60?

[we vs us]

So Mark Begich claimed victory over Ted Stevens for the open Alaska Senate seat.

There's still some counting of ballots to do yet, but odds are very slim that Stevens, a convicted felon, can pull it out.  For all intents and purposes, this one is over.  

At the same time,  the Norm Coleman/Al Franken recount begins today in Minnesota.  Coleman won the vote by 215 or so votes, but as the initial count progressed, Franken improved his position from a major deficit to within striking distance of Coleman.  There's a real chance that with a recount, Franken could overtake him.

Finally, Georgia's runoff election between sitting Senator Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin begins in early December.  This one is the long shot, as far as I can see.  Chambliss outperformed Martin by 3+% of the vote but didn't get a majority (a libertarian candidate siphoned off the crucial votes), which triggered the runoff.  If Chambliss can recapture those libertarian votes/energize his base with visits to the state by Sara Palin and John McCain/convince enough people that he's a "firewall" against a bulletproof Democratic majority, then he wins.  

Strangely enough,  Obama has no plans to campaign in Georgia for Martin.  This would seem to be the most pivotal contest, and the one that he can have an effect on (he can't do much to sway a legal recount in MN, for instance), so I'm not sure why he isn't down there.  

In any event, Democrats are getting closer to the magic number, and with Alaska off the docket, it's getting more and more likely that a Democratic Congress won't have to work around  a more conservative and certainly more obscructionist Republican rump.

[pmcalk]

I imagine Obama is not campaigning in Ga because he didn't do that great in Ga.  Plus, being down there might remind voters that a vote for Martin is a vote for fillibuster-proof democratic control, with Obama at the head.  Given that the majority of Georgians voted against Obama, having him there may do more harm than good.

I hear that other democrats are campaigning for Martin, though.

I think Martin is a real long shot.  Independents & swing voters who might otherwise support Martin will be very reluctant to give that much control to the democrats.

[waterboy]

I agree PM. I don't think Obama wants a filibuster proof congress. That may shift the balance of power towards them. His veto power would be weakened as well.

Everyone assumes that 60 would be bullet proof. Not likely to me.

[guido911]

I am hoping for 60 for just the very reasons that have been pointed out.

[guido911]

Al Franken's ballot challenge:

http://www.spectator.org/blog/2008/11/19/al-franken-is-challenging-this

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by guido911

Al Franken's ballot challenge:

http://www.spectator.org/blog/2008/11/19/al-franken-is-challenging-this

\

My sister in law lives in Minnie and voted for Coleman (again) even though she's a traditional Democrat. I asked her why and she said that Franken had made some remarks about Christianity that she didn't like. She was doubtful that they were accurate or even in context but she just didn't think Coleman had done anything wrong in his first term. When I mentioned that he refused to investigate allegations of fraud related to Halliburton activities in Iraq, she didn't even know he was head of the committee. She really didn't know much about him at all.

And thats a progressive state! Voting is a wierd process.

[guido911]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

quote:Originally posted by guido911

Al Franken's ballot challenge:

http://www.spectator.org/blog/2008/11/19/al-franken-is-challenging-this

\

My sister in law lives in Minnie and voted for Coleman (again) even though she's a traditional Democrat. I asked her why and she said that Franken had made some remarks about Christianity that she didn't like. She was doubtful that they were accurate or even in context but she just didn't think Coleman had done anything wrong in his first term. When I mentioned that he refused to investigate allegations of fraud related to Halliburton activities in Iraq, she didn't even know he was head of the committee. She really didn't know much about him at all.

And thats a progressive state! Voting is a wierd process.

Geez H2O, even you bark about evil Halliburton?

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by guido911

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

quote:Originally posted by guido911

Al Franken's ballot challenge:

http://www.spectator.org/blog/2008/11/19/al-franken-is-challenging-this

\

My sister in law lives in Minnie and voted for Coleman (again) even though she's a traditional Democrat. I asked her why and she said that Franken had made some remarks about Christianity that she didn't like. She was doubtful that they were accurate or even in context but she just didn't think Coleman had done anything wrong in his first term. When I mentioned that he refused to investigate allegations of fraud related to Halliburton activities in Iraq, she didn't even know he was head of the committee. She really didn't know much about him at all.

And thats a progressive state! Voting is a wierd process.

Geez H2O, even you bark about evil Halliburton?

Evil? No. Exploitive? Maybe. From reading about the craziness that contractors have been pulling off over there (pallets of cash, electrocuted soldiers in their showers, spoiled food etc.), I found it odd that no one in the congress spent much time investigating them. Coleman was head of the committee that Truman used to track down fraud and greed by contractors during WWII. Many thought Coleman would use that historical position to do the same. Perhaps they expected too much for a first term chairman to go up against Cheney. But he could have made some effort. Franken made that a big deal in their race.