traderdave wrote:You guys catch this Crist/Scott thing? Has the state of our political discourse really deteriorated to the point of arguing over a fan?

jerseyhoya wrote:A couple of interesting reads that kinda get to the same place even though one is purely anecdotal and entertaining while the other is survey driven.

Help, We're in a Living Hell and Don't Know How to Get Out - Rollicking Esquire story built off of some incredible access/interviews with sitting House and Senate members

Political Polarization in Action: Insights into the 2014 Election from the American Trends Panel - Write up from Pew on an interesting panel they have going

Not sure I buy into all of the causes of dysfunction identified in the first piece, but they both seem worth reading and pondering. Especially if you're writing a dissertation about this stuff, but if you care enough to click on the politics thread you might like them as well.

jerseyhoya wrote:The Myth of Russian Humiliation - Anne Applebaum on recent Russian aggression and NATO expansion and related issues

There’s more bad news for Democrats who had hoped U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan’s decision to retire would help them snatch his South Jersey congressional seat from Republicans.

House Majority PAC, which aims to help Democrats win House races, is moving its advertising buy from the competitive race to replace Runyan – featuring Republican Tom MacArthur and Democrat Aimee Belgard -- to the safe Democratic seat next door, in Camden County.

That means the PAC will instead be helping state Sen. Donald Norcross (D., Camden) as he runs against Republican Garry Cobb in the contest to replace former U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, a Democrat who resigned earlier this year. A spokesman for House Majority PAC confirmed the move in an e-mail but provided no further details.