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Latest report from Alaska: Stevens +1, 3100 votes ahead. 66% of Alaska counted.

Remaining senate seats:
Martin- 98% in; Chambliss 50%, Martin 46%. If Chambliss falls below 50%, the Democrats can try to take the seat during a runoff in December.

Franken- 96% in; Franken tied. +1,000 Franken. Franken's a weak candidate, and his winning of this is in doubt.

Merckley- 45% in; Smith tied. +3,000 Smith. Merckley is unexpectedly weak, his victory isn't assured. However, the urban areas have not come in yet.

With these 4, we would reach 59+Lieberman. 57 + Lieberman or Moderate Republicans would be good, 59 would be better.

Some random conservative reactions:

http://tombsofkobol.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3638
http://www.nicedoggie.net/2008/?p=2903
http://www.nicedoggie.net/2008/?p=2901
http://tombsofkobol.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3646
http://tombsofkobol.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3639

No it wouldn't. It would give a single party total control over the entire lawmaking apparatus without any check whatsoever. That was bad when the Republicans had it, and I have no faith that it would be much better under the Democrats. Unchecked political power to a single faction is never "better" than not having it.

A political opposition is nessissary in a democracy. A sure as hell don't trust the democrats, or any politician, enough to give them unchecked power. Ideally I'd like an end to parties altogether, and more independent candadites. But that doesn't seem likely.

So the GOP serves a nessissary function in our democracy. Unfortunately, its goals and tactics are such that it can no longer fulfill that role. Its goals directly undermine America's secular and democratic government, and its tactics are to treat the Democrats not as a legitimate opposition, but as an enemy to be destroyed. They are more than willing to engage in blatant hipocrisy and slander that could incite violence against their opponent, to deny people their right to vote, to illegally alter the results of a vote, etc. The GOP simply has no respect or tolerance for the law or the democratic system, and thus has forfitted any place within that system.

So, the solution is to beat the GOP badly enough that the party reforms from within. This should include prosecuting illegal tactics to the full extent of the law, dragging the names of the GOP leadership through the mud. This is part of why I fully endorse Biden's suggestion of criminal charges against the Bush Administration if he and Obama got in. It also means defeating them electorally across the board: Governorships, Congress, the Presidency, the works. The key is to avoid persecuting the party as a whole, or giving that impression. The last thing to do is to feed the "us vs them" mentality of much of the GOP.

So Obama needs to take a two-pronged aproach. First, he needs to consistantly beat the GOP across the board, this election and the next time as well. He needs to pursue investigations of the Bush White House for criminal charges. He needs to destroy the GOP leadership as a political force.

At the same time though, he's got to work with moderates and reformers within the party, and specifically the libertarian and fiscal conservative blocks. Show the republicans and the nation that the enemy is not the other party, but the radicals within that party. Live up to his promise of crossing party lines without caving to the neo-cons and the fundis like other democrats before him.

Frankly, the only way to save American democracy is probably to replace or reform the current republican party as the political opposition.

After Obama's speech, downtown Portland was like the Endor celebration in ROTJ. Impromptu parade up and down a few blocks, culminating in a gathering at Pioneer Courthouse Square. People waving Obama campaign signs and "President Obama" signs. Lots of honking, cheering, waving, chanting. A set of marching band drums was on hand and led the parade.

Then at the end everyone peaceably dispersed, without needing to be told to by the cops.

Hell yeah.

Rogue9 got it in one. The electoral vote was way in O's favor, but the popular vote IIRC was 52% Obama/46% McCain. This election was not a mandate for implementing the Demos' legislative wish list, and woe unto them if they think it was. If they get drunk on power, they'll have one hell of a hangover in two years.

The worst-case scenario is that the Demos push through every tax increase, fee increase, individual rights dimunition, and government size increase they can, along with stacking the Supreme Court with "living document" Constitution interpreters. The best-case scenario: Obama turns out to have a spine and will veto the more hare-brained legislation that comes across his desk. Here's an early litmus test: if he lets Paulson keep his job, we're in trouble.

Rogue9 got it in one. The electoral vote was way in O's favor, but the popular vote IIRC was 52% Obama/46% McCain. This election was not a mandate for implementing the Demos' legislative wish list, and woe unto them if they think it was. If they get drunk on power, they'll have one hell of a hangover in two years.

The worst-case scenario is that the Demos push through every tax increase, fee increase, individual rights dimunition, and government size increase they can, along with stacking the Supreme Court with "living document" Constitution interpreters. The best-case scenario: Obama turns out to have a spine and will veto the more hare-brained legislation that comes across his desk. Here's an early litmus test: if he lets Paulson keep his job, we're in trouble.

Sorry to tell you, but popular election numbers being as wide as that does indeed mean this is a crushing mandate