What's Ahead in Politics in 2014

The midterm election year is shaping up around a few broad themes, including ongoing Republican civil war and the pitched partisan battle over Obamacare.

By Molly Ball

The Atlantic - Jan 3 2014

And lo, another year dawns on the barren landscape of the American polity, that vast, frigid tundra full of people yelling at each other. The year begins on an interesting note: Congress will soon return to Washington for the first time since passing a bipartisan budget agreement last month; the new mayor of New York spent his recent inauguration forcefully reiterating his commitment to a progressive crusade against inequality; and Americans finally began getting health insurance under the reform law passed in contentious circumstances in 2010.

The themes thus appear staked for the midterm-election year ahead. A Congress perhaps slightly thawed (though it would be wise to keep expectations low); a left newly invigorated; and a continuing partisan battle over the domestic reform that will be central to President Obama’s legacy, for better or for worse. So what should we expect from politics in 2014? Here’s an impressionistic breakdown of the areas where we’ll likely see these broader themes play out.

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