Tuesday, November 07, 2006 :::
 
A Mind That Suits returns to blogging today to make a couple of important points.

This is, first of all, perhaps the only election he has ever been through where there is absolutely no point to voting. In nearly all previous elections in Your Nation's Capital, it was the solemn duty of everyone who could see why to send a signal that there were those in the District of Columbia who hated Marion Barry. That alone was enough to force one to vote.

This year, however, the all-too-slick Andrien Fenty was annointed by the Democratic Powers That Be early on, and his election today is a mere formality, as he easily swamped all of his opponents in September's Democratic primary.

Whether this is a good thing for DC remains to be seen.

Councilwoman Linda Cropp, who did valiant service opposing the new DC baseball stadium, a pure giveaway to people who don't need it, never had a chance, and she may not have otherwise deseved one.

So there is actually nothing to vote on today.

But then a Certain Pudgy, Balding English Teacher remembers what his dear father went through to ensure that he and every American had the right to vote, so he will take something to read later this afternoon, and do his duty.

Predictions: the conventional wisdom seems to be right today, based on a last minute surge for Republicans. That is surely because lots of people who prefer not to think about politics except for one week every two years--a blessed, happy lot, who should be honored--probably focused on the phrase "Speaker Pelosi" and all that that entailed.

However, because Republicans have conceded 10 or more seats in the House of Representatives, Speaker Pelosi is what we will likely have. She has apparently already promised all the plum chairmanships to her soulmates on the Far Left, but thanks to the ever-practical Rahm Emmanuel, who headed this year's Democratic drive in the House, she will be confronted with junior minions who do not think it is odd to go to church or value unborn life. Others have predicted, therefore, that hers will be a much reduced agenda, and so says A Mind That Suits.

For an excellent discussion of why this election will determine a LOT that happens in the next two years, but probably does not alter the underlying electoral realities, please click here.

And exactly because voters have awoken to the issues, it is unlikely that the Senate will be Democratic. It still could be, but it seems unlikely. Any shady House Republicans who think they will get a reprieve simply because some voter showed up to put a Republican in the Senate is dreaming. No one has to punch all the holes in a ballot.

And if the Senate is hard for the Democrats to get ahold of, it will be because they, on the local level in Maryland, did what the House Republicans did on a national level: instead of governing, they bullied. They put two machine politicians at the top of their ticket. Most particularly, they pitted Old Hat Ben Cardin against the entirely refreshing, authentic, and original Michael Steele. Lt. Gov. Steele happens to be Black, a fact not lost on the residents and leaders of Prince George's County, who also happen to be Black. At this point, frankly, it looks like a juggernaut, thanks to Lt. Gov. Steele's indefatigable campaigning where no Republican has gone before, to whit, P.G. County. This means that Democrats have had to pour millions into Maryland that they would logically have put elsewhere, just as they would have put former President Clinton elsewhere at that last minute. But he was in P.G. County two days ago.

Now, in Maryland, a Republican juggernaut means the candidate will win by half a percentage point, because most Republicans just don't win. And because the margin is so slim, Lt. Gov. Steele may yet lose. But that seems unlikely.

And because that means Republicans will probably pick up a Senate seat, that probably also means that Democrats will not pick up the Senate.

Probably. Electoral forecasts are notoriously difficult, and if A Mind That Suits wakes up tomorrow to find Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid, he will, in fact, not be much surprised. Less surprised than if he wakes up to find Majority Leader Mitch McConnell AND Speaker Denny Hastert, but not much surprised either way.

And he will be utterly unsurprised if he wakes up to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader McConnell. That seems most likely.

Now, if you haven't, go do your duty.

::: posted by A Mind That Suits at 3:24 PM


0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

What doesn't kill me, makes me laugh... usually.