• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

The new Republican-heavy Congress convenes in just a few days, on January 3rd, 2011, marking a potentially sharp right turn in politics. As the minority party, Republicans won major compromises from Democrats and the White House on every significant piece of legislation in 2010. Looking forward, the party is unified around denying President Obama a second term, and has interpreted its take-over of the House of Representatives as a reward for two years of obstructionism. The last few weeks have brought news of political tussles within the party as members vie for committee chairmanships in the House. The steering committee devoted to appointing these leaders is composed of 34 people – 19 of whom are reportedly John Boehner loyalists. Boehner, the incoming Speaker of the House, has a weighted vote on the steering committee. The New York Times reports that Boehner has given incoming freshman more power over the appointments than current members of Congress. Meanwhile, the 2010 Census results have been largely called a boon for Republicans in terms of Congressional districts. However statistical analyst Nate Silver says the population shift and resulting change in electoral college votes should not be exaggerated. Silver analyzed the 2012 electoral college landscape and found that when applied to the every Presidential election of the last 100 years, it would not have affected a single outcome.

GUEST: Amanda Terkel, Senior Politics Reporter at the Huffington Post

Read Amanda Terkel’s writings here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/amanda-terkel