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Tweets of the Week

The Crystal Ball’s Tweets of the Week is a look back at the highlights of the past week in politics in snippets of 140 characters or less. To get this analysis as soon as news breaks, follow University of Virginia Center for Politics Director, and Crystal Ball founder, Larry Sabato on Twitter by clicking here.

12:52 PM Aug 19th: Rasmussen poll: http://tinyurl.com/RR1924 Just 22% think members of Congress care what constituents think. Accurate poll but ppl are wrong.

12:56 PM Aug 19th: This is cynicism run amok. Pols need voters more than money or lobbyists to win. $$ & lobbyists are MEANS to end. Voters ARE the end.

12:59 PM Aug 19th: If I hear 1 more person scream at a Rep., “I’m your boss!”, I’ll scream louder. Friends, each of us is 1/700,000th the boss of a congressman

1:01 PM Aug 19th: The bosses only come together to issue orders once every 2 yrs for House, 6 yrs for SEN. Then pol is our delegate/trustee til next election.

11:50 PM Aug 19th: When history of 2010 campaign is written, today will be worth noting. New economic #s nearly guarantee bad (worse?) jobless rate thru 11/2.

11:52 PM Aug 19th: 2010 is mirror image of 2006. GOP couldn’t get a break for trying in ’06. Dems can’t buy a break in ’10.

10:29 AM Aug 20th: Crystal Ball prediction, Top News headline, 100 years from today: “Mideast Peace Talks to Resume”. Hold us to it.

4:51 PM Aug 21st: 2010=Year of Hung Parliaments. OK, only 2, UK and now Australia. 76=majority but Tony Abbott has 73, PM Julia Gillard 72, 1 Green, 4 Inds.

8:26 PM Aug 24th: Meanwhile, in FL, Rep. Kendrick Meek(D) has defeated Jeff Greene(D) for the right to finish 3rd for U.S. Senate in November. Congrats!

10:17 PM Aug 24th: Few states have as tangled a web as FL this fall. Both SEN & GOV races (plus some House) will be tops in nation.

10:31 PM Aug 24th: Small states like VT & WY not infrequently have multi-candidate squeakers for top offices when incumbent isn’t running.

11:04 PM Aug 24th: Scott $ enables RGA to fund elsewhere; McCollum would’ve needed cash badly. But McCollum not being gracious. Will big R split ‘Sink’ Scott?

11:12 PM Aug 24th: Scott has to depend on R wave washing over FL beaches in Nov. So does Rubio, though strong Meek primary showing hurts Crist, helps Rubio.

11:36 PM Aug 24th: McCain back in, Nov. a walk for him. Big question: Will he stay conservative or be a reborn maverick for (presumably) his final Senate term?

12:19 AM Aug 25th: Not sure it matters much whether Shumlin (up 31 votes) or Racine gets D VT GOV. Deb Markowitz lost, was strongest D. Nov 2 is now toss-up.

7:41 AM Aug 25th: West Virginia’s Hatfields & McCoys have nothing on Alaska’s Palins & Murkowskis.

7:48 AM Aug 25th: The knife fight will continue thru long absentee count. Palin may have taken out her 2nd Murkowski. In 2 yrs AK lost 46 yrs SEN seniority.

9:22 AM Aug 25th: Joe Miller actually defined Lisa Murkowski as a LIBERAL in AK SEN (R). Her fatal mistake: Not going hard negative on Miller who had little $

9:32 AM Aug 25th: Back in FL GOV: Rick Scott has much work to do to reunify GOP. McCollum didn’t endorse, wasn’t gracious, Jeb Bush dislikes, RGA unhappy.

9:41 AM Aug 25th: Tweeps, you just knew this was coming. DESPITE Lisa’s loss, as of this a.m., 339 incumbent members of Congress (98%) have won renomination.

9:43 AM Aug 25th: Just 3 senators & 4 House members have lost–about the 40 yr average.

9:44 AM Aug 25th: It’s like air travel. We focus on a handful of crashes, not 1000s of planes that land safely. Planes ultra-safe. Incumbency ultra-safe.

10:05 AM Aug 25th: Penny for Mitch McConnell’s REAL thots about ’10 GOP Senate caucus w/ Miller, Angle, Paul, Lee, Buck. Hmm, I’d actually pay $100 or more.

10:05 AM Aug 25th: just talked to some solid Alaska sources. They do not think there is any realistic chance Lisa Murkowski can make up the votes she needs.