The Crystal Ball’s Tweets of the Week is a look back at the highlights of the past week in politics in snippets of 140 characters or less. To get this analysis as soon as news breaks, follow University of Virginia Center for Politics Director, and Crystal Ball founder, Larry Sabato on Twitter by clicking here. |
10:06 AM Mar 13th: Inevitable. Tea Party (right) vs. Coffee Party (left). U.S. history lesson: Mobilization begets counter-mobilization. Next up: Milk Party.
11:32 AM Mar 14th: Daylight Saving Time: I hate it and so do a large majority of Americans. Benefits are exaggerated, ills (like spike in heart attacks) ignored.
11:36 AM Mar 14th: Dem, GOP, Coffee Party, Tea Party–Won’t any of you speak up for time-setting fairness? It affects all of us, unlike much of your agendas.
1:00 PM Mar 15th: Be afraid. Be very afraid. It’s the Ides of March. Think you have no enemies lying in wait? That’s what Julius Ceasar thought 2,054 yrs ago.
4:03 PM Mar 16th: History isn’t always determinative but few examples of a large party majority in Congress failing to enact a top priority of its leaders.
4:05 PM Mar 16th: Party loyalty can actually trump electoral security for just enough members to win passage of unpopular legislation (ex: pre-WWII draft).
4:06 PM Mar 16th: Obama and Pelosi twisting arms, legs, and other appendages with private pledges & promises galore. Tough to beat that in the final health vote.
4:08 PM Mar 16th: If reform passes, the years-long campaign for repeal begins immediately among opponents. This issue will be with us for many elections.
4:11 PM Mar 16th: Challenge for GOP: Difficult to undo basic social reform once implemented. Challenge for Dems: Takes years to phase in and based totally on Ds
4:13 PM Mar 16th: USA has 2-party system. We’re bound to have GOP POTUS and Congress again at some point. Will Rs repeal reform then?
4:16 PM Mar 16th: If party polarization continues, very probably–repeal will happen, at least partially. If reform is party-based, repeal can be as well.
4:18 PM Mar 16th: On behalf of educators everywhere, thank you to C-SPAN for your new video archive. These unbiased time capsules are ideal for the classroom.