Election Wrap Up

The WaPo has Allen / Webb too close to call.

Democratic challenger James H. Webb and Republican incumbent George F. Allen were locked in a dead heat in the race to represent Virginia in the U.S. Senate. The race remains too close to call and appears headed for a recount.

The race may be decided by absentee ballots. More than 130,000 absentee ballots were requested in the state and those votes were still being counted early this morning.

McCaskill looks like a winner in MO, though it hasn't been called, yet. Oops - Talent concedes. Tester is up in Montana, not called, but leaning Dem. Obviously the GOP got smoked.

Cunningham, Ney, Delay, Hastert's kid closes a sports shop and goes to DC to become a lobbyist, Weldon, Foley, Allen's campaign - the list goes on. We have a compassionate conservative lame duck President with a Dem House and probably a Dem Senate. And it's impossible to conclude the GOP didn't deserve to lose. They absolutely did.

Lieberman won in Blue CT, so you cannot say this race was only about Iraq. It was much more than that. Reagan Democrats woke up and realized the Reagan Revolution was over. The GOP became the ex-Reagan fat cats living in DC, paying their way with dubious financing and tax dollars from you and me. If the Dems remain in control, that issue will get worse.

There is no effective leader for the Republican Party right now, though certainly the President is its titular head. But he's going to be busy and irrelevant to 2008, just as Reagan mostly was in 88. Still, there is a war to fight and win, we can't forget that.

One battle is over but dozens lie ahead. Time to get some rest, think, and sort out what part one is going to play in making it morning in America, again. The challenges before us are too significant to rest too long.

I was going to say by tomorrow I would be spoiling for a fight. lol I made the mistake of clicking on Memeorandum and there I found this:

Late Nite FDL: Subpoena Powers...ACTIVATE!!

I'll spare you the link. Suck it up right side bloggers, it looks like the next fight may have already begun. Grrrrrrrrr!! Ha! Seems not much has changed, after all - yes, there are still idiots in need of kicking around. Take solace in the fact that the slate of new Democrat winners proves moderates and conservatives won.

Check out Real Clear Politics  - Michelle   Instapundit and Hot Air for the latest.

Comments

[jaime]

No Michael J. Fox backlash.

No traction on Webb's "dirty books"

No John Kerry Backlash.

Every piece of garbage you tried to push failed.

The polls closed and the official results are in and they say "Dan Riehl is full of crap".

Nancy Pelosi will now proceed with her plan to make you gay.

[gahrie]

While it would be extremely ugly, and bad for America in the short term, I truly hope that the Democrats govern as the moonbats want them to.

It's looking bleak for the Republicans right now. There is no leader in the Reagan model to lead us out of the wilderness. Here's hoping the party elites don't make the mistake of deciding to give the party over to the McCain wing.

[jaime]

Why does America hate America?

Back under your rocks, wingnuts.

[gahrie]

jaime:

Just like most moonbats as gracious in victory as in defeat......

[larry]

heeeey! jamey's mom let him have his computer back!

and just in time to celebrate the scumocrat victory. ah, well. at least bush'll finally use that cobweb-covered veto pen.

[The Apologist]

I don't know guys, I think Pence could take minority leader in the House with Shaddig as minority whip. Those two could double team our lazy, fattened crew of leftovers in the House into a lean mean fighting machine by '08. It'll be yoeman's work, but that's just what those guys are good at. Let the Republican Study Group have their shot.

On the Senate side I'd like to see a good bloody fight among our guys for leadership. The primadonnas don't want that albatross in the runup to '08 so McCain and the other hacks will stay out of the way for the most part and come in at the end to play kingmaker. At least we don't have to deal with History's Worst Majority Leader anymore regardless of the outcome of the Virginia Lawyer Brawl or the Slow Hand Shuffle in Montana.

If someone wanted to try I'll bet a lot of those new Democratic Vets could be persuaded to join some kind of anti-terror caucus with some Repubs. We could have our own "Gang of Fourteen", except they wouldn't be the puss' that McCain and Graham were. And we'd have more of them.

Re: Bush through '08 - Are we sure this isn't an advantage? He has a naturally adverserial style. He always does better with a foil he can use to help articulate himself. Could '06 through '08 be "Bush Unbound"? He's not running again, Cheney isn't running, and we won't have the House and the Senate to protect. Robert Kagan was musing about this on the BBC two nights ago when discussing likely changes post Democrats Win Day. He didn't explore it much, but that was only because his answer wasn't following the interviewer's script. Keep an eye out for some of those pieces as they'll be showing up from prominent Neocons real soon.

I'm still rooting for the guy. I think there are others who will be too. And I still think we have some cutting to do among our incumbents. The GWOT is a new kind of war. It requires a new kind of thinking on national security. The Reagan Era may have ended, but that's okay. Reagan can't win the GWOT. Bush can, at least the Bush of 2002-2004 can. Mistakes were made in the execution, but I think the strategy and philosophy are still operable. We need to refit our Republican Hawks. They need to be light, fast, good with numbers, and capable of leveraging economics and technology against terror. It may be an ideological war, but it can't be fought by the old generals. Our first instincts were right, but our bench wasn't. We need to do some good drafting in the next two years.

I'm gonna think about this some more.

[Skyboxx]

Nancy P going down in History as the first House Leader. Well done Nancy, partisan politics aside.

There are some curious indications now. For example Howard Dean. Clearly Hillary, Edwards and Obama have their sights on the 2008 presidential elections. But now DNC chief Dean and his people are saying "Whoa? I just delivered a power shift in the House and most likely the Senate. Not to mention all the governorships? He will spend the next two years calling in his markers as he announces his bid for the Presidency.

The next two years will be made for TV hearings, gridlock and Bush Vetoing everything until Congress votes to shut down the government like the Reps did to Clinton in '95, '96, and again '98. (if memory serves correctly)

There will be talk of impeachment, calls for Rummys head on a platter and a lip service troop reduction in Iraq. But I fear gridlock on Social Security, Immigration, Education, etc.

America spoke last night, they don't like scandals (Foley, Dubai ports, etc) Dems get two years to show off their stuff or America will speak again. And I don't necessarily mean back to Republicans. America has realized its power to vote and will vote in new every two years to four years if is has to (six in the Senate) just to be heard. One of our greatest tools is the power to VOTE.

[yyy]

Might be that a few Americans finally woke up to the fact that the Republican rhetoric didnt' match the Republican reality.

The Iraq war was built on a lie and stay the course means stay the course right over the cliff.

Flagrant spending instead of sound budget management.

Security results so pathetic as to make Homeland Security an oxymoron.

Every other country in the world thinking Americans are a ship of fools going down with our very own Captain Ahab.

Why do you think Olympia Snow got re elected? She's what the Republican party used to be about. Not a religious whacko who wants to regulate everyone's sex life, read everyone's email and throw anyone in jail for 'irresponsible opinions'...

If it hadn't been for 9/11 the Republicans would already have been thrown out of office....

[US and A]

Dear Rightwing nuts:

You lose. Hahahahahahahha!

Yours,

The American People

[slowmo]

Sour grapes for Dan and a bucket full of thank-yous to Jamie.

It's good to be the king.

Bye bye wingnuts.

[Neantaeus]

Wow, Skyboxx. It's really nice to read someone here (I'm not referring to Dan) who is not only not totally angry, insulting and irrational but downright reasonable and patriotic to boot.
I too am worried that the very real progress that Bush made to assure that all kids get a good education will stall or, worse, be reversed. I'm less worried about gridlock on Soc. Sec. (Because I don't think anyone really knows what to do about it, so gridlock will be good.) but terrified that illegal immigration will continue virtually unimpeded. Now here is a brief list of things that I'm even more worried about

A serious effort to impeach the president: Bush may have bungled the war but I am convinced that he was convinced about the correctness of prosecuting it and did not break any laws in so doing.

Rumsfeld will not be asked to resign: He handled Afghanistan brilliantly, but fell on his face in Iraq. Now he needs to fall on his sword and give someone else a chance to run the show.

The ridiculous Republican driven spending spree which, given their supposed conservative agenda is absurd on its face, will continue unabated and when new taxes are levied to correct the mess that I will have to pay more than the already 38% of my income that I'm paying now. That scares me a lot.

Alright then, let's hope for the best and get busy figuring out how to elect a real conservative with the politcal skill needed to get these wingnut, page-buggering, lobbyist milking, kissing-up to evangelical (s) and race-card playing senators and congresspersons to cooperate and get this great nation back on course.

[MOJO]

Happy days are here again. As John Edwards used to say, "Help is on the Way". Let the healing begin. Wooooo hoooooooooooooooooooo.

[AfghanVet]

38%? Right. You WISH you were in that tax bracket. Like all the other 50k a year millionaires who vote Republican, because in the end you are all selfish, self-centered pigs, you will probably pay no more than you are already paying in TOTAL tax burden sense the States had to raise taxes and fees to cover the Feds idiotic tax breaks for the wealthy and the day traders.

Fear and greed only control the masses for so long.

And, finally, BELIEVING something does not absolve one of responsibility. Believing he was right to do it, for which ever of the 8 excuses he uses now for the invasion of Iraq, does not change the fact that HIS administration cherry-picked, politicized and possibly outright lied to make the case for a war we are now going to, at the very best, not lose, but certainly not win.

I know it's hard to realize that you all put your FAITH in a man who sold you down the river, but my suggestion to you is that you get used to it. The Republican party TODAY is built on selfishness and irrationaly faith and that will always be a recipe for disaster. They fooled all of you into believing you were part of their "team" when you weren't even in the parking lot. They cared about you enough to make their money off of your trust and ignorance.

So, either wake up or crawl back under your rocks.

[This is good news for 2008. McCain will win easily now.]

give the democrats 2 years to really screw things up and we will get back the White House in 2008. Hillary is doomed now.

[nova]

good for the winners. I hope they do well. We needed some change. Now you will have that change. Lets see what they do with it. I hope they can keep us safe from the terrorists. But I dont believe Nancy Pelosi can do that.

[yyy]

Nothing wrong with McCain. What you neo con dummies don't get is that not everyone who despises BushCo. is a looney liberal moonbat on every issue.

I hate Hillary Clinton and wouldn't vote for her unless she was running against someone like Bush, a religious, right wing, exrremist neo facist lying nutjob.

I would vote for McCain over Hillary every day of the week.

George Bush is a failure as president and a disgrace to the Republican party, the historic republican party, as are Tom DeLay, Mr. "I know Terri Schiavo is not in a vegetative state from watching her video" Frist and the rest of the disgraced Republican leaders.

Anyone with a brain in their heads should realize that running over and over again on polarizing social issues like abortion and gay marriage while glossing over real issue like, err, the ECONOMY, IMMIGRATION, CRIME, etc. were nothing but a bunch of lying manipulators.

If Karl Rove thought up 'stay the course' then he isn't the evil genius then, he too, needs a refresher course in the idea that sooner or later reality will prevail, or else you have to take over by military means.

But, oops, even the military has turned against Baby Bush and his pathetic, worthless, gutless, lying Secretary of Defense who should have fallon on his sword years ago.

The flawed, faulty largely FAKE war on terror has been shown up for what it is, a billion boondoggle that can't capture actual terrorists so settles for rounding up anyone that 'might' be a terrorist and holding them forever just in case....there hasn't been any improvement in intelligence gathering, so again, the numbnuts just keep casting a wider and wider net...sooner or later, Bushy would need to spy on, intercept and catalog everything that every American did to keep us "Safe"...

Thankfully, just enough American sheep woke up to this fact just in time to prevent the full onslaught of Bush's Reichstadt.

[Ed]

Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy has culminated in the GOP being primarily just the party of the old Confederacy.

Democrats should take the next two years to continue to marginalize, isolate and contain them until they give up their extremist positions.

Come to think of it, that's also the way we should be treating the jihadists. Maybe it's a just a good policy on how to contain all the fundamentalist wingnuts in the future.

[yyy]

I don't know if that is strictly true, Bill Clinton got elected twice and IMO would get elected again if he was able to run because he talked and mostly acted like the centrist Democrat he said he was...

People are turning away from the R's for the same reason they turned away from the D's...the fringe element came to control the entire party...and because the Rep. after all the scandals simply couldn't make a believable stance that they are the party of morality and honesty any longer.

If the D's turn toward Hillary's vision of federal government as loving mommy then they are doomed to lose everything they've gained in this election.

I would choose a traditional conservative Republican a la Bill Weld/Olympia Snowe over a liberal Democrat every time. But the conservative Republicans MINUS the evangelical social moralistic agenda are few and far between these days.

[Purple Avenger]

"Nancy Pelosi will now proceed with her plan to make you gay."

Pelosi's "first 100 hours" promises look more like a plan to make us poorer rather than gay. Everything in there look like a way to spend more money.

[yyy]

Pay as you go is not a way to spend more money, its' a way to inject some responsibility into federal spending...if that means that people who make more than $300K have to go back to paying what they paid before Bushy's tax cut, so be it, bring it on.

[Neantaeus]

Hey AfghanVet

I'm not in the habit of lying to make a point. I really do pay that much in taxes but hell, you don't have to believe me. 50k republican? I was making 50K in 1985 and was a registered democrat until two years ago when I became an independent.

And that tax break you are so angry about well guess what? In my income bracket I got squat back, nothing 0. The alternative minimum tax I have to pay erases everything. You may get more back than I do.

And another thing: I voted a straight democratic ticket yesterday. Here's why: I do not want any government where one party has all the power. I also did not vote for George Bush in either election but believe that there were some things that the man did right prosecution of the war in Iraq was not one of these.

Now calm down, stop making judgments about people you do not know anything about and get busy trying to find someone who will lead the country to a peaceful resolution to the war.

[warrenb]

I've been waiting to say this for a LOOOONNNG Time to you GOP'ers...

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

You lost....more like you choked!

[JimBaby]

For Dan, down in his hidey hole.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-9vPIsE7yQ

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again

Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand
In a...desperate land

Lost in a Roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah

There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the King's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby

Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold

The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest

The blue bus is callin' us
The blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taken' us

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother...I want to...fuck you

C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
C'mon, yeah

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die

This is the end

[yyy]

Dan is busy trying to see if he can hack into VA's voting system to ensure a win for his favorite candidate..racist thug Allan...

[benjoya]

incumbent dem losses (house, senate, governors): 0

and mad props to rush for pushing the MO stem-cell referendum over the top!

[cyr]

Lotsa big choices in VA.. Racist morons, or sexist, moral perverts...

[yyy]

Webb isn't a sexist moral pervert, he wrote some critcally aclaimed novels that had some racy passages.

Allan, however, is a racist thug.

[Purple Avenger]

"Pay as you go...if that means that people who make more than $300K have to go back to paying what they paid before Bushy's tax cut, so be it, bring it on."

The feds could confiscate the total wealth of those people and not be able to pay for what is being promised. The democrats will discover this soon enough.

[yyy]

I very much doubt that Nancy Pelosi who has been around politics her whole life has no idea how much her proposals cost or how to pay for them.

The territory of implementing new policies and creating new agencies and paying for those with DEFICIT spending has been ceded to the Republicans. R's are the Spend and Spend Party. The party of shoddy accounting...The Party of penalizing whistleblowers instead of correcting problems.

Most recent example...abolish the office in Iraq that has uncovered the millions..billions? wasted due to fraud and mismanagement...if there is no one to investigate then they can claim there are no problems.

[yyy]

Dan...are you drowning your sorrows in a big vat of booze?

Donald Rumsfeld is resigning.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!!!!!

Goodbye Karl Rove lying, fearmongering neo nazi strategy..hello reality.

[AfghanVet]

So...who thinks that the "Dick" will be stepping down for health reasons soon?

IF the Dems were smart they would cut a deal with the Pres and say that they WILL investigate, but will not impeach if "Dick" stands down and goes away.

Time to clean house and I think getting "plea bargains" from these criminals will be easy.

[Michael]

While I am looking around at various wingnut sites, enjoying my own private schadenfreude, I've been restraining myself from leaving any comments, as the wingnuts have enough to be depressed about today without me adding to the dogpile.

But....

"...the slate of new Democrat winners proves moderates and conservatives won."

My god, you're stupid.

[AfghanVet]

Neantaeus,

Yeah, you're only in the habit of bragging about your income to make a point. IF you are paying in that tax bracket, then you should be happy that your tax dollars support a stable democracy and its infrastructure so you can continue to make that kind of money and even become wealthier.

Whatever.

[yyy]

No way.

George Bush couldn't function without Dick Cheney telling him what to do and what to say...though Dickey boy might have gotten overruled for the first time with the Rumsfeld resignation and that's why he went off hunting, he's pouting.

Cheney is there to the end. Without Cheney there is no one to pull the strings for Dubya...

[Jon Swift]

I think this election was actually a setback for Democrats.
http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2006/11/election-proves-voting-is-irrational.html

[jolari]

Just finished listening to Bush's announcement of the resignation of Rumsfeld & last night's results. One of his statements concerning the resignation of Rumsfeld made mention of the fact that this was something that was preplanned, but his statement last week that both Cheney & Runsfeld would remain until the end of Bush's term was made because of the proximity of the elections. Huh??? Is he saying that he chose not to make an announcement that could have possibly lessened the losses the GOP suffered yesterday? Although I do not always agree with the choices that Bush makes I do admire some of the choices he has made concerning our country & what I considered his high integrity. I just sat there shaking my head wondering if the admiration I held for him was based on lies. Is this man a sham?? I find it hard to believe he sat on this decision & allowed his party to suffer. The GOP losers last night should be screaming, especially those that lost by low margins.
The people spoke last night and sent a clear message to the people running our country. We do not like what is happening--do something. I look upon the results as not a win for the Democrats, but as a loss for the GOP that we chose to lead us. It is not just the war- its many things that have the average American unhappy. Be it the scandals, illegal immigrants, or whatever is most important in a voter's mind the discontent of this country's voters proved to be the demise of the current leadership.
I know that I live in the greatest country in the world, that it is not perfect and am thankful that I have the freedom to say & write what is on my mind.

[yyy]

I can only assume, well other than the obvious that Bush was lying when he said Rumsfeld was with him until the end, that as is typical of his mindset..any admission of the need for change is seen as weakness, so he probably figured getting rid of Rumsfeld would be an admission of failure in Iraq, which of course it is, and felt that would help the Democrats.

Of course I would say the opposite is true. The only thing that prevented an even further troucing if that is possible in this election was the belated realization that Americans no longer believed the rosy scenarios they had been fed on Iraq for 3 years. There were too many people with too strong conservative and military credentials all saying the same thing. Only when it became impossible to ignore the critics did the White House change its tone a tiny bit, admitting that well, awe shucks, things didn't go as great as we wanted to, but they are going better now, blah, blah, blah.

It all goes back to the administration's fundamental ability to admit mistakes, hear criticism or god forbid, make a change to an obviously failed policy. The emperor has no clothes, that is Bush in a nutshell.

[SeeYaRummy]

The blood of thousands is on Rumsfield's hands.

I hope he never has another moments peace.

http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx

[yyy]

Donald Rumsfeld's accomplishments as Secretary of Defense:

-Failure to follow Geneva Conventions in treatment of prisoners and enemy combatants as documented by Admin's need for amnesty for its interrogators

-Abu Girad prison scandal

-Loss of American prestige worldwide

-Deaths of American soldiers due to poor planning/poor armament.

-Dissolution of Iraq into sectarian warfare due to lack of planning and badly executed occupation strategy.

-Failure of new sleak/fewer troops/strike force model used in Iraq

-Billions wasted in no bid defense contracts.

-Billions wasted in poor to zero management of said contracts allowing for waste, mismanagement and failure

-Treating career military with total disrespect

-Revising the rules of interrogation leading to documented cases of murder and torture.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Quite a legacy.

[yyy]

Oh, gee, I forgot..

-Deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians

-Increased terrorist activities in Iraq and the Middle East

-Failure to capture Osama bin Laden

-Failure to maintain a secure, non Taliban Afganistan

[Neantaeus]

Hey AfghanVet

That's not bragging to make a point, it's just me using a bit of personal data to make the point that if the current administration continues to spend like crazy I'd have to pay even more, while the super-rich continue to get a pass. And I will admit that it was an indirect jibe at people who pay much, much less than I do (e.g. your despised 50K Republican types) but complain like babies about how much taxes they pay.

As you so rudely, but correctly, pointed out I am happy to be able to pay as I much as I do to ensure a stable democracy. Now you cheer up. You're too grumpy for a someone who would appear to be a democrat. Today is a good day man.

[The Apologist]

Sheesh Dan, WTF? How is it that you get so many trolls? Every time I come here you've got Progressives smearing shit on the walls. You people won. Is your hatred so compulsive that even victory can't sedate you for a few days?

BUSHITLER IS TEH DEVAL!!! KRISTIANISTS R TEH SUXOR AND TEH CANSER!!! LYNCH RUMMY!!! BURN HIM! BURN HIM! BURN HIM! GIVES US BARABUS!

I feel sorry for you Dan. Nobody deserves to have their blog comments turned into a DU/KosKid thread.

[Captain America]

I for one am not happy about the Dem's taking over. Main issue is really an economic one. Its a new world order with India and China and we can't start blathering on about 'benedict arnold' companies again.