Tag Archives: supermajority

Opinion: Who to Blame for the Democrats’ Loss In Massachusetts? Blame Me.

By Karin Robinson | Wed 20th January 2010 - 11:45 am

Last night Martha Coakley, the Democratic candidate for Massachusetts Senate, lost by 5 points a race that just weeks ago everyone was declaring hers by right. And even before the polls closed it seemed like everyone was playing the blame game.

Coakley’s team and the White House pointed the fingers at each other. Some are blaming the economy, the excellence of Republican candidate Scott Brown (our first centrefold Senator, history should note), or Coakleys repeated Red Sox related gaffs. There’s even a “Drunk Electorate” theory. All of these factors surely played some part.

I’d add in that to …

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Posted in LDVUSA and Op-eds | Also tagged , , , and | 13 Comments
Alex Foster

YouTube ‘cos we want to: Minnesota’s new Senator

By Alex Foster | Sat 12th September 2009 - 10:26 am

This Saturday’s trio of videos doing the rounds takes as its topic Minnesota’s new Senator, Al Franken, who eventually took his seat after a load of legal wrangles – as we covered here and here earlier in the year.

Al Franken was a controversial choice for a politician since he already had a career as a comedian and polemicist – you may be familiar with such fence-sitting, equivocating titles as Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them) and Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot

Unsurprisingly, the American right hate him.

Now, however, he is Senator – and proving to be a good one too.

Here are three videos of his exploits. The first contrasts American Republican values with the tendency of the American Republican party to invoke Christian values.

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Posted in YouTube | Also tagged , and | Leave a comment
Terry Gilbert

Opinion: Supermajority!

By Terry Gilbert | Fri 10th July 2009 - 1:00 pm

The US Senate Elections are finally over!

Last November’s contest has dragged on, primarily as a result of a protracted legal battle in closely fought Minnesota. Last week, however, incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman finally abandoned his legal suit after the State’s Supreme Court found unanimously in favour of Democrat Al Franken, the liberal former radio talk show host and author of ‘Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right’. Franken is becoming adept at getting his way in the Courts, Fox News having failed in their bid to sue him for …

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Posted in Europe / International | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Alex Foster

Supermajority back on the cards?

By Alex Foster | Wed 29th April 2009 - 10:23 am

Over in the States, the Senate Democrats are currently three members short of 60, a magic number which means they can end filibusters and drive through legislation the Republicans are really unhappy with.

With the elections long over, most have assumed that’s that for the Democrats chances of getting to supermajority. We thought it possible, but unlikely, back last November.

Yet things still seem to be going their way. Firstly there’s an independent member who caucuses with the Democrats: 58. The 59th member is Al Franken, a senatorial candidate for the Democrats in Minnesota who should have won ages ago …

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Posted in LDVUSA | 8 Comments
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