[Bonioners]

The Hill:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...gop-wins-house

Voters should expect "good old-fashioned gridlock" in Washington if Republicans win control of one or both chambers of Congress, one GOP lawmaker said.

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), a vice chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, told students at Utah State University on Friday that a GOP-held House might not be able to accomplish too much as long as President Obama's in the White House.

"The most you can expect is two years of good old-fashioned gridlock," he said at an event on the campus, according to a report by the university's paper, the Utah Statesman.

Indeed, the extent to which Republicans will be able to follow through on their election-year vows to voters is a subject for debate. The GOP is seen as most likely to threaten to take back the House, while winning the net 10 seats it needs in the Senate is much more of an uphill climb.

Even if the GOP does win back both chambers, it will still be forced to deal with Obama as long as he is president and retains the authority to veto any legislation a Republican Congress might send to his desk.

[psbiuigw]

...like midtown Manhattan on a Friday afternoon. Here's the new party line: all you angry Republicans and Tea Partiers? It's okay that we're gridlocked for two years, because we're setting up Obama for a fall. When we get our man (or woman) in the White House, then we'll change things.

By the way, the new buzz is Sarah Palin is the "de facto" nominee in 2012.

[asypecresty]

That would be the best news the Democrats have had for a while, wouldn't it?

[stoneeZef]

Interesting scenario being tossed around on some of the political talk shows. It's a given that Palin will not come close to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. There's some talk of Bloomberg throwing in his hat as a 3rd party choice, with the thinking that if the economy doesn't recover, he may be able to take NY, CT and possibly FL and CA, which would also keep Obama below the 270 electoral vote level.

Which would put the election in the hands of the House leadership. A GOP House would then be in line to choose... President Palin.

Big assumptions across the board on this. First off, that the economy will not improve at all. Second, that neither Obama or Palin will be able to create much momentum. Third, that Bloomberg would run and that his platform would resonate significantly in these key electoral states and would only draw away from the Obama side of the electoral tally.

Far fetched, but hey, it's out there and making the rounds.

[TriamiCaw]

Yep, that's the scenario. Scary, isn't it? Bloomberg has been quoted as saying that he wouldn't jump in unless he's sure he could win. But, hey, it's politics. McCain thought he could win until he thought Sarah Palin was a great idea. Look at the candidates who might win this time around. Not exactly a national brain trust.

[Deengealf]

It's really her only path to election. I'd expect a reprise of Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos" where normally GOP voters would be urged to vote instead for Bloomberg to game the system into an electoral standoff to produce the desired result.