Election Aftermath Thread (1 Viewer)

[TPS]

Skipping World Net Daily (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) as a source for sour grapes, how about a real discussion of the voting results?

Mine are soon to follow.

TPS

 

[jpcdolphan]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/election.main/index.html

Tom DeLay: "Democrats didn't win, the Republicans lost"

See? I've been telling you guys...the Saints aren't the only ones that have to deal with quotes like that after a win!

My initial thought is that now that the elections are over, the lawsuits can begin (especially in Virginia).

My next thought is that, if the Dems can take both halves of Congress, it may be a case of "be careful what you wish for". The Republicans war machine has would have 2 years of Democrat congressional, but not Presidential control, to launch a counterattack for 2008. They have to be wary of sending too much stuff the President's way that they know he won't sign, leaving themselves open to charges of being a do nothing Congress.

 

[Burtifus]

I really think the Republican party can only blame George Bush for this ... his supposed strength in 2004 (strength of his convictions) has become his party's downfall in this election. Most rational individuals are passionate and steadfast about their stance on something but adjust accordingly when new information is presented. You never saw this with this administration until a few weeks before the election and GWB's attempt to distance himself from 'stay the course'.

Bush took his narrow win in 2004 as a 'mandate' from the people to continue the policies he'd set in place. Hopefully he'll see this massive change as another mandate to adjust those policies accordingly.

 

[MLU]

You know that you have fallen far when the other guy's rallying cry is "At least I'm not Republican".

Of course this changes nothing in terms of real progress or actual representation. They just get to play Musical Committee Chairs...

 

[Sandman]

The Republicans became what they were sent to Washington to get rid of, and the people that voted them in turned on them. They earned this whippin'.

I was really disappointed in the Texas governor's race. Perry got about 40% of the vote and the Democrat, Chris Bell, received 30%. The two independents split the rest of the vote. I was hoping for a stronger showing from the independents. All this shows is that 40% of the people in Texas vote straight ticket Republican and 30% vote straight ticket Democrat, and nothing will change that. If the people won't change the way they vote, then why should the politicians change the way they behave.

 

[gavinj]

My next thought is that, if the Dems can take both halves of Congress, it may be a case of "be careful what you wish for".

Um, no it's never going to be a case of "be careful what you wish for" with Democrats ruing the day they took back Congress. That's wishful thinking on your part. But if it makes you feel better, go for it. I consoled myself in 2004 with similar thinking after Bush's re-election. Looking back, I still wish Bush would have lost even though he's been as great for the Democratic Party as Clinton was for the Republicans.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

My big disappointment was Harold Ford Jr. in Tennesse. I knew he didn't have a chance especially after the RNC "Call me Harold" race baiting ad but I was really hoping he could overcome the racial disadvantage as he's one of the few good guys in politics. Toss in the fact that he's 3 times the candidate and ran 4 times better of a campaign than Corker and I was really pulling for him lastnight. A HFJ win lastnight would have at least restored some of my belief in our process.

 

[HouDat]

The Republicans became what they were sent to Washington to get rid of, and the people that voted them in turned on them. They earned this whippin'.

(Although I think it was the Republicans who turned their back on their electorate, and not vice versa)

 

[TPS]

So who wins? Who loses? What happens in Louisiana? New Orleans? What do you think?

Winners:

Nanci Pelosi - She will be the most powerful woman in the history of America. Never before have we had a woman as the #3 in chain of command to be the President of the United States. It was very interesting to hear Ms. Pelosi say that the first issue for the new congress is an ethics reform package (a far cry from the Tom Delay/Dennis Hastert Houses of the last several years).

Bobby Jindal - Awesome win for Bobby with his 88% election landslide. The future is his to decide on. I'm hoping he will try to run for govenror and leave our seniority alone in the Senate. But he'll be tough to beat no matter what.

Rahm Emanuel - Delivered the house of reprsentatives for the Democratic Party. Rahm, as many know, was a former civilian volunteer soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces and is a brilliant mind. He rose to prominence as campaign finance director for President Clinton's first presidential campaign. He stands to get a huge post in the House (possibly Majority Whip).

Conservatives - Because of the candidates Emanuel courted to run for the Democratic Party in this election cycle, Conservatives actually have a voice in the Democratic Party and should help moderate the party and nudge the American "center" further to the right. Several Democrats elected last night were pro-life, had police and military background and such and should provide for some interesting discourse which will only benefit America in the future and help shape healthy debate (FWIW, Howard Dean said he would personally invite Bob Casey to the Democratic National Convention as those who know may recall the snub on his father, former Governor of PA in 1992, because he was also pro-life).

Liberals - Due to seniority, liberals in the Democratic Party should stand to gain a large share of key committee posts.

Accountability - There has been none as of late in American politics. With one-party rule and very few in the GOP willing to stand up to the president on issues of disagreement, the President has had a blank check for 6 years to do whatever he wanted to. Even the most extreme partisans will tell you that things haven't gone particularly well, especially fiscally.

Losers:

Tom Delay - Though already disgraced and resigned from his Speaker's chair, this election puts the nail in the coffin of his style of running the house. From things such as barring any floor votes on Democratic Amendments (can't remember the technical term for it) to self-center PACs to party power for party power sake, things are going to be different.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney - The President will have to find key elements that he can agree with the House leadership on in order to be able to meet any of his agenda. He will have to update the War in Iraq and will be forced to compromise. Allegedly he was very good at this in Texas, so he may end up okay. The Vice President will be investigated at every turn. No longer will he be able to vice-preside (heh) with impunity and in secret. He's going to be held accountable for all actions he has refused to address over the last 6 years (including Energy Policy and such).

John Kerry - Shut up, please. Your jig is up, your day is past.

William Jefferson - While finishing in first place and in the runoff, his chances of winning have been greatly diminished. I'm sure white people and some African Americans who want a new day in Louisiana Politics will turn out in mass to vote against him next month in the runoff. He could still pull off a win, but he won't be able to play the race card as effectively as Mayor Nagin did in his reelection campaign because his opponent, Karen Carter, is a black woman.

The New Orleans Assessors - Having been beaten by a large majority statewide as well as in Orleans Parish, their day is over. I watched them in debates and listened to them on the radio trying to state their case for their own survival. It was one of the most self-serving crusades I've ever seen. Fortunately, they'll be dumped in favor of the new reform sweeping the state in an effort to clean up patronage and the politics of the past.

Dennis Hastert - He's going to be sacked and will probably shoulder plenty of the blame for the downfall of the house to the Democrats.

TPS

 

[BullDawg]

As stated previously.

And here is where the Dems are going to be in for a huge disappointment. Nothing significant will change. The Republicrats are still firmly in power. The only way substantial change will occur is for 3rd Party/Independents to start winning seats. Unfortunately, the Republicrats won't ever allow this to happen.

/meetthenewbosssameastheoldboss

 

[SWJJ]

Hooray for glorious gridlock

 

[DadsDream]

Pelosi openly vowed last week that there will be no impeachment of Bush under her watch. The far-leftists at MoveOn, DailyKos, Democratic Underground are already declaring war on her.

It'll be interesting to see how she handles them.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

You forgot to add Chuck Schumer to your list of winners Steve. He recruited most of the Dem candidates and was really the brains behind who to run in this. His star is going to be pretty bright in the Democratic party now and he'll have some weight to throw around. He'll probably start by getting NY it's terrorist fighting funds back it lost to middle America in that ridiculous redistribution of political influence... errr... I mean funds.

He's now a big dog with big teeth on the liberal end of the spectrum.

 

[LSSpam]

The Republican should be just completely embarrassed. It's a testament to just how bad they've screwed things up over the past 4 years in particular. Democrats nationally offered no position other then "opposition" to Bush. The country is still largely conservative in belief. The Democrats, from a national leadership perspective (though the candidates who won were center-left) still haven't quite figured out that this is a centerist country. And yet the Reps absoloutely got trashed in midterms.

The Republicans lost this and the individual democratic candidates won it. From a national perspective though no one won any sort of "mandate" though. The "mandate" handed down was, unequivocally, "God, everyone in government just sucks"

 

[Saint by the Bay]

Pelosi openly vowed last week that there will be no impeachment of Bush under her watch. The far-leftists at MoveOn, DailyKos, Democratic Underground are already declaring war on her.

It'll be interesting to see how she handles them.

Don't be surprised if we never see "Speaker Pelosi". Murtha has already said he'll challenge her for the Speakers seat and I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple other strong candidates with more appeal to the far left creep up. For all the Republican demonizing of her she actually gets booed by the far leftists when she gives speeches in her home district. She's not as far to the left as the Republicans would like people to believe.

 

[LSSpam]

Pelosi openly vowed last week that there will be no impeachment of Bush under her watch. The far-leftists at MoveOn, DailyKos, Democratic Underground are already declaring war on her.

It'll be interesting to see how she handles them.

Best case scenario actually. You're going to see every moderate Republican jump ship if the Dem leadership moderizes. Bush and the base is a proven loser now where it matters most, in home state elections. Many of the Dems elected were center-left, virtually no far-left. It's a centerist country and anyone with any brains would be figuring that one out now. Guys like McCain gave it the ol' college try to protect their party and, now that they gave the token effort to prove their loyalty, need to figure out quickly they're better off working bi-partisan with the new moderate Dems then sticking to their far-right base.