Beck Could Be 'Major' Factor in 2010 Vote

Choice is great—but we're making the wrong ones, writes Cathy Young

(NEWSER) - As Michelle Obama and Congress champion efforts to fight childhood obesity, the right, led by Sarah Palin and Fox News, is angrily firing back. While some of their concerns are fair—that healthy-eating messaging can escalate into “propaganda,” for example—others suggest “a reality check is in order,” writes Cathy Young at RealClearPolitics . "For the right, 'my body, my choice' means not only that the government shouldn't be able to ban your favorite junk food or ship you off to a fat-farm gulag, but that you should be able to gorge yourself into obesity without having to endure societal disapproval or lectures from do-gooders." But the anti-obesity campaign is about “persuasion,” not “coercion.” More»

It more than doubles nearest rival in prime time

(NEWSER) - Last night's big victory for the right extended to the cable airwaves: Nielsen ratings show Fox News obliterated CNN and MSNBC in prime time, reports the LA Times . Fox averaged 6.96 million viewers, while CNN got 2.42 million and MSNBC 1.94 million. Compared to the midterms in 2006, that's up 128% for Fox, down 18% for CNN, and about the same for MSNBC. Ratings for the broadcast networks will be out tomorrow, and the New York Times thinks they'll also fall below Fox. More»

Perriello loses in Virginia, Grayson in Florida

(NEWSER) - Nancy Pelosi's reign as House speaker will soon be over. Republicans will easily take control of the House of Representatives by night's end, say both CNN and NBC . The GOP entered the evening needing to gain 39 seats, and they'll likely end up with about 60, a development that will make John Boehner the next speaker. An emotional Boehner (see here ) called the outcome a "repudiation of Washington" and later took a congratulatory phone call from President Obama. More»

Polling inaccuracies might surprise us today

(NEWSER) - We keep hearing doom and gloom for the Democrats, and there’s a good chance that’s accurate, writes Nate Silver in the New York Times . But thanks to a few potential polling flaws, things could turn out differently; the Dems might even hang onto the House. Here’s why:

1. Polls often skip cell-phone-only voters—Some 25% of adults don’t use landlines at all, and their demographics lean Democratic.

Kornacki: It's surely coming, and it will surely be overblown

(NEWSER) - Steve Kornacki provides a preview of what's in store for Democrats in the wake of Tuesday's election by looking back at 1994. That's when Newt said (of Bill and Hillary): "They really are left-wing elitists and they really thought the country didn't get it and therefore it was their job to give the country the government that they thought the country needed ..." Rush Limbaugh labeled Clinton's first two years a "belch," and George Will opined that Clinton would never win a second term in the newly conservative nation. More»