For only the 3rd time since the War Between the States, the party of the sitting president has picked up seats in both the House and the Senate during a mid term election. For the first time in 50 years, Republicans hold both the Executive and Legislative branches of our government. While Democrats are screaming bloody murder, this is actually the best thing for the country. Bush finally gets the chance to put his agenda before Congress, which is basically split 50-50. This means that nothing too extreme will pass, as there are plenty of moderate Republicans who will vote across party lines if they see fit. The chief advantage is that Democrats can no longer keep things bottled up in committee. Judicial nominations should come through fast and furious, allowing the full Senate to vote. Extreme candidates will still face an uphill battle, but moderate choices should get approval.
VNS declared that their exit polling data was unreliable. Tell me something I didn't already know.
James Carville put a trash can on his head during CNN's Crossfire. He said that Democrats needed to run on the issues. Oddly enough, Rush Limbaugh on NBC said virtually the same thing, that the Democrats failed to offer the people a reason to vote for them.
In a related story, hell froze over.
New Jersey Democrats have announced that from now on, they will not name a candidate until 3 weeks before the election, in keeping with the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling that voter choice should be maximized.
Jim Jeffords held a press conference today, announcing that he is rejoining the Republican Party. The RNC held a follow up conference, announcing that Jim Jeffords can go soak his head. Jeffords held a second conference, announcing that he would join the Democratic Party, and that would show those mean Republicans. The DNC held a final press conference, thanking Jeffords for his help, but "Don't call us; we'll call you."
In Florida, Jeb Bush won a second term as governor, despite heavy campaigning by Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Or maybe because of it.
In Tenneseee, Phil Bredesen defeated Don Sundquist for governor. Van Hilleary also ran.
Also in Tennessee, a constitutional amendment allowing a lottery passed, despite energetic opposition by several religous groups. The amendment also allows non-profit groups to hold raffles for fundraising purposes. The coalition of lottery opponents immediately announced a fund raising raffle designed to raise funds to defeat any pro-lottery legislation.
Posted by Rich at November 6, 2002 10:31 AM