Victory courtesy of the Republican machines
Jim Webb, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Virginia who leads Senator George Allen, a Republican, by about 7,000 votes, began planning his transition to the Senate Wednesday, confident that the margin would survive state scrutiny or any legal challenge, aides said.
If the Webb victory holds up, it will provide the final seat Democrats need to take control of the Senate. With Jon Tester, a Democrat, unseating Senator Conrad Burns, an incumbent Republican in Montana, the Democrats are now one seat short of a 51-49 majority.
“The bottom line is the votes have been counted and Jim Webb has won,” said Kristian Denny Todd, a Webb aide. “It could have gone the other way, but it didn’t. We’re on top and that’s the way it’s going to stay.” She said that “Senator-elect Webb” is consulting with advisers and planning to take his Senate seat in January.
All of [this] occurs in relatively uncharted legal territory where it is unclear what a recount really means in jurisdictions where there is no paper trail and where the actual number of eligible provisional ballots remains in flux.
Barring surrender by one side, it looked like a drawn-out process could extend into December.
The recount is unlikely to resolve all the potential legal issues. In Virginia, “recounts” consist of re-tabulating the votes from the existing counts to ensure that the end-of-the-day tallies were summed accurately. Virginia uses a mix of optical-scan machines and touch- screen machines, with 11 different systems in total, across more than 130 jurisdictions, amounting to more than 9,000 machines. Touch-screen machines print out full tallies after all voting is done, and unless these printouts are unclear, officials generally do not rerun the machines. With optical-scan machines, only unclear ballots are run back through the scanner.
The bottom line is that there aren’t individual receipts or ballots to be recounted. Virginia already went through this in a contested race — and after several weeks of whining about the mathematics of retabulating the results from the “approved” machines, the total was changed by 37 votes.
This chickens have really come home to roost on this one. The Bush government wasted $2.5 billion on the cheapest, low-bid, unverifiable solution to the question of voting procedures — and are suffering the result of their own handiwork.
Even when you guys win, you find some “angle” about republicans. Geez, get off the high horse. By the way, where’s all the uproar about republicans trying to steal votes? That’s all I heard for months on how they were stealing elections using the e-voting machines. Gee, I guess they were wrong. Imagine that.
By the way, where’s all the uproar about republicans trying to steal votes? That’s all I heard for months on how they were stealing elections using the e-voting machines. Gee, I guess they were wrong. Imagine that.
See, that’s the thing about evoting. Nobody KNOWS whether there is fraud, and worse, nobody CAN know. No amount of forensic investigation can determine, after the fact, whether the votes were tallied accurately or not.
This election doesn’t prove anything one way or the other. Maybe the Democrats hacked the machines, and that’s why they won. Maybe the Republicans AND the Dems hacked the machines, and cancelled each other out. And maybe the Republicans hacked them, but didn’t hack enough.
This is NOT an issue that will go away just because people who don’t understand the technology don’t belive in it.
Chuckle! What is it about “chickens coming home to roost” that apparently confounds dittoheads? Does refusal to accept accountability or responsibility necessarily flow from no perception or understanding of cause and effect relationships?
Sounds like a good topic for a joint study between Harvard Business School and the Med School.
16 I don’t think the Democrats can do too much damage in the short term, since their majority is relatively narrow, and the tax cuts have been extended.
But, on the bright side, there is less chance of any “temporary” tax cuts being made permanent.
I’m ejoying all of this post-election worship from the lefties who can’t counter any of my points. Here’s another one to chew on:
While an interesting headline, you don’t see the right crying over spilled milk… unlike the Democrats during the past three elections. No lawyers, no endless recounts, just the boss saying “we got thumped”.
Why is this the reaction? Because while I personally detest it, the ’08 election races started yesterday… and the right’s current tone already has them in the lead. I’d love to say it’s all about ‘class’, but realistically its all about votes… and driving conservative turnout in ’08.
Remember: The Democrats won on Tuesday by not running on a liberal agenda, unlike their attempts under Gephardt. The first time they sway from their (oddly) conservative tone the voters will punish them.
Side note: The term you’re looking for isn’t ‘troll’, it’s ‘master’.
James, there have been a lot more than just three elections…do you remember how the Dems (especially Clinton) acted in ’96?
James,
You sure are a funny guy! The conservative vote? That’s what the Republicans were counting on Tuesday. Guess what, it didn’t materialize, quite the opposite in fact. Even worse, independents have left the republican party. EVEN WORSE, there is no longer a leadership of the Republican party, they are all in jail, or headed to jail. The Democrats are going to ask a lot of embarrassing questions over the next two years. It will take you at least a decade to repair those two fundamental failings of the republican party this election cycle. Furthermore, all the lobbyists who have bankrolled the Republican party for the last 12 years, they are all looking for new jobs today. They have all been told they are no longer allowed to write the legislation that they want. I am sure at least some of the new lobbyists coming into DC, are going to get the same message the current crop got in 94. “If you even talk to the guys on other side of aisle, you get nothing” There are still a lot of bitter feelings for all the bipartisan blather. That is why, Bush’s very first act on Wednesday morning, was to take action that will ultimately end the Iraq conflict. Even worse for Bush and Republicans, the media in that presser seemed free to ask any question, no matter how much it might insult Bush.
Simply put, we didn’t simply win, we crushed the Republican party. A Disaster. And I simply don’t see the current crop of Democrats making the same mistakes this congress made any time soon.
I’m not going to predict the presidential outcome in 08, but congress will remain in Democrat hands for at least a decade. In 08 the Republicans have an uphill battle for presidency, using pure electoral politics. Ohio, and Montana seem to be Blue states now. Rather than campaigning for 08, I might suggest 12 is a better target. That is if you can accept defeat, and cut the regressive views of your party out of the republican platform. I might suggest starting by getting rid of all the fundamentalist, repressed closeted gay, drug abusing, gambling, bribe taking Republicans. The longer longer it takes you to exorcise those demons, the longer you will remain…
The Minority Party.
I might suggest a primer of the 5 stages of grief. Right now you are in denial.
Just back from lunch, and had my daily dose of Limbaugh. (He’s a riot…in small doses) Coincidentally James, he said exactly the same thing you wrote about lawyers, etc.
Coincidental, I’m sure.
25
It wasn’t about the “come home to roost on this one” part, it was about the “this chickens have really” part. Obviously.
And what the hell is a dittohead? Can you neo-con (proud to say, that is the first time I have ever used that word) nutbags invent anymore moonbat words?
#25 Side note: The term you’re looking for isn’t ‘troll’, it’s ‘master’.
Comment by James Hill — 11/9/2006 @ 7:37 am
Really? Did they recently update the definition of master to include “partisan hack”?
22 This election doesn’t prove anything one way or the other. Maybe the Democrats hacked the machines, and that’s why they won. Maybe the Republicans AND the Dems hacked the machines, and cancelled each other out. And maybe the Republicans hacked them, but didn’t hack enough.
Agreed. Lots of possibilities.
One of my favorites: Whoever in Diebold controls their eVote machines decided that Republican wins – after all that negative publicity – would be challenged.
What better way to relieve fears than letting the other side win during a mid-term election?
Give’em a false sense of security leading-up to the big show?
Make sure the hacks work as intended, with no slip-ups…
… tin-foil hats are addicitive.
#31…Mike….LMAO….Good go…lets get the 2008 conspirousy theories going early.
Those of you that are real politics freaks have probably already noticed this. But out of the 28 seats the Dems have won so far, only 11 of them could actually stay in their hands in 2 years. Seats like Foleys
‘s or De Lays will go back to Rep. in a normal year. Dem’s will be lucky to have the majority for more 2 years in the House. Now, the Senate may take the Rep.’s until 2010 to get back.
Ohio was not as much a disater as the media would have you believe, all but 1 Rep. seat in the House stayed that way. They got wiped out State goverment wise and lost a Senate seat, that may only be gone 1 term. Brown is way to Liberal for the whole of Ohio.
Pa. was a disaster for the Rep., but it usually is. Those seats around Philly are probably gone forever. Same in Rhode Island(not that the Rep. there was actually a Rep)., New York and New Hampshire. Virginia dosen’t look good for the Reps for a few years.
But, people like Guiliani, and Mc Cain are still leading the pack for 2008, stronger now than last week. And who ever said the Independents are lost to the Rep’s…..you don’t know squat about politics. Fully 30% of the Independents are actually strong Rep’s who are afraid to admit they ARE Rep.’s.
Both Guiliani and Mc Cain are still favored by Independents over all the presently mentioned Dems for 2008. That all, includes Senator Clinton.
I honestly didn’t think the Rep.’s would lose the Senate. DeWine, Talent were decent men and good Senators. Allen is a horses ass, and Burns is to. Chafee wasn’t good enough to kiss his Dad’s butt. He was a basically stupid, arrogant ass. Good riddence. Santorum was a decent man, but bad for the country. And probably the most exciting race of the year, Maryland. Steele turned out to be one hellava candidate. One more week and I think he would have won that seat. Cardin is a political hack.
If Bush and Rumsfield actually decided Rummy was leaving last week, they will be taken out and shot by the Party. That decision cost them at least 5 House seats and maybe 2 Senate seats. Very stupid, Rove must not have known, or it would have been leaked.
Joshua, your hopes are interfering with your predictions.
Foley’s seat might revert, I don’t think Delay’s old will though. With the redistricting, the seat was a solid 45% Democrat. Most of the others will remain because they will see good governing and the Presidential election will bring the tide back to the Democrats.
Guiliani and McCain are long shot outsiders. As much as you like them, both have too much dirty political baggage to be serious national contenders.
I too wasn’t sure about the Democrats taking the Senate. I was cheering for it, but until the last week didn’t think they would pull it off. While I agree about Burns and Allen (hmmm, sounds like a comedy team), I also think you over rated Talent and Dewine. Tester appears to be a real star and Webb has been in Washington enough to know how to play the game. The country as a whole is better off without Santorum. He was a poor role model for every working Joe. We’ll see about Steele.
I did enjoy my morning coffee Wednesday. And thought about you in particular. It is too bad we both couldn’t be winners.