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Political Wire’s Taegan Goodard wrote a few hours ago:
It Appears Democrats Have Won Control of the Senate
As of this post, there is still no official projection in either U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia, but the New York Times’s needle is very confident that both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will win.
It’s not official but it’s very hard to see a path for either Republican short of a major tabulation error.
That would mean the U.S. Senate will be comprised of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris breaking any ties.
It’s an unbelievably dramatic end to the 2020 election cycle.
I never dared even read predictions about the Georgia run-offs. One of the seats has (since Taegan Goddard’s earlier post) been projected by the mainstream media for the Democrats – the winner being Rev Raphael Warnock. It looks good for the other one – and experts always doubted that there would be a split vote either way.
This would all mean that President-elect Joe Biden will have some real power to reset the American political scene.
And this news comes on the day when I already had extra popcorn supplies delivered-in for the Republican party meltdown at the US Congress later!
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
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19 Comments
A moment to celebrate, for sure! Particularly a moment for Stacey Abrams, whose incredible efforts over last 2 years seem to be paying off (what can be learned?)
However, in answer to your question: yes. This is a razor thin margin, which pre-election was expected to be much wider. Hearing CNN anchors saying ‘this is what you get for backing Trump!’ Many did well backing Trump. Trump did better than any other candidate in history (except of course, Biden!). He’ll be back, or a smarter, better looking replacement (Trump 2.0… which may even be a Trump one day, Ivanka I reckon, but could be Cruz). And Biden has to keep left of the democrats happy, and many centrists (including in GOP) who think they’re owed. We’ve seen that in the blame game between November and now.
So Biden has a lot to do, much to heal in own party and across. Needs to live up to that. Then, maybe in 2024, if the powerful pull of populist unicorn promises has receded a bit… we can start to cartwheel! This is the first step back against a threat that hasn’t even exited the stage, nevermind resurge. So, celebrate today, definitely. We need to savour those moments, they’ve been so damn rare lately. But maintaining vigilance key, see what we can learn and be prepared to emulate the successes here.
As Johnny McDermott says – the real star is Stacey Abrams who emerges as possibly the individual person with the greatest effect on the results of this election cycle. And “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell” has a certain ring to it, no?
No, not too soon to do cartwheels. Looks as if both Warnock and Ossoff have scraped home so Biden has every chance of getting his program through, unlike Obama, who was deliberately and systematically obstructed by a Republican Congress. Of course the Democrats could still mess up, probably by failing to focus on the legitimate economic concerns of blue collar America, but at least the ball is in their court. Hopefully the GOP will return to it’s historic position of advocating conservative, but pragmatic policies and will put forward a relatively reasonable candidate in 2024. Dan Crenshaw perhaps ? The thought of President Ted Cruz makes the blood cold.
Instead of turning cartwheels might kneeling to pray for the long-suffering citizens be more appropriate?
In the midst of a plague and its attendant economic problems the Democratic party is putting time and effort into a language purity programme.
Do read what Democrat Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has to say on this matter.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tulsi-gabbard-calls-democrats-house-gender-language-rules-opposite-of-empowering-women/ar-BB1cuLDY
Because one party in a binary political system, is woeful, automatically mean that the other will not be woeful indifferent ways.
Might the U.S.A. have been better off with Tulsi Gabbard as the next President?
Far too early for cartwheels right now. Joe Biden and all the Democrats have four years of total mess and destruction to sort out, and to heal all those wounds properly will take much longer than 4 years.
If they fail, Trump’s Republicans will doubtless try to return on another wave of hate and vengence. Certainly motions on non-gendered speech will be about as much use as a chocolate tea pot.
I wish them well, but the hard work starts now.
@Steve Trevethan. i agree entirely. When I wrote “the democrats could still mess up, probably for failing to focus on the legitimate economic concerns of blue collar American”, that was, of course , a coded way of saying “for heavens’s sake don’t spend your time time on things like language purity programs which will achieve nothing beyond putting another egregious Republican like Cruz into the White House”.
I don’t think some on the “progressive” wing of the Democrats will ever “get it”. Interesting to note that in a recent state referendum, the good Democrat voting people of California rejected Proposal 16 on affirmative action.
It was one of Obama’s biggest regrets that more could not be achieved in improving gun control during his presidency. Let’s hope it will happen now.
Not too soon at all, I would be doing cartwheels if I thought my body could handle it. The big thing to celibrate is that in 2 Weeks Trump will be out of Office.
Of course America is in a very bad state & that wont be fixed in 4 Years but this is a Great start; lets cut the Democrats some slack.
Stacey Adams is an amazing woman. Mind you, anyone who survives as an active member of her local church after having two Methodist ministers as parents must have a special sort of resilience! She is a living testimony to the need for ground-up political campaigning and a rebuke to the many US hard-line evangelical Trump-loving Christians who have yet to see the error of their ways.
Whatever happens today in Georgia and in Congress, in two years time it could happen all over again. Congressional elections take place in 2023 and probably state elections around the same time for all I know. So Biden and his team haven’t got long to turn things round, especially as the Democrats actually lost ground in the House this time round.
@Steve
“Instead of turning cartwheels might kneeling to pray for the long-suffering citizens be more appropriate?”
I’ve done that too.
Just caught a bit of Trump addressing his ‘troops’ today behind a bullet proof screen in front of the White House. Am I dreaming? Will I ever wake up? Surely by now they must have enough evidence to prosecute him when he becomes an ordinary citizen again. Bring it on!!
The only explanation for the bizarre, ungracious, offensive behaviour is his desire to postpone going to jail for as long as possible.
Latest from Washington. Looks more like Hong Kong out there. Or Belarus. And who pulled the trigger? Surely enough evidence now for a prosecution.
According to ‘The Independent, Prestwick Airport has been told to expect the arrival of a US military Boeing 757 aircraft previously used by Mr Trump on 19 January (the day before the inauguration.
BUT, Donald Trump will not be allowed to visit Scotland to play golf during Joe Biden’s inauguration, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The US president, who was overwhelmingly defeated in November’s election, is reportedly considering travelling to his Turnberry golf resort to avoid Mr Biden being sworn into office.
Scotland’s first minister stressed it is illegal to travel in or out of the country without a valid reason and said: “Coming to play golf is not what I would consider to be an essential purpose.”
Well said, and well done again, Nicola….
Cant believe the scenes I am watching in America and what the outgoing president has incited.
Surely there is something in the constitution to remove him immediately and replace him with the VP who should defiantly deny him in pardons after this disgrace
until Biden is sworn in
Looking at the appalling scenes on Capitol Hill, the chaos may well strengthen the hand of moderate republicans (ok, “moderate” is a relative term) like Romney, Rubio, McConnell. News channels show Trump telling his supporters to march on Congress, what else does the man have to do to get himself arrested ?
U.S. president-elect Joe Biden is mostly steering clear of the controversy engulfing President Donald Trump’s final days in office, aiming to project the different approach to governing Americans can expect when he moves into the White House on Jan. 20.
Biden and his team have offered a muted response to Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, which reached a new level this past weekend when he pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state during a phone call to “find” enough votes to flip the state in his favour.
https://worldabcnews.com/biden-steers-clear-of-latest-trump-attempt-to-overturn-election-as-he-campaigns-in-georgia/
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