it's not over (dems fight on in three states)

You may have thought that the elections were over and done with as soon as you heard the words "President-Elect," but three Democrats across the country are fighting on for Senate seats as their races are still too close to call.

In Minnesota, comedian-turned-politician Al Franken is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. The state is undertaking what appears to be a recount as only about 200 votes separate the two candidates.

Down in Georgia, Democratic candidate Jim Martin has forced Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss into a runoff election. We'll know the fate of that Senate seat after the results come in from the Dec. 2 contest. (By the way, Chambliss seems to think that he's in a runoff because so many black people voted in Georgia.)

And finally, there's a showdown taking place in Sarah Palin's stomping grounds of Alaska! It seems that voters, even those that are traditonally Republican, don't take kindly to their senator being convicted of three felonies during a re-election campaign. Alaskan officials are still counting the votes, which at last count showed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich ahead by a razor-thin margin of only three votes. The state Democratic Party is "cautiously optimistic."

It's going to take hard work, but Democrats could win these three seats. And if that were to happen, they would be entering the next session of Congress with a filibuster-proof supermajority of 60 solid Democratic votes, with or without Joe Lieberman in the caucus.

We can't wait to see the results of these exciting races! We'll keep you posted on the outcomes. In the meantime, please consider making contributions to Jim Martin's runoff campaign in Georgia.

the palin pick

Many analysts are pointing to John McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate to explain his post-convention poll bounce, but why?

The media should have taken the pulse of the nation on the Palin pick before assuming that women would be up in arms about the choice and that informed voters would reject her. The liberal blogosphere should have given her half a second before pouncing on her, and bringing all of her personal controversies to light.

Why? Well, because the mainstream media combined with the online left may have helped to bolster Palin's image despite their efforts to tear her down. By attacking her from the moment of her announcement, Republicans were forced to learn more about her and begin defending her on day one, which has set a precedent. Because the left was so outraged at the pick, the right was automatically inspired by it.

Others will leap to Palin's defense as sexism continues to color her coverage. If some of us in the blogosphere may be thinking that Palin's large family would prohibit her from holding the office of vice president, we'd do best not to express those feelings publicly, because we would be perpetuating a sexist meme that has seeped into the American conscience: the idea that the woman's first priority is to the home.

Yes, Sarah Palin has a special needs child, a pregnant teenager, as well as three other children, but she also has a husband who can help with the parenting while she holds elected office. If it were her husband that were running for vice president, no one would even think to ask if he could hold office while presiding over a large family.

And regardless of whether or not Democrats have sexist intentions behind their comments, if the American voter perceives sexism in politics, especially if that voter is a woman, she may feel a duty to defend that person and even vote for that person. Sometimes, when the media wants to pronounce someone down and out, the American public has different ideas and forces the media to come around to the pulse of the public.

The Palin pick was not an accident. McCain knew what he was doing, whether or not you think she was fully vetted. By picking Palin, McCain utilized the element of surprise to steal attention away from Barack Obama's powerful convention speech. He knew that her feisty nature, her scrappy style of politics, her contrasting youthfulness, and her conservative chops would add considerably to his ticket. He also hoped that she might stir resentment among Democrats who voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary and felt she got a raw deal.

On Barack Obama's part, Joe Biden is a solid pick. He closes holes in Obama's candidacy, namely foreign policy experience, Washington know-how, and blue-collar appeal. But Obama mainly picked Biden because he knew that Biden would actually make a decent vice president. Obama chose his Senate colleague as a running mate under the assumption that he was going to win the election. From what we have seen since the announcements, Biden has not considerably helped the Democratic ticket, but would arguably be a boon to an Obama administration if elected.

Palin's is a pure political pick, because her experience as governor of Alaska actually brings little to the table of national politics. Is it qualifying, executive experience? Sure, but how will she help McCain's administration once in office? McCain picked Palin to help him win. It is reminiscient of the long-canceled television series Commander In Chief in which Geena Davis stars as the first female president, rising to that office from vice president following the death of the president. On his deathbed, the president asks Davis' character to resign from office and allow the Speaker of the House to ascend to the presidency, reminding her that he only picked her to win the "soccer mom vote." Needless to say, she ignores his pleas and assumes the presidency.

As it turns out, Obama would have benefited greatly from picking his former opponent Hillary Clinton as his running mate. If Obama had chosen Clinton, McCain would not have chosen Palin. Because both of the running mates would be female, it would starkly contrast the two... and even Republicans can admit that Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton. I'm sure that Palin was a lock under the assumption that Obama would not choose Clinton, but had he chosen her, McCain would have been almost forced to make another choice. Without the Palin pick to shake things up, the media would have incessantly covered the new Democratic team of Obama and Clinton right through the Republican convention, and with a duller pick from McCain he arguably wouldn't have enjoyed a post-convention bounce. (Another way McCain could've shaken things up would have been to choose Joe Lieberman, but that would have opened a whole new can of worms on both sides of the aisle.)

But Obama did not choose Clinton, so what can he and Biden do now to tame Palin and take down McCain?

[This post is the first in a series about Sarah Palin and her affect on the presidential race. Stay tuned for the next installment.]

joe lieberman, part deux

Brace yourselves, because this is about to get interesting.

Joe Lieberman, senator for Connecticut and Al Gore's running mate back in 2000, is reportedly ready to jump ship. Again.

In 2006, the grassroots and netroots staged a coup against pro-war Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary to challenger Ned Lamont. Lieberman then decided to run as an independent and he bested Lamont in the general.

Lieberman may be forced to cut all ties this time, though, as rumors swirl that Republican nominee John McCain is seriously considering tapping a pro-choice running mate, with Lieberman's name at the top of his shortlist.

What will happen if McCain gets the Joementum? Word on the street is that we'll hear McCain's vice-presidential pick on August 29.

sore loserman and crazy cynthia

With nearly all precincts reporting and with Ned Lamont the apparent victor with nearly 52% of the vote, Senator Joe Lieberman conceded the Democratic primary race in Connecticut. Shunned by his Democratic constituents, he has vowed to make a run for his old Senate seat as an independent candidate. Lamont had accused Lieberman of being too close to the Republicans and cited his outspoken views in favor of the Iraq war. In the final throes of the primary battle, Lieberman's campaign site imploded. The campaign blamed Lamont supporters. Burnt Orange Report is drawing comparisons between Lieberman's independent bid and Carole Keeton Strayhorn's independent campaign in the gubernatorial race here in Texas.

Down in Georgia, it appears that Rep. Cynthia McKinney, "Bush's worst enemy," lost the Democratic primary runoff by a little less than 20% of the vote and won't be returning to Washington next year. Her opponent, Hank Johnson, accused McKinney of being an embarrassment to Georgia's 4th District and encouraged voters to pick a more moderate candidate. In March, McKinney had a scuffle with U.S. Capitol security when she wasn't wearing a pin that signified her as a congresswoman and the officer refused to let her enter the building. She cited racism, but the officer claimed not to recognize her. McKinney blamed losing the original primary on Republicans turning out to vote for Johnson. After briefly being unseated in 2002, she gave the same reason. Johnson's catch-phrase was "Anybody But Cynthia," and he promises to be a less divisive congressional figure. His detractors call him a Republican-funded Democrat. MSNBC analysis says that in the heavily-Democratic 4th District, the victorious Johnson is likely to win the seat in November.