Uncategorized allyoueverwantedtoknowaboutparishilton on 05 Nov 2008 03:32 pm
Obama is president
Congress gets a bluer hue
by Frank James
The Democrats made big gains in Congress last night though they didn’t get to the 60 votes they needed to be able to get legislation or judicial nominations through the Senate without Republican cooperation.
At last count, they hold 56 seats, with Republican Sen. Norm Coleman getting 762 more votes in a tight-as-a-tick race in Minnesota. But there will be an automatic recount and the race may not be certified until December.
Here’s an excerpt of an Associated Press report:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Republican Norm Coleman outlasted Democrat Al Franken in one of Minnesota’s tightest Senate elections ever, squeaking past the former comedian early Wednesday by a margin that appeared certain to trigger a recount.
With 4,129 of 4,130 precincts reporting, Coleman led Franken by 762 votes out of nearly 2.9 million cast. Coleman had 1,210,790 votes, or 42.03 percent, to Franken’s 1,210,028 votes, or 42 percent.
Dean Barkley of the Independence Party was third with 15 percent, and exit poll data showed him pulling about equally from Coleman and Franken.
The margin was well within a threshold set by state law for an automatic recount. If it holds up, Coleman would be among the fortunate Republicans who survived big gains by Democrats nationwide.
Meanwhile, in the House, Democrats picked up at least 17 seats at last count with ten seats remaining undecided as of this morning. The Democrats controlled 235 seats before yesterday’s election.
So Obama will have a Congress inclined to work with him but, which first and foremost, is populated by Democrats who want to maintain power and Republicans who want to regain it.
There’s actually a potential political benefit in Obama not having gotten a supermajority in the Senate. It allows him to run against Republican obstructionists in the Senate if GOP senators thwart his proposed legislative initiatives or choices for the federal courts.
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