Posted on 11/15/2008 7:31:26 PM PST by Libloather
For Senate Democrats, 60 seats still a possibility
Posted: Nov 14, 2008 09:50 AM EST
By Glenn Thrush and Josh Kraushaar
The dream of 60 Senate seats simply refuses to die - with positive signs suddenly popping up for Democrats in all three unresolved races.
Around 1 a.m. EST, news that Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has inched ahead of Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens rekindled flagging Democratic hopes they would reach the mythical filibuster-proof majority.
In Minnesota, Al Franken has steadily eroded incumbent Republican Norm Coleman's lead before the recount has even begun - with a highly contentious recount on the way.
And in Georgia, a poll released Thursday shows Democrat Jim Martin within striking distance of Sen. Saxby Chambliss in a surprisingly close runoff scheduled for Dec. 2.
If Democrats sweep those three races, they'll hit 60. At the moment they are stuck on 57 - a respectable six-seat pick-up for 2008.
But a three-seat sweep, which seemed impossible 24 hours ago, now seems merely improbable.
"A day ago, the coroner was ready to sign the death certificate on 60 - and now it's back on life support," says Jennifer Duffy, Senate analyst with the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
For starters, Begich would have to maintain his lead over Stevens - and widen it to 1,500 votes if he wants to avoid a recount. Franken's recount would have to continue trending his way, and Martin will have to hope that Georgia turnout for a runoff is strong enough to guide him to an improbable victory in a state John McCain won by 5 points.
"Will we get 60 seats? Well, I have the same answer today that I had the day before the election. It's possible, but unlikely," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Charles Schumer, meeting with reporters Thursday.
In a frantic bid to fend off the unthinkable, the GOP is ratcheting up the rhetoric seeking to energize donors and voters sapped by John McCain's decisive loss.
"At this point all that stands between an unchecked, liberal, Democrat tyranny in Washington are two yet to be determined races and a run-off in Georgia," said John Randall, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
"Both parties are training their sights on the conservative Peach State," Randall added. "The prospect of sixty seats is still very much real, not to mention frightening, and the remaining firewall could very well be Sen. Chambliss."
Schumer announced Thursday the campaign committee will launch its first advertisement in the Georgia Senate runoff - a cable spot worth about $100,000. A newly released poll from Research 2000 shows Chambliss narrowly leading Martin in the runoff, 49 to 46 percent.
"Jim Martin has come out of the gate swinging with the right message, that you can either vote for a senator who will work with Barack Obama to change the direction of the country, or one who will obstruct change in every step of the way," Schumer added. "We're committed to this race 100 percent."
In Minnesota, where only 206 votes separate Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Democrat Al Franken, Schumer accused "the hard-right wing" of America for trying to obstruct the recount process.
He also accused conservatives of unfairly criticizing the recanvassing process in Minnesota, where Al Franken netted about 500 votes from his immediate post-election total - mostly over precinct tabulating errors.
In a related development, Franken attorney Marc Elias announced he was suing to force state elections officials to explain why they had rejected some absentee ballots.
Begich has rallied after entering the Alaska count about 3,000 in the hole, edging ahead of Stevens by 814 as of Wednesday night.
The Begich campaign said the Anchorage mayor was "cautiously optimistic" about winning with about 40,000 ballots remaining because many of the votes already counted came from conservative parts of the state.
"More than 59,000 ballots were counted yesterday," Bethany Lesser, spokeswoman for the Alaska Democratic Party, wrote in an e-mail. "Of the districts not counted on Wednesday, Begich won all of them on Election Day (for full disclosure, these are regions that have smaller populations)."
...that's he's a common criminal.
The last poll results I saw before I went to bed election night showed Chambliss with over 50%, so why a runoff? Did the rats generate enough votes to force it somehow???
GWB legacy, lose 2006+2008 and democrats get complete power. This Autoworkers bailout keeps GWB in spotlight. We definitely have a harder time than 1992. The 700B bailout gamble GWB did definitely lost and now he has handed democrats everything they need to to completely socialize america. Coleman voted for bailout, Frankin against
What difference does it make? There will always be a handful of RINO’s available to break any filibuster. How about McCain?
So now we know that the army of Obama lawyers went to Alaska for more than just digging up dirt on Palin... They were making sure the fix was in.
Dont they get to count Specter, Snowe, Grahm etc?
Nah nah hey hey, kiss the Senate goodbye. They’ll have 58 if Stevens loses, plus the two who caucus with them and any liberal RINOs that cave under pressure. Just hope Franken loses for the overall good of mankind but don’t get all depressed about the Senate being fillibuster-proof, cuz that’s already all but a sure thing.
The bailout was the beginning of the end of this chapter of the Republican Party. And quite possibly the end of the Republic for that matter.
I used to think that history would be kind to GWB when looked at impartially a decade from now.
Now I think that we will see what a fraud he really was. If it weren’t for the War, I doubt I would have voted for him in 2004.
On election night it looked like Chambliss had avoided a run-off, but he wound up about 8500 votes short of an absolute majority of the votes.
Liberals are like toddlers........things don’t go their way and they hold their breath, stamp their feet, cry, scream, pitch a fit...anything but accept reality.
**We will do anything to reach 60 - The DNC**
And we’ll keep counting til 2012 if NECESSARY
We need to stop worrying. We all know that the Supreme Court is mostly held by good, law-abiding judges. If ANY of these races end up there, they will be shot down. The Dems will have to suck it up at that point.
There will be no fillibuster-proof Senate. There just won’t. It isn’t in the cards for them.
I am sending a check to Chambliss as we speak. Glad to know there is still somethig I can do to help my country.
Hmmm... imagine that.
What I find really odd... why is it that the vast majority of “provisional” ballots are cast for the Democrat candidate?
This is why I don’t see that the GOP, at any political level, has actually seriously learned anything from the ‘08 elections. As far as the U.S. Senate is concerned, the NRSC is still pushing to stop the D’s from getting sixty D’s while also completely ignoring all of the remaining Senate RINO’s, who are more often than not agreeing with the D’s on many issues and on many votes. The GOP is totally useless when they just as equally treat the RINO’s as if they are complete conservatives on all of the issues! A continuing “politically spineless” GOP will always remain a political minority!
If Franken wins, will he get with Senator Feinstein and author a Franken-stein Bill?
I’d like to give Chucky a hard right!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.