U.S. House (39 needed for majority): +60
Number of Republican governor pickups nationally (currently 26 Dems): +6
Biggest upsets in Wisconsin: David D. King (R) ousts Doug LaFollette* (D) as Secretary of State. In the Treasurer's office, Kurt Schuller (R) sends Dawn Marie Sass* (D) back to ladies' wear.
Biggest upset nationally: Corruptocrat Barney Frank* (D) loses in Massachusetts.
Q. How does Blaska's Blog do it?
A. We buy right!
Things you wouldn't know
... if you didn't read Comrade John. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is a "conservative newspaper." That's his cynical spin to inflate the value of its Feingold endorsement. Interesting. Then why did the M J-S endorse John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008? Of course, when your heroes are Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich ...
... if you didn't know that liberals view government as their gravy bowl, you would be surprised that Madison Ald. Bridget Maniaci is pestering city staff to give alders taxpayer-paid health insurance.
... if you weren't in Cottage Grove Tuesday to see for yourself that Ron Johnson will do very well in eastern Dane County. Over 70 folks paid between $50 and $500 to hear RoJo Tuesday over the noon hour at the 1855 Tavern in downtown Cottage Grove. Winds were in the 40+ mph range. Emcee Jerry Derr, chairman of the Town of Bristol, called it the winds of change. Ron talked about the work ethic. When is the last time you've heard a candidate talk about that subject? It's almost taboo among the Democrats, who are fearful that someone who forgot to get up in the morning for their job interview might go hungry that afternoon.
Ron Johnson asked why it was that Democrats talk so much about creating jobs yet direct so much bile to those who create them? [Yes, just step in front of that target, Mr. Enterpreneur]
No, I don't know who is the president of Kyrgyzstan, either. But I know Wisconsin values when I hear them.
