Dogs, Not Barking

Time for a campaign-oriented version of things that, surprisingly, haven't happened:

1. Crazy GOP rally audiences. Oh, I'm sure there have been some, but it hasn't as far as I know been a story, the way it was during fall 2008 and during the Republican debates this year.

2. Minimum wage. Wasn't that going to be a thing? I mean, as an issue for the Democrats. It sure hasn't been, certainly in the presidential race, and as far as I know in Congressional elections either.

3. I think I've mentioned this before, but I think it's worth mentioning again: where are all the citizen opposition research coups? It was a major thing in the last two or three cycles, but unless I'm just way behind in reading about Senate and House races, it's pretty much dropped out this time around. Seems to me that there are fewer citizen videos this cycle, too.

4. I give up: there really do seem now to be more liberals pushing for some Fairness-Doctrine-like policy than there are Republicans convinced that there's a secret plot to get rid of it. Not that there's any chance at all that Dems are going to try to re-instate the FD after all; not going to happen. But it's increasingly difficult to laugh at conservatives for panic about it. So this time, it's the end of FD panic among conservatives that's the dog, not barking.

Dogs, Not Barking

Haven't done one of these in a while...it's an occasional item about things that aren't in the news or haven't happened, which is therefore newsworthy.

1. Minimum wage as a campaign issue, or for that matter a minimum wage dust-up in Congress. Seems like a natural for the Democrats. James Galbraith has been pushing it, but most Democratic pols seem oddly uninterested.

2. A third party candidate. Yes, Americans Elect is around, and nailing down ballot positions all over the place, but still no high-profile candidate. For context: Ross Perot's kick-off on Larry King was on February 20, 1992; John Anderson began his campaign some time after the Wisconsin primary, which was on April 1. So it's getting late, although the Americans Elect ballot line is certainly a wild card.

3. The Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Those who go back earlier than the 2008 cycle might remember when the big danger was that it would run out of money. It's now presumably overflowing with money, no? Oh, this is also an excuse to link to what I wrote about related campaign finance stuff over at Post Partisan today.

4. Toss up between gun control and, of course, the Fairness Doctrine. I'm getting scared though, that Republicans are really giving up on the fantasy that Democrats are going to bring back the Fairness Doctrine any minute now.

Dogs, Not Barking

1.  It continues to be the biggest non-story: Americans not dying in Iraq.  November matched October's record low of two American deaths.  It's not zero, but it's getting close, and Barack Obama is staying on course there regardless of the week-to-week situation.

2.  Minimum wage.  I haven't heard anything from the Dems about raising it -- or, at this point, making it an issue.

3.  Aid to the states.  Nothing as far as I know in the tax cut deal.  The White House either chose not to ask for it, or tried and couldn't get it.  I agree with Mike Konczal that politically it's a big deal that there's no debt limit extension, but substantively I think the lack of aid to the states is probably the biggest thing missing.  Hey, creative Democratic legislators: can you find some way to make something that looks like federal tax cuts but has the effect of funneling money to state budgets?

4.  Also missing from the tax cut deal: revived Fairness Doctrine.  And gun control.