Word: leveler
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...four out of the past five presidential elections, Democrats have won the popular vote. That show of force at the national level has roughly coincided with the decline of Republican dominance of the big-state governorships. There is a significant and often overlooked cause and effect between these two phenomena, which, given the current political climate, should make Democrats even more worried than they already are about the November midterm elections. If Republicans can take advantage of the prevailing political winds to reassert control at the state level this year, that could in turn provide an opening...
...Governors can be hugely influential in many ways. They can develop policies that affect the real lives of millions of Americans within their states, which then percolate up to the federal level. They play a major role in the redistricting process for Congress and the state legislatures. And, during a presidential contest, they can rally around one of their own party members with the kind of fundraising and machine-politics mobilization that is unmatched by any other individuals or organizations in the country...
...After a years-long drought of new compelling policy ideas from either party at the national level, it is instructive to recall how many influential 1980s and 1990s reform programs on welfare, education, job training and economic development emerged from state capitals, several of them controlled by Republican chief executives. Back in the 1990s, when Republicans such as California's Pete Wilson, Illinois' Jim Edgar, Michigan's John Engler, Wisconsin's Tommy Thompson and Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge were in office, conservative policy ideas and Republican electoral prospects were in ascendancy...
...rest of this year and gauge what happens in the congressional contests this November. But remember, too, that governors or former governors have won the White House in six of the past eight elections, and starting in 2011, there will be a hungry herd of Republican governors with presidential-level aspirations - and the qualifications to win the race...
...clogged with earthquake rubble but has to be cleared now that the rainy season is near. In the end, says Lemarquis, "cash-for-work can only be a temporary step in the recovery process. After that, Haiti and the international community have to take this approach to a broader level, especially to the private sector." It's not a panacea, but so far it's proven to be one way to keep Haiti among the living...