Ted Stevens LOSES -- therefore NO Senator Sarah Palin! YAAAAAYYY!!!

[WRellim]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gZXmpL3-GlWbhbGKemFmCm_bPPmQD94HVFD80
Ted Stevens' defeat in Alaska marks end of an era

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Sen. Ted Stevens' election defeat marks the end of an era in which he held a commanding place in Alaska politics while wielding power on some of the most influential committees in Congress.

It also moves Senate Democrats within two seats of a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority and gives President-elect Barack Obama a stronger hand when he assumes office on Jan. 20.


[...]

This also has 4 OTHER consequences:

1) There is no "Senate" opening for Sarah Palin to appoint herself into.

2) With the Dems SO close to having a filibuster proof 60 seat majority -- they will offer anything and everything to John McCain in order to get him to cross the aisle (and IMHO, the greedy, ambitious and vengeful bastard is likely to take it -- in part to gain some committee chairmanship, and in part to backstab the GOP).

3) Watch VERY carefully for Obama to "tap" one or two other GOP Senators for administration positions (carefully selected in states with Democratic Governors and legislatures -- so that they can get that 60 or even higher control of the Senate).



IMO, it *ALSO* means (especially if #2 above happens) that we will REALLY have an opportunity to "clean house" within the GOP (at a minimum, throwing out the Bush/McCain loving neocons) -- and that the remaining GOP'ers will begin having epiphanies all over the place, and some of them may even be willing to (honestly) admit/accept the Ron Paul policy positions and join our team.

[Madison]

I'm more afraid of the Democrats having 60 Senate seats...

[lodge939]

You can't appoint people in Alaska anymore. They changed it after Gov. Murkowski sent his daughter to the Senate

[Truth Warrior]

Maybe the new guy will STEAL less. :D

[klamath]

Though I think McCain wants to jump ship I really don't think he will. I believe he knows the people of AZ would dump his a**.

[pacelli]

The new guy is Mark Begich. This is Dr. Nick Begich's son.


The senator-elect is the son of Nick Begich, who was Alaska's congressman in 1972 when his plane disappeared over the Gulf of Alaska with Rep. Hale Boggs of Louisiana, then the House Majority Leader. The plane was never found.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stevens-begich20-2008nov20,0,2988299.story

Mark's brother, named Nick, has been involved in some provocative topics:


Eagle River resident Dr. Nick Begich has spent his professional life publishing books on the world of covert and military technology. He has published three on the topic, all of them highly detailed works covering military effects on sea life, invasions of privacy through technology, and the nature of trends in world policy.

http://www.alaskastar.com/stories/072403/new_20030724001.shtml

[georgiaboy]

And Minnesota and Georgia still to be decided, both heavily influenced by third party votes!!

In the Georgia runoff, the safe bet would be that Saxby Chambliss (R-incumbent) will carry the day over Jim Martin (D). I'm hoping for the reverse, though I will sit out. I, along with 4% other Georgians, voted for Allen Buckley (L) in the general.

In MN, with if Al Franken (D) pulls out the win in a recount against Norm Coleman (R-incumbent), the impact of Dean Barkley (I), who garnered over 15% in the general, cannot be ignored.

GOP - wake up. These elections were swayed because you left conservatives, so those conservatives with principles sat out or voted third party. Both these incumbents, Chambliss and Coleman, voted for the $700Billion bailout.

[Fox McCloud]

Even though I didn't like Stevens, I was hoping he'd get re-elected, removed, and a semi-decent Republican would replace him.....there's the real threat the Democrats could wind up with exactly 60 seats.....the runoff election for Georgia is this December 3rd, and it's still anyone's game---will lots of voters stay home? Will one party be more apt to show up than another? Who knows?

Minnesota? I have a bad feeling Franken will get it, but I really have no idea....it's still technically anyone's game.

I just hope they don't wind up with 60 seats, that..wouldn't be good.

[georgiaboy]

yeah, Fox, I feel ya, but my guess is even without 60 seats, they probably have 60 votes.

I say let the RINOs lose.

[klamath]

I am noticing many of the news pundits and really hitting how bad it has been with gridlock and it is not good for the country and why this is a good reason to get 60 votes for the democrats in the senate.

[Aratus]

i do quibble with the idea the senate is the only springboard
for any apex of a D.C career... jimmy carter was a governor, as
was FDR and bill mckinley. should governor sarah palin now show
"divine sarah" good wit at a plethora of speaking engagements from
now til 2011 as she builds up a "good will" factor amounst the party
regulars, then she does not NEED the senate seat to go her way.

i think she is an inevitability on par with "mittens" mitt romney, who i saw
last nite on nbc's lead-off story about detroit and the perhaps hypothetical
bailout monies going detroit's way! --- did you know GM's stock share
is now under 3 bucks, and the last time we saw this was the late 1940s?

[Minlawc]

Maybe the new guy will STEAL less. :D

No, he'll probably vote for higher taxes.

[lodge939]

They don't need 60 votes. Collins, Snowe, McCain, Specter, Graham...you can bet one or two of them will go along with gun control/amnesty/spending

[Aratus]

AL FRANKEN's race is still undecided? as well as the OTHER one?

[Fox McCloud]

AL FRANKEN's race is still undecided? as well as the OTHER one?

yup; the Republican leads by only 209 votes (IIRC)---they'll be recounting all the current ballots and factoring in any absentee ballots as well during the recount too....so that's why it's still up in the air.

Georgia law requires a person to attain 50%+1 vote to get elected to Senate--the Republican got 49.8% of the vote, so he didn't quite make it; the runoff will pit the two highest scorers against each other (thus, the Libertarian will be gone)....it's still anyone's game there 'cause runoff elections always have different turn-outs than main elections.

as much as I don't like the current Republicans, I'd rather see the Republicans win both seats so the Dems don't get their filibuster proof Senate, and their very large majority in the Congress.

[Truth Warrior]

No, he'll probably vote for higher taxes.

That would be merely STEALING more. DAMN!! :mad:

[WRellim]

Even though I didn't like Stevens, I was hoping he'd get re-elected, removed, and a semi-decent Republican would replace him.....there's the real threat the Democrats could wind up with exactly 60 seats.....the runoff election for Georgia is this December 3rd, and it's still anyone's game---will lots of voters stay home? Will one party be more apt to show up than another? Who knows?

Minnesota? I have a bad feeling Franken will get it, but I really have no idea....it's still technically anyone's game.

I just hope they don't wind up with 60 seats, that..wouldn't be good.

Even with 58 or 59, they will ALWAYS find enough "turncoat" GOP'ers who will play "bipartisan" -- and so they'll end up with whatever the heck they want regardless.

Seriously, whether they have a 60 vote Senate or not, they will pass some pretty crappy SHIT in the next year (especially the first 100 days).

IF they have that 60 vote Senate -- then they will NOT be able to place ANY blame whatsoever on having to "compromise" with the GOP in even the smallest degree... so whatever fisacos result from their legislation, they will OWN and be ACCOUNTABLE for -- in a way that even GWB and the GOP were not held.

In short, to quote the mogambo guru: either way, WASFD (we are so-frigging-doomed) -- makes me think that it would probably be better to have them do their worst, Fuck things over MASSIVELY as quickly as possible -- and that way they might sink themselves and we *might* still have a chance to come out the other side during my lifetime.

[WRellim]

i do quibble with the idea the senate is the only springboard
for any apex of a D.C career... jimmy carter was a governor, as
was FDR and bill mckinley. should governor sarah palin now show
"divine sarah" good wit at a plethora of speaking engagements from
now til 2011 as she builds up a "good will" factor amounst the party
regulars, then she does not NEED the senate seat to go her way.

i think she is an inevitability on par with "mittens" mitt romney, who i saw
last nite on nbc's lead-off story about detroit and the perhaps hypothetical
bailout monies going detroit's way! --- did you know GM's stock share
is now under 3 bucks, and the last time we saw this was the late 1940s?

Actually I would agree -- historically Senators running for President always lose, UNLESS they are running against another Senator (or out of favor VP).

Governors tend to win virtually EVERY time they run against Senators -- I think this is because Governors are seen as "outsiders" and therefore they are instinctively the "reform" candidate. (Ergo in this past election, we had Senator against Senator, young against old, freshman against long-timer... the only reason I had to doubt the possible outcome was the inherent racism that still pervades much of the population -- otherwise it was an Obama slam-dunk against McCain. Had the GOP picked a Governor -- even Romney -- they would have stood a much better chance.)

It's almost a fun exercise to go through the previous Presidential elections -- I seriously thought of making up a card game with rules explaining the various "trump" candidates as they have played out in American history (i.e. Governor trumps Senator, War-General Trumps Governor, Incumbent President trumps Governor {unless there is a "wild-card" recession or rump candidate} etc.)

[SeanEdwards]

Steven's was once chairman of the senate ethics comittee.

:D

[RonPaulFanInGA]

It was never going to happen anyway. No one in their right mind wants to go from Governor to junior U.S. Senator in a heavily opposite party-controlled Senate.

[Aratus]

It was never going to happen anyway.
No one in their right mind wants to go from Governor to junior U.S. Senator
in a heavily opposite party-controlled Senate.

WRellum and thee hath made telling 2012 good points!