Senate Newbie Rand Paul Asks Noted Hothead Imbecile Al Franken to Be His Mentor

What could possibly go wrong?

It would appear that a rather unexpected friendship has bloomed in our nation’s capital: Sen. Al Franken, a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, has found something of a kindred spirit in Kentucky’s Rand Paul, the freshman senator who has plans to form a Senate Tea Party Caucus.

The two men get along so well, in fact, that Paul has asked Franken to act as his Democratic mentor.

Well, I suppose if Paul is looking for somebody to teach him how to avoid tenacious journalists asking pesky questions about bills he hasn't read, how to physically intimidate your debate opponent after he smokes you like a cheap cigar, or how to drop one or fifty f-bombs then I guess he went to the right guy.

But if you ask me, this 'new civility' movement overtaking the Beltway is getting completely out of hand.

Via Mediaite. Cross-posted.

Massachusetts Senate Results: Coakley Concedes!

Major update at 9:20: Scott Brown just said on WRKO in Boston that Coakley called to concede!

9:25 Update: Fox's Carl Cameron announces it: Brown has won. Bring on the Hump Bot.

9:30 Update: It's official.

In an epic upset in liberal Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown rode a wave of voter anger to defeat Democrat Martha Coakley in a U.S. Senate election Tuesday that left President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in doubt and marred the end of his first year in office.

The loss by the once-favored Coakley for the seat that the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy held for nearly half a century signaled big political problems for the president's party this fall when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.

9:55 Update: Coakley concession speech. Bye bye, Marcia.

And finally, the Humpbot.

Robot libido
by sabotage

Started this in the previous post, but things should develop quickly.

You can view live results here. Rasmussen has exit polling here.

Preliminary results include:

* Among those who decided how they would vote in the past few days, Coakley has a slight edge, 47% to 41%.
* Coakley also has a big advantage among those who made up their mind more than a month ago.

Hmmm. Plus, Nostrilitus, man of reason?

Powerful Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Henry Waxman (D-CA) does not support moving healthcare reform bill quickly if Martha Coakley loses.

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to do that," Waxman said. "He ought to be seated and we'll see where we go -- if he wins!"

With 7% of the vote counted it's 51-48% for Brown.

More here. Ace is at Brown HQ.

Update 8:40: Brown up 5 with 18% of the vote in. A live blog at RCP. A good town-by-town link here.

Update 8:45: The WHDH link seems to be updating faster than most. Now 25% of precincts with Brown up 52-47, 288,615 to 260,730.

Update 8:50: Howie Carr is calling it for Brown while on O'Reilly. He looks like he lost some weight. Democrat Mary Anne Marsh is crestfallen. Now 40% of the vote in--this is coming in fast--and it's 53-46 for Brown.

Update 9 pm: Now 57% in and it's 53-46 for Brown. Ace is still drinking and schmoozing.

Update 9:15: On MessNBC, in the face of imending disaster for the Democrats, Howard Dean tells Rachel Maddow that people are tired of the "the partisan bickering" in Washington. No, Howie, they're tired of the Democrats. It's now 65% of the vote in with Brown up 53-46 with nearly a 100,000 vote lead. Someone's going to be calling this soon, I imagine.

Make 2010 Their Last Year In Office

We all knew that last nights vote outcome was pre-ordained. The American people held on to some sort of slim hope that maybe, just maybe the healthcare bill could be stopped last night, and all it would have taken was one vote from a Democrat to kill it so that they could scrap the massive tome currently circulating Capitol Hill and go back to the drawing board, but alas the Democrats proved once again they are more afraid of their leadership then they are their constituents.

It is time to make our elected officials more afraid of the people who gave them their job then the bullies they follow. The following is a list of Democrat senators up for reelection next year. Americans are going to have to target these races. Venting your outrage at all things political just muddies the water. Get focused on those who are actually up for election.

I watched part of the debate yesterday in between watching football games and while the Republicans could cite facts and figures the Democrats spent their time demonizing insurance companies, questioning the sanity and patriotism of the average American who opposed their government takeover plan, and tried to tug at the heart strings with stories of people who they feel were wronged by the system. The problem is none of their proposals will address those inequities and in fact will make things worse.

I am not advocating being cold and heartless in this healthcare reform issue, quite the opposite. I want to see something done to address the problems, but overhauling the whole system is not the answer.

So here is your list of Democrat Senators up for reelection in 2010. Keep it. Clip it. Challenge them. Vote them out of office. Make them once again responsive to we the people.

Roland Burris - IL
Ted Kauffman - DE
Blanche Lincoln - AR
Barbara Boxer - CA
Michael Bennet - CO
Christopher Dodd _ CT
Daniel Inouye - HI
Evan Bayh - IN
Barbara Mikulski - MD
Harry Reid - NV
Kirsten Gillibrand - NY
Chuck Schumer - NY
Byron Dorgan - ND
Ron Wyden - OR
Arlen Specter - PA
Patrick Leahy - VT
Patty Murray - WA
Russ Feingold - WI

Connecticut Senate Race Set to Become Clown Show

Memo to the Conencticut GOP: Put the kibosh on this one right now. While the obvious goal is to rid us of the odious and corrupt Christopher Dodd, the last thing you need is to have a woman with a cattle car of baggage such as Linda McMahon, who as recently as 2006 was giving money to Democrats. If she's anything like her husband you need to distance yourselves as fast as possible.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon appears primed to run for Senate in Connecticut and should make an announcement very soon, according to sources with knowledge of her deliberations.

“A decision is imminent, and she will likely make a decision over the next couple of days,” said a Republican strategist. “It will be made sooner rather than later.”

One well-placed source said McMahon is “99 percent” in. Another said the announcement could come as early as Wednesday.

The second source noted that she has done polling on the race and hired consultants Mike Slanker and Patrick Sullivan. She has also brought on former National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Ed Patru to help with early communications.

Patru said McMahon hasn’t made a decision yet.

“She is taking into consideration a number of factors, including resources and the time commitment it would take to win,” he said. “She plays to win, so if she gets in, she’s in all the way. She has the capacity to bring considerable resources to the race, and she has an established record.”

McMahon, the wife of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, would throw a big wrench into the race against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) simply by virtue of her ability to spend potentially tens of millions of dollars of her own money on the race.

The absolute last thing the GOP needs is to have some political neophyte buy herself a nomination and then watch the media and Dodd pose this basic question to her: Why do so many of your employees drop dead at such a young age after rampant steroid abuse?

Is this an image the GOP needs? If that's not enough, consider this:

No stranger to Connecticut Republican politics, McMahon has been an active supporter of GOP causes and politicians. But she has also given to Democrats over the years, including to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in 2006 when it knocked off two Connecticut Republicans in the House.

Sounds like a committed Republican, no?

Senate Prepares to Tackle Really Major Issue

I guess things will be really slow around Washington next week. Seriously, there isn't anything more pressing than the college football BCS?

The Senate plans to hold a hearing next week looking into antitrust issues surrounding college football's Bowl Championship Series.

It will be the second hearing on the BCS held on Capitol Hill this year, following a contentious one in the House in May.

The Senate Judiciary Committee Web site says the hearing will be next Tuesday in the committee's subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights.

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the subcommittee's top Republican, had sought the hearing. His office did not immediately return telephone and e-mail messages.

Not that the geniuses at the NCAA who run the BCS have got it running smoothly, but I have more faith they can run their sport than the U.S. Senate can.

Senator Hatch ought to find something more constructive to do with his time than continue whining that the University of Utah was unfairly denied a spot in the BCS Championship last year.

Saxby Chambliss Wins Georgia Runoff

Thus the Democrats are stuck at 58 seats in the Senate, pending the outcome of Al Franken's attempted theft of Norm Coleman's seat in Minnesota.

This was a blowout.

Republican Saxby Chambliss won Georgia’s Senate runoff Tuesday, denying Democrats a chance to reach a filibuster-proof majority next year.

Democratic state Rep. Jim Martin was unable to overcome the fact that he did not have President-elect Obama on the ballot in the runoff. He trailed the incumbent 61-39 with 71 percent of precincts reporting when the race was called.

Chambliss’s victory leaves Minnesota as the lone outstanding Senate contest. A recount is underway in the razor-thin race between GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

Should Franken win, Democrats will get to 59 seats. Either way, they hope to reach the 60-seat threshold in 2010.

Must have been that visit from Sarah Palin that put him over the top.

They Can't Run a Restaurant, So What Qualifies Them To Run Our Healthcare System?

More government incompetence.

Yes, these are the same people who want to run every aspect of your life, yet they cannot even manage their own posh eateries.

Year after year, decade upon decade, the U.S. Senate's network of restaurants has lost staggering amounts of money -- more than $18 million since 1993, according to one report, and an estimated $2 million this year alone, according to another.

The financial condition of the world's most exclusive dining hall and its affiliated Capitol Hill restaurants, cafeterias and coffee shops has become so dire that, without a $250,000 subsidy from taxpayers, the Senate won't make payroll next month.

The embarrassment of the Senate food service struggling like some neighborhood pizza joint has quietly sparked change previously unthinkable for Democrats. Last week, in a late-night voice vote, the Senate agreed to privatize the operation of its food service, a decision that would, for the first time, put it under the control of a contractor and all but guarantee lower wages and benefits for the outfit's new hires.

A late-night voice vote designed no doubt to hide this humiliation from the public.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Rules and Administrations Committee, which oversees the operation of the Senate, said she had no choice.

"It's cratering," she said of the restaurant system. "Candidly, I don't think the taxpayers should be subsidizing something that doesn't need to be. There are parts of government that can be run like a business and should be run like businesses."

Did she just say privatizing is better than losing money? Why, yes she did.

Now, why on earth do we then want to take private industries and socialize them?

More from Don Surber.

Good News: Senate Shuts Down

Government works best when it's not working at all, as far as I'm concerned.

Props to Mitch McConnell for showing some stones. If it puts a halt to this idiotic, economy-crushing globwarm bill, then it's all worth it.

Overshadowed by the hype of Barack Obama's victory lap on the Senate floor today is a simmering dispute between Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over President Bush's remaining judicial nominees.

McConnell has essentially shut down the Senate floor this afternoon by forcing the Senate clerk to read aloud the entire 500 page global warming bill. So if legislative language is your thing, turn on C-SPAN and watch the Senate at its best, or worst, depending on your perspective.

McConnell (R-Ky.) believes Reid (D-Nev.) has backtracked on a promise to clear a significant number of Republican judicial nominees, but Democrats are becoming more and more hesitant to give Bush judges a lifelong appointment to the federal bench in the waning months of this White House.

Will the Senate Veto This Travesty?

Yesterday the House of Representatives voted down a pork laden defense appropriations bill that also included mandates on troop withdrawals and today it is the Senate's turn.

Let's see what they do?

The package, approved on a voice vote, includes $169 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through part of next year and more than $25 billion in new domestic spending, The Hill, a Washington publication, reported. It also sets a goal for troops to be moved out of a military role in Iraq by June 2009.

There is so much going on in Washington this week and Michelle Malkin is busy tracking the latest attempt to get some sort of amnesty legislation pushed through via the backdoor.

"But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States as well as in the Federal Government." -- Andrew Jackson, Farewell Address, March 4, 1837

Grueling Holiday Schedule as Senate Opens for 11 Seconds

A cheesy stunt courtesy of Dingy Harry.

Although when you think of it, if they were in business for only 11 seconds a day year-round, they'd probably be less reviled.

The U.S. Senate was called to order for 11 seconds on Wednesday as the last political scuffle of the year between the White House and the Democratic-led Congress played out.

Democratic senators will hold short "pro forma" sessions over the holiday break to prevent recess appointments.

Nearly all the senators left the Capitol for the Christmas holiday last week, but Democrats are keeping the Senate in session to block President Bush from making any recess appointments -- a constitutional mechanism that allows the president, during congressional recesses, to fill top government posts for up to one year without Senate confirmation.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, opened and then immediately gaveled the Senate session to a close. He spent 57 seconds in the chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, announced December 19 that he would keep the Senate open with a series of "pro forma" sessions through mid-January.

How lame.

The stunt will continue, as some of the more odious and loathsome Democrats have their photo ops coming up.

Webb also did the duty Friday, but he won't be the only senator tasked with presiding over the shortened sessions. Other Democrats -- including Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Cardin of Maryland and Chuck Schumer of New York -- will share the duty.

What I'd like to know is how much money does it cost open the Senate for business only as a means for this cheap gimmick by petty Democrats?

Hagel Leaving Senate

Facing a strong primary challenge in 2008 and with no shot in hell of ever being taken seriously in a bid for the presidency, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel will be announcing his retirement Monday.

He won't be missed.

Hagel is calling it quits

WASHINGTON - Chuck Hagel will announce Monday that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate and will not run for president next year, people close to the Nebraska Republican said Friday.

Hagel plans to announce that "he will not run for re-election and that he does not intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008," said one person, who asked not to be named.

Hagel has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Monday at the Omaha Press Club.

According to one person interviewed, Hagel told Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Friday morning that he had decided to retire. Hagel's staff learned of his decision that afternoon.

The North Platte native earned national recognition as perhaps the most vocal, at times angry, GOP critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policies.

His outspokenness on Iraq and other key issues, including Social Security and foreign policy, fueled national interest in Hagel as he flirted with a possible presidential bid.

His national profile reached its zenith in March, when he headed to Omaha to hold a press conference on his political future.

But amid wide speculation that he was leaning toward a White House run, Hagel announced that he would disclose his plans later in the year.

His departure leaves the GOP with another Senate seat to defend in 2008.

In Nebraska, the news will trigger a scramble among possible successors.

Attorney General Jon Bruning has been campaigning for the GOP Senate nomination since spring. A second Republican, financial adviser Pat Flynn of Schuyler, also already announced his candidacy.

Other Republicans who could enter the race are former Gov. Mike Johanns, now the U.S. agriculture secretary; former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub; and Columbus businessman Tony Raimondo.

Former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, president of the New School University in New York City, has voiced interest in returning to the Senate.

Also mentioned by Nebraska Democrats are Scott Kleeb, who lost a race to Republican Adrian Smith in the 3rd Congressional District last year, and Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey.

Now Hagel is free to go on the talking head shows to continue trashing his fellow Republicans, though once he outlives his usefulness, he'll notice the left wants nothing more to do with him.

More from Dan Riehl and Don Surber.

Rough Road for Shamnesty

One would think in the face of overwhelming displeasure with this bill, the proponents would just pack it in.

I guess not.

The White House says it has the votes to resurrect the immigration bill on the Senate floor today, though enough senators said they may change their minds in other votes later this week to leave the bill's ultimate fate in doubt.

To pass the Senate, the bill must earn 60 votes today, survive a series of amendments, earn 60 votes in a follow-up vote likely to come Thursday, and then pass with majority support — all difficult tests on an issue that deeply divides both parties, and American voters.

"Our intelligence suggests that there will be the votes there to move on to the bill and to begin considering amendments," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan told reporters yesterday as President Bush and his administration make a final push for the bill's passage.

Time to euthanize this mess.

Michelle Malkin has much more.

Senate Seeks Fuel Efficiency

The US Senate has approved a bill that would require vehicles sold in the US to burn 30% less fuel by the year 2020.

Fuel efficiency will have to be 35mpg. The measure is part of a wider draft law on conserving energy and promoting alternative fuels.

30% more efficiency by 2020? 35 mpg? I bought a Datsun 210 in 1981 that got 45 mpg on the highway, 35 in the city. If the technology existed 25 years ago to do this, I have to believe we can still do it today. It's just that lots of folks do not want to buy and drive cars that small because gas prices are not high enough to make them want to yet. And the time frame is 13 years from now, which is long after the current crop of elected officials will probably be gone from office.

This legislation might be meaningful in say, 3 or 4 years, but 13? At the rate fuel prices are increasing, the higher prices will have brought about more fuel efficiency long before the next 13 years passes.

Let the market price regulate this, not some pinheads in Washington.

Scant Senate Support for Illegals Bill (UPDATE)

What little support exists for the amnesty bill seems to be evaporating quickly under an avalanche of negative public opinion now that particulars have been released and disseminated.

This turkey has to be squashed pronto, especially if Republicans want to maintain any support in the base.

Fewer than 20 senators are publicly committed to supporting the immigration deal that hits the Senate floor today while nearly 40 are already opposed or have serious concerns, underscoring how difficult it will be for President Bush and his allies to craft a coalition that can pass the bill.

A Washington Times survey of Senate offices and public comments after the deal was announced Thursday found an additional 32 senators who said they cannot even take a position yet -- a result of the fact that the deal was written in secret by a dozen senators and the Bush administration, wasn't even finalized until yesterday and still hasn't reached many Senate offices.

"I did not agree to any immigration deal and was not part of the negotiations," said Sen. Jim Bunning, Kentucky Republican and a likely opponent. "From what I have heard about the bill, it gives amnesty to the estimated 12.5 million illegal immigrants in this country."

Those opposing are listed here.

Reaction from NZ Bear, John Fund, Betsy Newmark, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, Don Surber, La Shawn Barber.

UPDATE: Afternoon blog roundup at Fishwrap.

Seldom has the conservative blogosphere been as active on a single issue as it is about the Senate immigration bill, which is due for its first vote today. Lots of bloggers are linking to today's Stephen Dinan/S.A. Miller article -- discuss it at our "Insider" blog, which also links to the full text of the bill -- and other bloggers are linking to our "Immigration debacle" editorial.

Also see Kris W. Kobach with Rewarding Lawbreakers.