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The Liberal Party's grasp on majority government in Tasmania strengthened early in the count on Saturday night.

The Liberals were set to take at least 13 of the 25 House of Assembly seats - a result also predicted by an exit poll for Southern Cross TV, reinforcing polls during the campaign.

The Liberals were last in power for two years in minority backed by the Greens from 1996 to 1998, and this time party leader Will Hodgman warned against a repetition of any power-sharing arrangement.

''The thought of another Labor-Green government with a tinge of Palmer United thrown in is a frightening prospect as far as I'm concerned,'' Mr Hodgman said after he voted in central Hobart.

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Tasmanians elect five members from each of five seats, and Labor was in trouble in the northern electorates of Bass and Braddon, but holding its own in southern Denison and Franklin, according to the exit poll. The fifth seat, rural Lyons, was going the Liberals' way.

The change would end four successive terms of Labor-led government, a stretch that Premier Lara Giddings said had left her with mixed emotions.

''It's difficult when you've been in power for 16 years to capture the imagination, and you must work off your record,'' Ms Giddings said.

Observers said the election was set to return the Liberals on an ''it's time'' factor, after Mr Hodgman failed to take power in 2010 when Labor went into a power-sharing government with the Greens.

More:
Liberals victorious in Tasmania

By Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Federal New Democrats were stunned Tuesday when one of their most well-liked and respected caucus members announced he's quitting to join Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne's Liberal team.

Sudbury MP Glen Thibeault's surprise defection capped what's been a dispiriting couple of years for Tom Mulcair's New Democrats, whose claim to be the government-in-waiting has been usurped by Justin Trudeau's revived Liberal party.

In a statement announcing his intention to run for the provincial Liberals in a soon-to-be-called byelection, Thibeault stressed his belief that he can do more for his constituents as a member of the province's governing party.

He didn't mention the NDP but the implication seemed clear: Thibeault doesn't believe the New Democrats are likely to form the government after next year's federal election.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to serve my community for the past six years at the federal level but my time at the federal level has come to an end," Thibeault said.

"I am excited by the opportunity to continue that representation in a new, exciting way. I believe I can make an even greater difference for the constituents of Sudbury as a member of this Ontario Liberal government."

Late on Tuesday, Thibeault told the CBC's Power and Politics that it was no secret among those who know him that he hasn't "been seeing eye to eye on a lot of the things that have been happening at the federal level and with the NDP."

Thibeault said he told Mulcair on Sunday that he was considering some options, but didn't get a chance to tell him of his decision to jump to the Ontario Liberals before the news became public Tuesday morning, at which point he sent Mulcair an email informing him of his move.

Until recently, Thibeault was chair of the NDP caucus, an elected position that reflected his popularity among his fellow New Democrat MPs. He stepped down two weeks ago, citing the need to spend more time with his young children.

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New Democrats angry MP joins Ontario Liberals

Burn Your Base: Democrats Diss Blacks, Back CRomnibus Alien Job Surge
If the Democratic Party is committed to any one principle these days, it seems to be burn your base. Of course, the same might be said of the Republicans. In the first episode of this...

By: PJ Media

Original post:
Burn Your Base: Democrats Diss Blacks, Back CRomnibus Alien Job Surge - Video

By Alexandra Jaffe, CNN

updated 9:39 AM EST, Tue December 16, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Democrats are taunting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for effectively allowing them a victory on a controversial nominee for surgeon general.

Physician Vivek Murthy was confirmed Monday night on a 51-43 vote despite stiff opposition from the National Rifle Association, due in large part to Cruz's unsuccessful maneuver this weekend meant to register GOP opposition to Obama's executive action on deportations.

The Texas Republican kept his colleagues in the Capitol through Saturday, intending to get a vote on whether the President's move was constitutional. With the Senate in session, Democrats were able to clear procedural barriers in the nomination process, originally thought to be too time consuming to finish before the Christmas recess. Cruz's keeping the Senate open allowed Democrats to clear those steps on a number of presidential nominees, some of them controversial, making it easier for them to win final confirmation this week.

READ: Murthy confirmed as surgeon general

Murthy had long faced fierce opposition from Republicans, and particularly the gun lobby, for a letter he had signed calling for stricter gun control policies, and because he launched the pro-Obamacare group Doctors for America.

So when he was confirmed on Monday night, Democrats could barely contain their glee expressing it in part on Twitter.

The Senate Democrats' account blamed both Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, both of whom forced their colleagues to stay in session through the weekend.

Read the original here:
Why Democrats are taunting Cruz

By Ted Barrett, CNN

updated 6:44 PM EST, Tue December 16, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- As they make a final push to approve presidential nominations before Republicans take control of the Senate, Democrats said Tuesday the confirmation of a record number of federal judges was evidence they were right to make controversial changes to filibuster rules, despite objections from Republicans.

"Yes," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid responded loudly when asked if still believes he was right to employ the so-called "nuclear option" a year ago in order to clear a backlog of nominees.

The No. 2 Senate Democrat explained that at the time there was a "breakdown in the relationship between the executive and legislative branch."

READ: Democrats taunt Cruz over surgeon general vote

"If you just look at where we were, with all of the nominations stacked on the calendar, most of which had been reported from committees with overwhelming bipartisan votes," Sen. Dick Durbin said. "Republicans were trying to keep as many nominations from final approval as possible. So we had no choice."

During the first year of the congressional session, before the nuclear option, the Senate confirmed a total of 36 federal district and circuit court judges appointed by the President. After the rules changes, which took place Nov. 21, 2013, the number of judges confirmed more than doubled to 84.

The rules change lowered the number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster from 60 to 51, making it much easier for Democrats, who currently have a 54 to 46 majority, to approve judges to those lifetime positions.

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Democrats use nuclear option