Chambliss Wins Georgia Sen. Race

clipped from www.reuters.com Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, CNN said, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat "super majority" in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will. Chambliss, an incumbent who first won his U.S. Senate seat in 2002, defeated Democrat Jim Martin for the seat in a race that gained national significance because Democrats and their independent allies held 58 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate after the November 4 election. Chambliss gained more votes on November 4, but fell short of the 50 percent-plus majority required by Georgia law. His victory surprised few in Georgia, a southern state in the most conservative part of the country that backed Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain over Obama in the presidential election.

There you go. The filibuster-proof Democratic senate majority is officially dead. Can we stop pretending that Joe Lieberman's anything other than a worthless, steaming pile now?

That'd be great.

The Stuff I Didn't Get To -- 12/2/08

Have yourself an impeachy little Xmas

-Headline of the day-
"White House Christmas tree to feature 'impeach Bush' message."

Is this War on Christmas news? It kind of seems like it is and it kind of seems like it's not. You figure it out. That whole WoC thing doesn't make any sense to me anyway.

According to the report, "The Washington Post's Reliable Source gossip column reports that a Seattle artist submitted an ornament design celebrating Rep. Jim McDermott's support for impeachment" and that this ornament was approved for inclusion on the White House Christmas tree.

The ornaments on the tree, which are approved by the office of the First Lady, "are supposed to showcase something special about each congressional district." The special thing about Jim McDermott's district is, apparently, McDermott's quest for presidential impeachment.

The ornament features swirls of text that include references to "Washington state's 1919 labor strike, its suffrage movement and the violent anti-World Trade Organization riots of 1999," in addition to Rep. Jim's desire to try an convict the head of the household in which it will hang.

"Apparently, they didn't read it -- or Laura Bush is more progressive than I believed," says McDermott.

My money's on the former. But you never know, maybe Laura's as sick of her husband as everyone else is. (Raw Story)


-FOX on the run-
Remember the news that Barack Obama has called on FOX News zero times at pressers since he's been elected? Yeah, that's fun, isn't it?

This is turning out to be something of a trend for the fair and balanced folks, who are having a hard time booking talking heads. At least, that appears to be the case, since Foxbot Neil Cavuto was stuck discussing the presidential transition with reality TV not-really star Omarosa, who -- if you remember her at all -- you will remember as being a freakin' crazy woman whose fifteen minutes of fame ran out years ago. So crazy, in fact, that she was even goofier than the star of the show she was on, Donald Trump's The Apprentice.

With Ann Coulter's jaw wired shut, I suppose it's harder to find vaguely telegenic lunatics who'll back up whatever crazy-assed BS any random Foxbot puts out there.

But still, they couldn't get Michelle Malkin to show? (Huffington Post, via reddit)


-You're getting warmer!-
As the recount in the Minnesota Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken winds down, it's reported that 171 uncounted ballots have been found. Now Norm has a 305 vote edge, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Wait a second, "found ballots?" Who the fuck is Minnesota's Secretary of State, the Easter Bunny? (Political Wire)

Griper Blade: The Exit Interview

Some have called it the "exit interview." President Bush sat down with ABC News' Charles Gibson for an interview, to be broadcast during the nightly news. A few moments are getting all the coverage and they probably should. Bush continues to live in a world all his own, completely isolated from the facts and reality. Still, there are cracks in the bubble and reality seeps in in small quantities. Asked by Gibson, "Was the election in any way a repudiation of the Bush administration?" Bush answered:

I think it was a repudiation of Republicans. And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy. In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as President.

I like that last sentence. That ought to kill all that speculation that we elected Barack Obama by accident. We made a conscious choice. Good to know. You ever notice how Bush will say something obvious, then say "in other words" and say something just as obvious? Sometimes the "other words" aren't even other words, just the same words in a different order and in a different tense. It's like he's thinking he's got to say more, so he pads his word count. In other words, he's padding his word count because he thinks he needs to use more words...

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