|
|
ALLEN'S CONCESSION MEANS DEMOCRATS WILL CONTROL BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS 11 November 2006 The concession of Sen. George Allen (R-VA) to challenger Jim Webb gives the Democrats 51 seats in the Senate chamber, guaranteeing an outright majority, and control of both houses of Congress. The concession appears to seal the results of the midterm elections as a rejection of the methods and ideas of the party that has held power throughout the Bush presidency, and could significantly weaken his position as top executive. Allen had struggled in the campaign to liberate himself from several touchy issues, especially the use of a racial slur in what he claimed was an innocent joke. The challenger, Webb, painted the slip-up as a sign of his being out of touch with the population at large and less than serious about the dignity of his office. Webb has sought to appear throughout the campaign as an independent thinker and a voice for change and for institutional reform in Washington. His approach to campaigning was off-beat from the start. The Washington Post reports "Webb was nervous in front of large crowds, couldn't understand why people wanted to shake his hand and hated asking people for money. He even turned down checks from people he didn't think could afford to give up, as he called it, 'their gas money.'" He decided to get into the race thinking he could take some chances traditional Democrats might not take, and beat the incumbent Republican. When he first asked what his chances might be, he was reportedly told 15%. According to the Democratic strategist who gave him the number, Webb retorted "If I have that much of a chance, I will take it and win." And Webb's victory has now given the Democrats control of both houses of Congress, being the last Senate contest to be officially decided. As for the Democrats, they are looking to put forward a wide range of new legislation to support their "Six for '06" platform, which consisted of "security... better American jobs... college access for all... energy independence [and renewable resources]... affordable health care, life-saving science... retirement security and dignity". The strategy was to persuade voters that the Republican party had managed each of these issues badly and had failed to provide for the future, while painting the Democratic party as the party most able to bring the necessary changes in direction. This appears to have been achieved by the overwhelming victory voters handed to the Democratic party. Polls seem to confirm that voters' dissatisfaction with Republicans was only part of the story; they also seem to feel that the Democrats at present are more able to bring the necessary culture of governance to serve their interests, despite a wave of commentary allocating responsibility for the huge sway in congressional power to mis-steps or abuses. [s]
BACKGROUND: Among the early news emerging from the 2006 midterm elections: Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy win by wide margins; embattled Republican senator Rick Santorum is ousted by Bob Casey, Jr., by margin of nearly 59% to 41%; Rep. Weldon loses seat in PA, largely due to corruption scandal; Democrats take control of House of Representatives. [Full Story] SECURITY OF U.S. ELECTIONS, VOTING RIGHTS NOT GUARANTEED The 2000 election process gave clear evidence that the established system for running elections and counting votes in the United States is not cohesive, not fool-proof and not secure against tampering. Congress took action to reform voting standards nationwide to "Help America Vote". But that legislation suffered one fatal flaw: while promoting the shift to touchscreen ballots, it did not require that electronic balloting machines produce a paper record that could be hand-checked. [Full Story] TWENTY-SIX STATES HAVE PASSED LEGISLATION REQUIRING PAPER TRAILS FOR ELECTRONIC BALLOTS Since the 2000 election, voting technology has become a major issue in US elections regimens and regulations; touchscreen balloting machines, which legislatures seem to have favored as a way to record votes accurately, eliminating the 'hanging chad' problem, were designed with no paper record and have proven insecure and susceptible to tampering. Now, 26 US states have passed laws requiring paper trails, and 13 more, plus Washington, DC, have proposed laws "not yet enacted". [Full Story] SAN DIEGO COUNTY SENT VOTING MACHINES HOME WITH POLL WORKERS ON EVE OF ELECTION Reports have emerged that according to the San Diego registrar of voters, poll workers in San Diego county took tamper-susceptible Diebold voting machines home on the eve of the election. In some cases, poll workers may have had unsupervised access to the machines for a week or longer. [Full Story] TEXAS REDISTRICTING FOUND ILLEGAL BY JUSTICE LAWYERS, FINDINGS OVERRULED New documents show Justice Department lawyers unanimously found the Texas Congressional redistricting plan to be illegal. But that finding was overruled by top Justice officials and the staff involved in the research and analysis "were subjected to an unusual gag rule", this according to the Washington Post. [Full Story] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Original, Graphic Content © 2000-08 Sentido