I predicted this last May along with gas price reductions before the election. The Republicans took care of their corporate buddies, but forgot about the average American. We had to remind them we are still here, and we pay for them to be there. Now many of them are not there because they enriched themselves at our expense. Now a message to the newly elected Democratic Congress: If you think we sent you there so you can pursue political vendettas and endless hearings, think again. Listen carefully, DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE, govern, address the war in Iraq, health care, energy policy, education, middle class tax relief, the federal deficit, Medicare, Social Security, etc. If you don't, in two years we will send you home too.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-11-08-18-54-03 Election Turnout Rate Tops 40 Percent By PAULINE JELINEK Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Almost 79 million people voted in Tuesday's election, with Democrats drawing more support than Republicans for the first time in a midterm election since 1990. The overall turnout rate, reflecting a percentage of voting age population, was 40.4 percent, compared with 39.7 percent in 2002, according to an Associated Press vote count and an analysis by American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate. A preliminary analysis showed that turnout was down in some states and higher in others - notably up in Virginia, where it appeared more people voted than in any midterm in the state before, said Curtis Gans, director of the university research group. The highest recent midterm turnout was 42.1 percent in 1982. The total popular vote nationwide was 78,707,495. In Virginia, where Democratic challenger James Webb won a razor-thin victory over Republican incumbent George Allen, an estimated 43.7 percent of eligible voters went to the polls, compared with 29.2 percent in 2002, the last nonpresidential election year. Ohioans also came out in substantially greater numbers. Unofficial figures showed 44.6 percent of eligible voters cast ballots compared with 38.4 percent in 2002. Turnout was substantially higher in Michigan, Missouri, Connecticut and Montana; it was somewhat higher in Delaware and Kentucky.
Of course Reid is going to say that. Would you expect him to say "We're just going to engage in gridlock, recriminatin and corruption." I like that we have a divided government but given the Democrats' previous track record I'm not going to take their rhetoric at face value.
a mccain presidency with a democratic congress might be a good thing, sometimes mcain makes me nervous though with some of his politics.
thanks. I think its conventional wisdom that lower turnout usually benifits republicans. from these numbers I would guess that more people voted against republicans than who usually vote for them.
The last bit of theater... Burns just conceded to Tester. Allen to concede to Webb at 1500 EST. It's is now absolutely official: Dems will have the Senate.
Dean Demands Recount As Dems Capture Senate by Scott Ott (2006-11-09) — As the Associated Press declared Democrat Jim Webb had unseated Sen. George Allen, R-VA, Democrat National Committee Chairman Howard Dean sent a team of lawyers to the Commonwealth of Virginia to investigate irregularities in several precincts, claims of fraud and the disenfranchisement of some Republican voters. “When it comes down to about 7,000 votes in such a large state, it’s a no brainer to assume there was corruption there,” said Mr. Dean. “We’re hearing that this is a replay of Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. Even though our guy won, and it would give Democrats the majority in the Senate, we’re committed to making sure he won legally.” Although few Republicans have raised questions about the legality of the election, Mr. Dean said “it’s the principle of the thing that matters.” “We plan to tie this up in court as long as possible,” the DNC chairman said, “until every vote is counted, because we believe every Republican voter counts.”
still bitter eh? tell me, if the evangelical neo-fascists are so good at stealing elections, why didn't they steal this one?
I realize this a trite and utterly unconvincing attempt at satire, but this sentiment is absolutely correct. I'm OK if Allen wants to do everything allowed him under the VA law and I would be furious if John Paul Stevens stopped a recount under spurious legal reasoning. I'd be even more furious with Webb if he initiated a lawsuit (call it Webb v. Allen) that was based on the idea that Webb needed protection from people who were denied the right to vote.
Allen and Burns have conceded. I tip my hat to them for not wanting to drag this out even though it was their right to do so.
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