An historical first

[Meerkat]

This is the first election ever where one party did not "take back" any seats in the House! A 100% straight loss for the Reps.

[Chris Coose]

Naturally, the one who will least understand the depth of this trouncing and the one most likely to be impacted by it, is none other than the dubbya.

I wonder when Allen is going to give it up?

[S/V Laura Ellen]

Naturally, the one who will least understand the depth of this trouncing and the one most likely to be impacted by it, is none other than the dubbya.

I wonder when Allen is going to give it up?

Dubya is callin it a "thumpin".

[uncas]

Meer.. you may end up being correct but..If I am not mistaken, there are still 10 congressional races out west somewhere that are or have been too close to call. Wait to the votes are in....
And yes, the Rep.. as Bush said, took a thumping..And yes the Dems won.. I would like to point out though that in many races, the votes were extremely close which means that we Americans are still as divided as before.
A real thumping would have been if these races had not been close numerically.
The bottom line is the dems won. I'm just pointing out a fact. I sometimes wonder whether there really is much of a difference between the two parties. From what I can gather, the dems elected are relatively conservative... and the reps who lost were relatively liberal or middle of the road..

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Get this straight, Uncas. NUMBERS matter. He who has the MAJORITY controlls the deck. He can deal off the top, the bottom or the middle as circumstances may require. On important issues leverage can be brought on almost any party member to "go along if you want to get along". Right wing Democrats are entitled to their views but, they want to bring home the bacon too. And that won't happen if they are too obstructionist.
Even tho' my state sent two of the most liberal Republicans to the US Senate they had very little impact on the White House' adjenda. The exception was Sen. Voinovich's refusal to vote for John Bolton. A bright spot in his career if there ever was one.
Today's major political mechanism is "power politics" as exemplified by it's most notable practicioner, Karl Rove. Because the cudgel is now in the hands of the Democrats, Karl has lost all the infantry that protected him till now and may have a date with numerous congressional committees where he will be forced to tesitfy or refuse while under oath. His appearance, with a cadre of high priced lawyers, could outdraw "Desparate Housewives".

[Norman Bernstein]

I would like to point out though that in many races, the votes were extremely close which means that we Americans are still as divided as before. A real thumping would have been if these races had not been close numerically.

Bush got re-elected on a pretty thin margin in 2004... and at the time, called it a 'clear mandate' from the electorate! :D

Yeah, sure, Jamie, we're still closely divided.... but I think the argument, made by MANY conservatives, that the country is actually mostly conservative, is finally laid to rest. The country is not conservative or liberal... it's mostly moderate.

[uncas]

CChuck.. All I was saying here was that the races themselves were close. The final tally went to the Dems. So, the Dems get 230 plus seats in the house and 6 in the Senate.. Those numbers do not show how close the afcutal races were... There were a lot of candidates who were biting the nails.
I'm not saying the dems did not deserve to win.. they did... But I think it is also worthy to note that the actual voting was close...Seven thousand between Allen and Webb.. Outta 3.5 million votes cast.. that ain't anything.

All this shows is that there are a lot of people out there who voted for the person who did not win.

This country is just as divided as it was in 2000 or 2004.. It is just the bottom line gives a different outcome.

[RichKrough]

Another historical first , George Bush actually sitting down with the Democrats and engaging in dialog.
Of course having his ass handed to him on Tuesday might have something to do with his sudden motivation.

Anybody seen Karl Rove Lately? is he gagged and in irons in the basement along with John Kerry?

[JimD]

A humourous moment on cnn when Anderson Cooper referred to the 'thumpin'' admission by Bush. Cooper first quoted W as saying 'thumping' but then corrected himself and acknowledged W had said 'thumpin' and not 'thumping.' At a press conference W said this wasn't the first rodeo he'd been to. When nobody laughed he went on to explain what he meant. Apparently he didn't get that people got it, they just didn't find it amusing. Time to shelve the good-ol'-boyisms and get off the podium.