Democrats take the Senate

[Inigo Montoya]

From http://www.komotv.com/news/4597101.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats completed an improbable double-barreled election sweep of Congress on Wednesday, taking control of the Senate with a victory in Virginia as they padded their day-old majority in the House.

"The days of the do-nothing Congress are over," declared Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, in line to become majority leader. "In Iraq and here at home, Americans have made clear they are tired of the failures of the last six years."

Jim Webb's victory over Sen. George Allen in Virginia assured Democrats of 51 seats when the Senate convenes in January. That marked a gain of six in midterm elections in which the war in Iraq and President Bush were major issues.

Earlier, State Sen. Jon Tester triumphed over Republican Sen. Conrad Burns in a long, late count in Montana.

With a handful of House races too close to call, Democrats had gained 28 seats, enough to regain the majority after 12 years of Republican rule and place Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California in line to become the first female speaker in history.

"It was a thumping," Bush conceded at the White House. "It's clear the Democrat Party had a good night."

Allen's campaign issued a statement noting that state officials are conducting a canvass of the votes cast in Tuesday's balloting.

"At the conclusion of those efforts, Senator George Allen plans to make a statement regarding the outcome," it said.

The Senate had teetered at 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans for most of Wednesday, with Virginia hanging in the balance. Webb's victory ended Republican hopes of eking out a 50-50 split, with Vice President d**k Cheney wielding tie-breaking authority.

The Associated Press contacted election officials in all 134 localities in Virginia where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday. About half the localities said they had completed their postelection canvassing and nearly all had counted outstanding absentees. Most were expected to be finished by Friday.

The new AP count showed Webb with 1,172,538 votes and Allen with 1,165,302, a difference of 7,236. Virginia has had two statewide vote recounts in modern history, but both resulted in vote changes of no more than a few hundred votes.

It had been clear for weeks leading up to the election that Democrats were strongly positioned to challenge Republicans for House control.

But Democrats began the year with fewer seats than at any time since Herbert Hoover occupied the White House. Even Reid, the Senate's party leader, mused aloud at one point that it might take a miracle to capture Senate control.

"From changing course in Iraq to raising the minimum wage to fixing the health care crisis to making this country energy independent, we're ready to get to work," he said in a statement late Wednesday.

 

[Akiahara96]

i'm sure i'll get flamed by someone...

but...



i'm surprised this wasn't posted earlier.

 

[Shiznit]

wont get flamed by me. im right behind you on this one

 

[Inigo Montoya]

oh god not the college know-it-all hippies.

lol jp.. interesting change but it could have some negative effects... we shall see...

anyone else feel like Rumsfield bailed b/c theres a scam about to come to light?

 

[Akiahara96]

i can't see negative effects, really, unless everything comes to a stalemate for the next two years, 'cuz the administration and congress can't agree on anything.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

i can't see negative effects, really, unless everything comes to a stalemate for the next two years, 'cuz the administration and congress can't agree on anything.

Yeah thats what Im talking about... Bush can be a very stubborn person

 

[Sundown]

oh god not the college know-it-all hippies.

lol jp.. interesting change but it could have some negative effects... we shall see...

anyone else feel like Rumsfield bailed b/c theres a scam about to come to light?

No, I feel he was sorta scapegoatted and pushed out to the butcher..

Did yall hear the joke Bush tried to make about Pelosi(sp?) picking new drapes for him? Yeah, he was the only one who laughed..

 

[Melt]

ill be happy if gas prices stay down .... it seems like it started going up again already.

 

[Sundown]

yup..

 

[Akiahara96]

surprise, surprise. did you expect them to stay down?

big congrats to pelosi, btw.

 

[$lick Rick]

ill be happy if gas prices stay down .... it seems like it started going up again already.

a winter time rise in gas prices has been forcast for months now

with the "shift in power", the only thing that will change is there will be less action and more finger pointing.
the dems didnt win because they're plans were better, they won because they successfully critcized the current plans, and with no feasable alternatives

i just wish that the election was focused more on facts and alternative planning instead of criticizm and the promise to fix things "somehow"

this isnt a step forward imo

saying this will fix any problems is like saying that taking a sugar pill placebo alone will cure cancer
in both cases it's a sham that might make people think they feel better for a little while, but ignoring the real problem can make things much worse

 

[BuiltforSin]

im so pissed webb won. he's such a f**k off.. i really wanted allen to win.

 

[Handlebars]

same circus, different clowns. until real opposition parties, with real policy differences gain a foothold, the republicrat party is going to continue to do the same s**t that they've been doing for 220+ years.

 

[Genuine Rolla]

this isnt a step forward imo

I'm on the same boat with ya on that one. if anything, its a step sideway for national popularity control.

 

[Wolfy]

Did yall hear the joke Bush tried to make about Pelosi(sp?) picking new drapes for him? Yeah, he was the only one who laughed..

Kinda like the joke Kerry tried to make about people in the Military? Yeah...

 

[Sundown]

Kinda like the joke Kerry tried to make about people in the Military? Yeah...

Yeah, that wasnt a good idea..

same circus, different clowns. until real opposition parties, with real policy differences gain a foothold, the republicrat party is going to continue to do the same s**t that they've been doing for 220+ years.

Exactly. But ofcourse that wont ever happen without some type of major revolution imo..

 

[Melt]

it just pisses me off that gas went down for the election and is now going back up .... it shows how much power these guys really have

 

[K2_civic]

Democrats finally getting some power back in the USA.........

 

[spook4thecia]

surprise, surprise. did you expect them to stay down?

big congrats to pelosi, btw.

No, you didn't just say that...

I'm no Rep or Dem lover but I can see who's at least a descent public representative... and Pelosi's not it.

You really are far left

No, I feel he was sorta scapegoatted and pushed out to the butcher..

Did yall hear the joke Bush tried to make about Pelosi(sp?) picking new drapes for him? Yeah, he was the only one who laughed..

Actually I knida chuckled

Not liking Bush's policies(or maybe just being a Bush hater) doesn't mean you can't laugh when he makes a slightly humorous, bitter pill swallowing joke.

with the "shift in power", the only thing that will change is there will be less action and more finger pointing.
the dems didnt win because they're plans were better, they won because they successfully critcized the current plans, and with no feasable alternatives

i just wish that the election was focused more on facts and alternative planning instead of criticizm and the promise to fix things "somehow"

Yup. I'm shocked(or maybe not) that the American people couldn't see right through it. Ya know I used to shake my head and say "I can't believe they don't realize they can't win elections by just criticizing the Repubs." Well I guess they finally did.

 

[LowNotSlow]

a winter time rise in gas prices has been forcast for months now

with the "shift in power", the only thing that will change is there will be less action and more finger pointing.
the dems didnt win because they're plans were better, they won because they successfully critcized the current plans, and with no feasable alternatives

i just wish that the election was focused more on facts and alternative planning instead of criticizm and the promise to fix things "somehow"

this isnt a step forward imo

saying this will fix any problems is like saying that taking a sugar pill placebo alone will cure cancer
in both cases it's a sham that might make people think they feel better for a little while, but ignoring the real problem can make things much worse

oh noes! The truth! hisss hissss