(56 Seat Dems’ Senate) + (4 Contested Races) = OMG
How convenient. The Dems need 60 seats in the US Senate to hold supermajority protecting their agenda by making it filibuster-proof. As a result of Tuesday’s election the Democrats currently have 56 seats. And there are FOUR seats too close to call requiring runoffs or recounts. You gotta wonder. How the hell did this happen? Is this just an incredible coincidence?
Well, the bright side is the Dems would have to win all four for a supermajority. Isn’t that like the sports metaphor of beating another team three times in one season? What are the odds there would be a sweep for either side? It would seem more likely that victories will be split among the two parties. If a Dems sweep occurs, welcome to the USSR.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
4 US Senate Races Still Undecided
By VOA News
06 November 2008
Senate races in four U.S. states remain undecided, but Tuesday’s election has already increased the Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
Democrats seized five Senate seats from the Republicans in Tuesday’s election, giving them 56 seats in the 100-seat upper chamber of Congress. That is just four shy of the 60 seats needed to overcome Republican delay tactics.
The races in Alaska, Georgia, Minnesota and Oregon are too close to call.
In Minnesota, the Senate race between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat and former comedian Al Franken will be decided by a recount. Coleman leads by about 475 votes of nearly 2.9 million cast.
Georgia will hold a runoff election in early December to decide the race between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin. Neither candidate received the more than 50 percent of the vote required to win in that state.
Democrats also expanded their majority Tuesday in the lower chamber of Congress, the 435-member House of Representatives.
The Democrats’ strengthened majority will help the newly elected Democratic president, Barack Obama, push his agenda through Congress.
Voter frustration with the crippled economy and the unpopular Republican president, George Bush, spurred the Democratic victories.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says her party is ready to work with Mr. Obama, and to cooperate with Republican lawmakers.
The vice president-elect, Joe Biden, was re-elected as senator in the state of Delaware. He will give up his Senate seat to become Mr. Obama’s second-in-command.
Republican Senator John McCain is expected to return to Congress after losing the presidential election.
Republicans warned during the campaign that the Democrats could impose high taxes and other costly programs if they controlled both chambers of Congress and the presidency.
The Democratic Party has not controlled the presidency and Congress since the early 1990s under former President Bill Clinton.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
The Twin Cities Star Tribune reports today the recount for the Coleman Franken race is a matter of checking every ballot by hand and will cost the taxpayers $86,000 as well as taking a month to complete.
The recount is automatic if the difference is less than one half of one percent. The loser can call it off but go figure, Franken supports the idea.
So, Franken’s party is listed as Democratic Farm Labor not simply Democrat. It seems he may have been snubbed by the DNC from reports seen around the net.
Early on it appears Coleman was crushing him. And now there is a recount.
November 7th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Oregon was settled and goes to the Dems, i.e, 57 seats in the Senate and their are eight seats undetermined in the House.
November 7th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
For all you Sean Hannity fans (and haters) a report from his show today suggests there may be some funny business going on in the ‘canvass’ going on in Minnesota concerning the Coleman/Franken race. Example: one hundred new votes mysteriously appeared for Franken after this process began. In other words, they weren’ t around during the original count.
If that is true, where did they come from?