1. Will The House GOP Break Apart the GOP-Tea Party Coalition

2. The Civil War

3. So, about that union job security…

4. 54 of 99.

1. Will The House GOP Break Apart the GOP-Tea Party Coalition

It is undisputed that the Tea Party Movement helped drive the renewed Republican momentum this past year. But for that energy, the Republicans would not have seen the gains they saw. The exit polls reflect that data.So now the House Republicans have some crucial decisions to make. They, unlike the Senate GOP, which appears to have learned nothing and forgotten nothing from their 2006 defeat, are going to embrace an earmarks moratorium. Incoming Speaker Boehner, man I love the sound of that, announced the House will definitely have an earmarks moratorium. Mitch McConnell says no way in the Senate.But an earmarks moratorium is only one sign that the GOP gets it in the House. It is time for some fresh faces.Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. The Civil War

veryone in the media wants to talk about a Republican civil war. There are certainly feuds, but now that the election, the civil war that mostly played itself out in primaries between NRSC backed candidates and the eventual winners of most of the primaries is largely over, other than a few Senate aides and Senators upset about not being in the majority.What the media is largely ignoring is the Democrat Civil War, a sign of which is Heath Shuler stepping forward to oppose Nancy Pelosi as Minority Leader. . . .There is, of course, a much greater reason that the media and left, but I repeat myself, want to talk about a Republican Civil War. Very simply put, there are not enough Democrats left in office to have a full on civil war, but there are a great deal many more — vastly more — Republicans in office today who are both more ideologically and ethnically diverse than ever before.Yes, Republicans can win in New England. And pretty much everywhere else too. But Democrats? They are persona non-grata in pretty much every middle class and blue collar congressional district across the country.Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. So, about that union job security…

Talk about a rocky relationship ending badly…First, the union boss scolded his members for sharing information with their co-workers about what was going on behind closed doors at the bargaining table. Then, a couple of weeks ago, some individual(s) beat up the union boss.Now, things are going to get a lot more tense in East Alton, Illinois. On Wednesday, after workers represented by the International Association of Machinists voted down a contract offer for the second time, they learned that their employer was not bluffing about moving their jobs to Mississippi.Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. 54 of 99.

That’s the current number of state legislative chambers that the GOP will be controlling, starting next year: there are still five state legislative chambers still undecided, so the number could go as high as 59 of 99. That represents a flip of eighteen state chambers (and the gain of both houses in the state legislature in six states) by the GOP; couple that with a +7 to +10 gain in governorships and it was a good night for the Republicans on the state level.Please click here for the rest of the post.