I am happy with the result. We needed the House and we got it. Now we need to get some legislation passed in the House to set up the all-important 2020 election. That is where the Senate (and Presidency) will be won.

Against such a formidable array of willful ignorance, Democratic challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar -- who's a native-born American of Mexican and Palestinian descent -- never stood a chance, particularly after Duncan Hunter's father, retired Congressman Duncan Hunter Sr., took to the media to label him a threat to national security.

"Orange County, the California collection of 34 cities and 3.2 million residents once described by President Reagan as 'where all the good Republicans go to die,' died Tuesday. It was 129 years old.

"Long famous for its wealth, whiteness and conservative values, Orange County is survived by its offspring, who include a population that is about 60% people of color, some of the most crowded and poor neighborhoods in the United States and a Republican Party that's on the ropes. Once reliably red, the official cause of O.C.'s passing is a case of the blue flu, which turned its politics more purple than Barney the dinosaur."

As I posted Florida has a high gas tax (course so do a lot of places) that means tourists pay a significant part of it.  There is also a bed tax (for beds in hotels) that tourists pay the majority of.

As for wages and cost of living/quality of life it varies greatly.  In places like Miami wages and cost of living are fairly high while in more rural areas wages and cost of living are much lower.  But there is a large portion of the population who are retired and wages are not an issue.  There are also a lot of recent immigrants who are farm workers and have few options other than low paying jobs.

No question Scott improved the economy, probably at a cost to the environment, and wages are increasing across the board.  Not trying to defend him as he is not my favorite, but his attack on Nelson as a 'do nothing' pol and his asking voters to name anything Nelson had done hit home.

My understanding is that state seat belt laws are a response to a requirement of federal funds for interstate highways.  Not sure what tickets cost in Florida but I know a friend who got a $US193 ticket for a moving violation.

My parents moved to Paris, TX after my Dad partially retired and went to work for the Indian Health Service as a doctor.  One Christmas I flew into DFW right after an ice storm and my Dad picked me up there.  He had snow chains and it was no problem for him on the roads.  In a lot of places where snow is a kinda rare event when it does happen it can be a disaster for some folks; while more to the North it is a regular event they prepare for.  One of my brothers lives in Ft. Collins and he gets snowed in sometimes.  At some point no matter how well you prepare snow can over power everything.

My first impression is that the macro polling (ie nationwide generic house ballot) and the micro (ie individual cd's) preformed well, the state-wide polls, not so much, especially in FL. My guess is that the Republican rural strongholds were systematically under-polled.

Of course in the back of my mind I cannot rule out some vote counting skullduggery.

The house will not allow the investigation to be killed and buried.

They know why they were elected