Basically, the action in the next two years will be in the executive branch federal agencies, all of which will be under constant threat of defunding and harassment from the GOP.

But bipartisanship, in the Congress? Fuhgettaboutit.

While there is no doubt the GOP will make big gains on election night, the plausible range of pickups is incredibly wide. Depending on if the national mood breaks one way or another, dozens of seats could be won or lost by very narrow margins.

With that in mind, here are 98 hotly contested races that Firedoglake will be watching closely over the next 10 days. . . and in the case of a few of them, maybe even longer than that.

The Defense Department has limited the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, at a time where the federal courts are wrestling with the Constitutionality of the directive.

Wow, talk about grading yourself on a curve.

Bottom line: It’s all going to come down to turnout. Will young voters buck historic midterm trends and show up for Prop 19? As Jon Walker noted, among those who have already sent in their ballots, Prop 19 is narrowly losing. But it leads among those who plan to vote and have not done so. If there was ever a measure in need of a crack turnout operation, this is it. Unfortunately, there never really was one assembled due to lack of resources.

Well over a million homes have been foreclosed on since the government began its review of the foreclosure process. At some point in that time, the government determined that certain servicers were not complying with federal rules about modifications.

So why are we just hearing about it now after those million families have lost their homes?

In leaving an early-morning voicemail for Professor Anita Hill, insisting that she apologize to Clarence Thomas for “what you did with my husband“, Ginni Thomas has re-ignited scrutiny into Thomas’ testimony at his confirmation hearing. That scrutiny does not leave the Supreme Court justice in a flattering light. In fact, yet another credible witness has come forward today, adding one more person relating a nearly identical description of Thomas’ outrageous behavior toward women (pdf) and his obsession with pornography. With multiple victims of Thomas’ inappropriate behavior coming forward, the question now must be asked why we allow a Supreme Court justice to remain on the bench when it is clear that he committed perjury in his confirmation hearing by categorically denying confirmed events.

Seeking to repair a shattered image with the LGBT community, and joining the chorus of those shocked by the recent rash of gay teen suicides, President Obama recorded a video as part of the It Gets Better project, to encourage gay and lesbian teenagers that they are not alone and their lives will improve.

This is just one of the under-the-radar innovations used by incumbents to gain advantage in their re-election campaigns. In a sense, we’re all paying for Ken Calvert’s effort at another term.

“If they win — which I fully intend to stop them from doing — but if they were to win, it would mean that we are now… a plutocracy and oligarchy,” Pelosi said. “Whatever these few wealthy, secret, unlimited sources of money are can control our entire agenda,” she added.