It seems like the Dems will be taking both houses of Congress.

[Sava]

There are always exceptions.

And some people are going to whine regardless of who is in power.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Congratulations to all those who wished for Dems to gain both houses.

edit - Upon reading the latest postings in this thread I suppose I should be more incensed, Meh.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
SO LONG, SANTORUM!!!

I'm actually curious because I think I know your views on these things. Did you have to hold your nose or something voting for a candidate with a reputation as a pro-life social conservative?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Originally posted by Oerdin


Typical Drake comment. 2 of the 3 branches of government are still controlled by the Republicans and one branch is split in power. That's just the barest of bare in power sharing.

What's more pointing out deliberate, widespread, and on going criminal activity on the part of the RNC is not whining. The very fact that you endorse and/or dismiss voter surpression, dirty tricks, and criminal behavior says something about your character, Drake.

2 of 3

Executive - Yes

Judicial - SCOTUS still tilts Democratic at this point - No
(Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia vs. Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer)

Legislative - Dem both houses.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Judicial - SCOTUS still tilts Democratic at this point - No
(Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia vs. Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer)

Kennedy is a moderate Republican... yes I know supposedly they don't exist anymore . He ain't a Democrat, though.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Judicial - SCOTUS still tilts Democratic at this point - No
(Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia vs. Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer)

Kennedy is a moderate Republican... yes I know supposedly they don't exist anymore . He ain't a Democrat, though.

He at best splits more often than he votes repub. At best Scotus is a toss up.

[Imran Siddiqui]

He votes more for precedence than some on the right would like (ie, in abortion cases). And he has a libertarian streak in him. But make no mistake, he is more aligned with the right than with the left. One need only look at his votes in the big Commerce Clause cases in the 90s (Lopez and Morrison).

[Ramo]

An important part of the victory: picking up several legislative chambers.

Democratic gains vastly outnumbered Republican gains in the nation’s state legislatures Nov. 7, enough to take control of legislative chambers in at least six states – including the New Hampshire House for the first time since at least 1922.

Democratic victories in statehouses paralleled the party’s coup in the U.S. House. Final results in the 6,119 state legislative races nationwide will tell whether Democrats were able to break a near-even split in partisan control of state legislatures.

But the results were true to history: Only once since 1938 has the president's party won state legislative seats in a midterm election.

In addition to New Hampshire, Democrats took won new legislative majorities in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. They also widened their majorities in several other statehouses, including Colorado, Kentucky and North Carolina.

The GOP's only bright spot appeared to be in Oklahoma, where President Bush’s party gained two state Senate seats and left that chamber in a tie.

All other signs pointed to a Democratic wave on election night, led by a gain of more than 60 seats to take a majority in the 400-member New Hampshire House, where Democrats had been in the minority since at least 1922, according to The Associated Press.

Democrats also picked up six seats -- giving them 14 of 24 seats -- to flip control of the New Hampshire state Senate, where they have been in the minority since 1988. The victories give Democrats a lock on power in New Hampshire, where Gov. John Lynch (D) easily won re-election to a second two-year term

Democrats also took control of the Iowa House, Senate and governor’s mansion for the first time in 40 years. The party gained five seats in the Iowa House and now has a 54-45 majority, with one seat undecided, according to preliminary results reported by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Democrats moved the state Senate from a tie to a 29-21 majority, according to NCSL. Democrat Chet Culver defeated U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle in the gubernatorial race to replace outgoing Gov. Tom Vilsack (D).

In Colorado, considered a bellwether for Democratic prospects to regain footing in the West, the election of Democrat Bill Ritter to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Bill Owens puts Democrats in complete control of the Denver statehouse for the first time since 1958. The party widened its 2004 legislative gains, improving its one-seat margin in the state Senate to a 19-15 majority, and gaining three seats in the state House for a 38-27 lead, NCSL reported.

Other states where Republicans lost control to Democrats include:


* The Indiana House, where Democrats won control with a 51-49 majority in a chamber that has changed hands in seven of the past 10 elections, including 2004 when the GOP prevailed. Republicans held their 33-17 majority in the state Senate.



* Michigan Democrats took control of the state House for the first time in 12 years, gaining six seats for a 58-52 majority. Results for the Michigan Senate, where Republicans had a majority, were not yet available.



* In Minnesota, Democrats will now control both legislative chambers after winning 20 seats to take an 86-48 majority in the House and keeping control of the state Senate.



* The Wisconsin Statehouse will be split between the parties, with Democrats taking control in the state Senate but the GOP maintaining a majority of the House.

Democrats widened their lead in several other chambers, including:


* In Kentucky, Democrats picked up five seats and increased their majority in the House to 61-38. The GOP maintains a 21-16 majority in the state Senate.



* In North Carolina, early returns show that scandal-tainted Speaker Jim Black (D) maintained his seat by fewer than 10 votes, said elections expert Tim Storey of NCSL. Democrats added at least three House seats to their majority and won two seats in the state Senate for a 31-19 margin.

Altogether, 6,119 of the nation's 7, 382 state legislative seats were on the ballot in 46 states Nov. 7, as the parties sought to break a near-even deadlock in statehouse control.

Nationally, Democrats held just 21 more seats than the GOP going into the midterm election. Republicans had majorities in both legislative chambers in 20 states, while Democrats controlled 19 statehouses. Ten statehouses were split between the parties, and Nebraska has the nation's only non-partisan, unicameral Legislature.

Historically, Democrats dominated statehouses from the 1950s until the 1994 midterm elections -- during President Bill Clinton's first term -- when the GOP won more than 500 seats and gained control of a majority of state legislatures for the first time in 40 years.

The only time in almost seven decades that the president's party won state legislative seats in a midterm election was in 2002, when the nation rallied behind President Bush and Republicans in the wake of terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. In that year, the GOP finally gained a nationwide majority of seats in state legislatures for the first time since 1952.

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=155730

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
He votes more for precedence than some on the right would like (ie, in abortion cases). And he has a libertarian streak in him. But make no mistake, he is more aligned with the right than with the left. One need only look at his votes in the big Commerce Clause cases in the 90s (Lopez and Morrison).

Libertarian streak showed so evidently in the Kelo decision for one.

[Alexander's Horse]

great to see the election bringing Americans together

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
great to see the election bringing Americans together

Your absolutley right! It's much better than having those dissatified with the election results threaten to skip the country and live in hell holes like Australia or Canada.

[DinoDoc]

I'm still waiting for Streisand and Alec Baldwin to follow through on that.

[Arrian]

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe


Your absolutley right! It's much better than having those dissatified with the election results threaten to skip the country and live in hell holes like Australia or Canada.

Your personal boogie-man hasn't just been elected President, with his party also taking/retaining control of both sides of Congress.

When that happens, and you resist the urge to threaten to take your ball and go elsewhere, you can pat yourself on the back.

This was a mid-term election.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe
Libertarian streak showed so evidently in the Kelo decision for one.

That would be the deference to precedent... and the libertarian streak did show, he told the states to change it (almost pleaded with them to do so).

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe


2 of 3

Executive - Yes

Judicial - SCOTUS still tilts Democratic at this point - No
(Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia vs. Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer)

SCOTUS hears less than 100 cases a year. Something like 80% of the judges at the FDC and CCA level are Republican appointees, and that's where 99+ percent of federal judicial business is done.