Congratulations to the Dems.

[RinglingRingling]

I have to be somewhat hopeful that with all that is at stake, particularly with Iraq, both sides will try to find some common ground and work together rather than continue to rip each other apart. And yes, I know I may be too optimistic, but a girl can dream, can't she???

according to ETP she can.

[sonofabeach]

As a democrat, I guess I am happy but my life here in Green Cove Springs, Fl. will not change either way..It's still America
Ya gotta love it!

[OPHarbor]

Oh yeah, and I forgot to say that this was the first time in....I can't remember, that I voted for a democrat. Bill Nelson or Katherin Harris. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out!!

ahhh but did you vote for the insurance companies' bagman, or the absentee congressman for Gov?

Well, if you read it, I did say "A" democrat! I'm not a complete moron, although many would dispute it.

[12vmanRick]

As a democrat, I guess I am happy but my life here in Green Cove Springs, Fl. will not change either way..It's still America
Ya gotta love it!

Yep and we even tolerate hard core Dems down south.. funny thing though the south used to be known for being Dem.. hell, I hate party affiliations. Vote for the least of the evil no matter what party.

[jonesbeach10]

Now that Dems pretty much have control of Congress, it will be interesting to see what they do with it. They have to have some plan on Iraq themselves now that they can't just sit back and bash the gop. And like others have said, it will be tough and there may be a struggle for a balance of power within the party between moderates and liberals. If I was a betting man, I think we're going to see a shift toward moderates.


Other random thoughts on the election:
-The election saw the death of the Moderate Republican. SGH (and any other Rhode Islanders), care to explain how you vote out a guy with a 66% approval rating, and a guy who has been distancing himself from Bush for years? It seemed as if the only republicans still standing come from the conservative right.

-The magic number that the Dems needed to get to 48. 48 plus the 2 democratic leaning independants give them 50. Although everyone on the news say that 50/50 split favors Republicans because of Cheney's deciding vote, how often does each candidate of a party stick together? 99% of the time you are going to have some crossover. I don't forsee many bills or resolutions being split where all 50 dems/ind. vote yay and all 50 gop's vote nay.

[Quiet and Shy]

As a Jeffersonian liberal on social issues and a Goldwater conservative on fiscal issues I share your hope.Let's hope there's less division,, no more "I'm more American than you" BS and we can refind the UNITED part of our name.

Interesting comment, Griz. You and I are quite alike. Until I read the following article in The Economist a couple weeks ago, I had no idea...it seems we're Libertarians. Go figure....

Libertarians: The neglected swing voters
Oct 19th 2006 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displ ... E1_RDVRNQS

What's a true freedom-lover to do on polling day?

AMERICA may be the land of the free, but Americans who favour both economic and social freedom have no political home. The Republican Party espouses economic freedom—ie, low taxes and minimal regulation—but is less keen on sexual liberation. The Democratic Party champions the right of homosexuals to do their thing without government interference, but not businesspeople. Libertarian voters have an unhappy choice. Assuming they opt for one of the two main parties, they can vote to kick the state out of the bedroom, or the boardroom, but not both.

In a new study from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank, David Boaz and David Kirby argue that libertarians form perhaps the largest block of swing voters. Counting them is hard, since few Americans are familiar with the term “libertarian”. Mr Boaz and Mr Kirby count those who agree that “government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses”, that government, rather than promoting traditional values, “should not favour any particular set of values”, and that “the federal government has too much power”. Using data from Gallup polls, they found that, in 2005, 13% of the voting-age population shared all three views, up from 9% in 2002.

That is easily enough libertarians to tip an election. And their votes are up for grabs. In 2000 George Bush won 72% of the libertarian vote, to Al Gore's 20%, by repeating the mantra “My opponent trusts government. I trust you.” But in 2004, after Mr Bush increased the size of government and curtailed some civil liberties as part of the war on terror, his margin dropped to 59%-38%. The swing was as sharp in congressional races, too. Going back further, libertarians backed George Bush senior by 74%-26% in 1988. But when he sought re-election in 1992, they split evenly between him, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot. A group that can give the eccentric Mr Perot a third of its support must be really disgruntled.

When Republicans win elections, it is because they manage to pull together an alliance between social conservatives and libertarians. But, as Ryan Sager put it in “The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians and the Battle to Control the Republican Party”: “[L]ibertarians have always tended to see social conservatives as rubes ready to thump nonbelievers on the head with the Bible first chance they get, and social conservatives have always tended to see libertarians as dope-smoking devil-worshippers.”

Mr Boaz and Mr Kirby argue that wooing the libertarian vote could propel either party to electoral success. Yet with an election only weeks away, neither shows much sign of trying. Republicans are rallying their religious base with jeremiads about stem-cell research and gay marriage. Democrats, on the other hand, would put up taxes, block school choice and lead a witch-hunt against Wal-Mart.

Libertarians are ignored partly because they are hard to find, not least because they just want to be left alone. (There is a Libertarian Party, but it gets hardly any votes.) Politicians can reach social conservatives through churches or union members through their unions, but where do libertarians gather? Parties will always court the votes that are cheapest to court because, for once, they are spending their own money.

[RinglingRingling]

Now that Dems pretty much have control of Congress, it will be interesting to see what they do with it. They have to have some plan on Iraq themselves now that they can't just sit back and bash the gop. And like others have said, it will be tough and there may be a struggle for a balance of power within the party between moderates and liberals. If I was a betting man, I think we're going to see a shift toward moderates.


Other random thoughts on the election:
-The election saw the death of the Moderate Republican. SGH (and any other Rhode Islanders), care to explain how you vote out a guy with a 66% approval rating, and a guy who has been distancing himself from Bush for years? It seemed as if the only republicans still standing come from the conservative right.

-The magic number that the Dems needed to get to 48. 48 plus the 2 democratic leaning independants give them 50. Although everyone on the news say that 50/50 split favors Republicans because of Cheney's deciding vote, how often does each candidate of a party stick together? 99% of the time you are going to have some crossover. I don't forsee many bills or resolutions being split where all 50 dems/ind. vote yay and all 50 gop's vote nay.

could it be that his distancing himself from the Pres made him less likely to get the massive cash infusions and visits that were thrown at Senators like DeWine and Burns to prop them up?

Rightly or wrongly, that appearance of Air Force One and the resulting traffic snarls for regular people caught in the inconvenience of a seated President showing up for a fund-raiser does help when it comes time to buy TV and radio time.

I don't know, I am just guessing. There might also have been some other factors as well, wasn't Chaffee the one with the line, "at least no one died" right after the Congressional Page story broke?

[jonesbeach10]

Now that Dems pretty much have control of Congress, it will be interesting to see what they do with it. They have to have some plan on Iraq themselves now that they can't just sit back and bash the gop. And like others have said, it will be tough and there may be a struggle for a balance of power within the party between moderates and liberals. If I was a betting man, I think we're going to see a shift toward moderates.


Other random thoughts on the election:
-The election saw the death of the Moderate Republican. SGH (and any other Rhode Islanders), care to explain how you vote out a guy with a 66% approval rating, and a guy who has been distancing himself from Bush for years? It seemed as if the only republicans still standing come from the conservative right.

-The magic number that the Dems needed to get to 48. 48 plus the 2 democratic leaning independants give them 50. Although everyone on the news say that 50/50 split favors Republicans because of Cheney's deciding vote, how often does each candidate of a party stick together? 99% of the time you are going to have some crossover. I don't forsee many bills or resolutions being split where all 50 dems/ind. vote yay and all 50 gop's vote nay.

could it be that his distancing himself from the Pres made him less likely to get the massive cash infusions and visits that were thrown at Senators like DeWine and Burns to prop them up?

Rightly or wrongly, that appearance of Air Force One and the resulting traffic snarls for regular people caught in the inconvenience of a seated President showing up for a fund-raiser does help when it comes time to buy TV and radio time.

I don't know, I am just guessing. There might also have been some other factors as well, wasn't Chaffee the one with the line, "at least no one died" right after the Congressional Page story broke?

Maybe it's a catch-22. If you don't support the President, you lose their backing and support. If you support him, you are just another Congressman blindly following a poorly run administration.

Nevertheless, I don't think Bush coming to RI to support Chafee would have made as much of an impact in RI, a traditional blue state, versus Montana, a traditional red state, or even swing states like Ohio.

[triathlete-parakeet]

Well, it looks like the democrats took both houses.
Cant wait to see what happens!

[Lightning Bolt]

Nice post, Krusin1

Now, that this election circus is over (unless George Allen yells "makaka" at some poll canvassers ),
I am excited and hopeful for some progress in the future on some key fronts.

My faith in the American electorate is restored
A fresh start and perspective will be brought to Capitol Hill.

Now, ... wonder who's gonna get caught up in the NEXT fat scandal???

[Wino you know]

Two things I've learned from the election of 2006:

1)There are 1.4 million STUPID people in Massachusetts
(that's how many voted for Teddy-the-poster-child-for-term-limits-red-nosed-senator)

2)Us regular people (Republicans) DO have something to smile about-
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11/08/texas ... index.html

BIPARTISANSHIP, MY OVERLY-AMPLE ACHING ASS!

[Sidew13]

I lean more to the Repulican side BUT


I don't care, just get the job done and do it well

PHin Power to the goverment to do the right things

[PIA]

nancy pelosi...

[RinglingRingling]

Now that Dems pretty much have control of Congress, it will be interesting to see what they do with it. They have to have some plan on Iraq themselves now that they can't just sit back and bash the gop. And like others have said, it will be tough and there may be a struggle for a balance of power within the party between moderates and liberals. If I was a betting man, I think we're going to see a shift toward moderates.


Other random thoughts on the election:
-The election saw the death of the Moderate Republican. SGH (and any other Rhode Islanders), care to explain how you vote out a guy with a 66% approval rating, and a guy who has been distancing himself from Bush for years? It seemed as if the only republicans still standing come from the conservative right.

-The magic number that the Dems needed to get to 48. 48 plus the 2 democratic leaning independants give them 50. Although everyone on the news say that 50/50 split favors Republicans because of Cheney's deciding vote, how often does each candidate of a party stick together? 99% of the time you are going to have some crossover. I don't forsee many bills or resolutions being split where all 50 dems/ind. vote yay and all 50 gop's vote nay.

could it be that his distancing himself from the Pres made him less likely to get the massive cash infusions and visits that were thrown at Senators like DeWine and Burns to prop them up?

Rightly or wrongly, that appearance of Air Force One and the resulting traffic snarls for regular people caught in the inconvenience of a seated President showing up for a fund-raiser does help when it comes time to buy TV and radio time.

I don't know, I am just guessing. There might also have been some other factors as well, wasn't Chaffee the one with the line, "at least no one died" right after the Congressional Page story broke?

Maybe it's a catch-22. If you don't support the President, you lose their backing and support. If you support him, you are just another Congressman blindly following a poorly run administration.

Nevertheless, I don't think Bush coming to RI to support Chafee would have made as much of an impact in RI, a traditional blue state, versus Montana, a traditional red state, or even swing states like Ohio.

it's definitely that. 15 years ago they enforced the caucus solidarity by taking up a collection to fund a primary opponent in the next election for a MT State Senator who refused to support a gubenatorial appointee with questionable ethics/impartiality..

[green1]

I'm looking forward with hope.

Here's hope that the Republicans will reform themselves, rooting out corruption, returning to fiscal discipline and moderation.

Here's hope the new Democrat majority will govern with wisdom and integrity. The newest members seem to be of the Truman Democrat/ Scoop Jackson Democrat mold - perhaps they can bring reasonableness and moderation to their party, as well.

Here's hope that the executive and legislative branches will find a way to work together for the good of the nation.

Best wishes to all.

Well said Kruisin. This could be a new start, a chance to put aside the rancorous tone in DC. With the legislature in the hands of the Dems, the Executive in the hands of the Rep, and the Supreme Court split down the middle we truly have a balance of power. To get anything done there must be cooperation. Here's hoping.

[BrianM]

Nice post Kruisin. The two things that made me the happiest about this election are: that we restored checks and balances to our government and the democratic process still works. Everything I have seen of Bush since the election, he appears to really want to try and work with the new Congress to solve some problems. This might sound kind of cheesy, but if everyone works together on a tough issue like Iraq, I think the USA can achieve whatever we want to and be a proud, responsible super power.

[LIPH]

I posted this in another thread on September 29.

... from today's [edit: September 29] Wall Street Journal, quoting NY's own publicity hound senator Charles Schumer: Mr. Schumer was among those mostly content to bash Mr. Bush. "For us to put out a big range of ideas gives Republicans a target and gets the message off George Bush."

Now that the election is over I hope they have "a big range of ideas" because saying "we're not George Bush" doesn't cut it anymore.

[CapnK]

I posted this in another thread on September 29.

... from today's [edit: September 29] Wall Street Journal, quoting NY's own publicity hound senator Charles Schumer: Mr. Schumer was among those mostly content to bash Mr. Bush. "For us to put out a big range of ideas gives Republicans a target and gets the message off George Bush."

Now that the election is over I hope they have "a big range of ideas" because saying "we're not George Bush" doesn't cut it anymore.

you know Schumee better than that...he's full of ideas of how to get more press for himself

[LIPH]

I think Schumer gets a woodie when he sees a TV camera.