Since the hangover has subsided from the drone surrounding the 2006 Congressional elections, and the Democrats have officially “taken over,” we can now sleep peacefully knowing Things Are Going To Change. Reading, watching, and listening to mainstream media outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, and their stepchildren since November suggests a bright ray of hope beckons on our horizon: The Democrats have returned! Our saviors are back! Sanity restored!
In November, for the first time since 1994, power in the House shifted with Democrats now holding a 233-202 edge. But frankly, anyone following these important races knew anything short of a Democratic victory there would have been an abysmal failure for The Blues.
However, the Senate provided different drama, because for Democrats, winning the Senate was at best a captive prayer. Few pundits predicted what ultimately happened there: another Democratic takeover.
Whippee! Hurray! The Democrats have returned! Our saviors are back! Sanity restored!
And make no mistake about it: these changes will bring fresh new faces and ideas to the stalemate that is Washington, D.C. A woman running the House, Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, is long overdue. The perception of at least some checks and balance between the President’s Office and Congress is desperately needed. A renewed focus on Iraq, Iran, immigration, energy, education, health care, and the economy may offer hope.
In a washingtonpost.com article dated November 9, Dan Balz wrote, “Tuesday’s electoral earthquake triggered an equally seismic reaction in Washington yesterday”. During an interview on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Newsweek’s Senior Editor Jonathan Alter said of conservatives grumbling after the elections, “Their big tent got blown over by Tuesday’s hurricane.” Listen, if earthquakes and hurricanes were always this tame, we wouldn’t need FEMA. Come on already.
However, there is one gaping hole in this argument large enough to contain all the Barbara Streisand and Harry Belafonte records ever sold: the Democrats don’t have a majority in the Senate, technically, which means they barely have a majority in Congress. Note to mainstream media donkeys: stick to the facts, Journalism 101.
Let me explain.
The Democrats do have a slim majority in the Senate, 51-49, but they technically don’t have a majority (perception is 90% truth). In other words, in classic Clintonese, they do but they don’t.
That is because two independents, Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, a former Democrat-turned quasi-Republican-turned Independent-turned quasi-Democrat, and recently elected Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, have agreed to caucus with Democrats. Subtract them, and you have a 49-49 tie in the Senate: guess who serves as tiebreaker? You guessed it: Mr. Darth Vader himself – Vice President Dick Cheney.
We all know how reliable and valuable Lieberman is to Democrats. He has been one of the most disappointing Democratic Senators during the Bush presidency. And frankly, most Americans don’t know who Bernie Sanders is – most Americans will probably dismiss him as a fast food chain in Georgia.
This should frighten every Democrat. The balance of power in American politics ultimately resides in the hands of Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders? What!!! You might as well let the retired cop-turned-security guard with a beer belly the size of Pluto monitor the buttons that can detonate America’s nuclear arsenal.
For diehard Democrats, perhaps the days immediately following the election foreshadowed exactly how fragile this “majority” is. HouseDemocrats.gov, an important party Website, was broken for at least one week after the elections. Down. Unavailable. Unable to connect.
Pelosi’s own Website itself was broken the day she officially accepted the gavel. The greatest irony? The House’s Energy and Commerce Committee also lost their Website’s service temporarily after the elections. Who cares that Internet regulations actually fall under its purview.
Oh boy. Here we go already. Shhh! Blame it on “transitions”.
The point here is simple: watching the donkeys in mainstream media, so apparently eager for Democratic control, would have you believe we’re on the verge of a Democratic Revolution. The sky is dropping photos of Clinton, and the heavens are signing Dixie Chick songs. It’s raining Hillaries and Obamas, they’d have you believe.
The sad truth we learned from the 2006 Congressional elections is this: the Democrats are really, really, really desperate!
The even sadder part is the jackasses, I mean the donkeys, on the other side are drooling over the opportunities this Democratic victory hysteria has already created for 2008.
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