Is this really happening? Someone pinch me.
And let's talk about that nuclear option now....
WASHINGTON - In a rout once considered almost inconceivable, Democrats won a 51st seat in the Senate and regained total control of Congress after 12 years of near-domination by the Republican Party.
The shift dramatically alters the government's balance of power, leaving President Bush without GOP congressional control to drive his legislative agenda. Democrats hailed the results and issued calls for bipartisanship even as they vowed to investigate administration policies and decisions.
Democrats completed their sweep Wednesday evening by ousting Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia, the last of six GOP incumbents to lose re-election bids in a midterm election marked by deep dissatisfaction with the president and the war in Iraq.
Democrats had 229 seats in the House, 11 more than the number necessary to hold the barest of majorities in the 435-member chamber.
Democrats will have nine new senators on their side of the aisle as a result of Tuesday's balloting. Six of them defeated sitting Republican senators from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Rhode Island, Montana and Virginia. The other three replaced retiring senators from Maryland, Minnesota and Vermont.
Their ideologies are as varied as their home states. Bernie Sanders, an independent who will replace Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords, is a Socialist who has served in the House and voted with Democrats since 1990. Bob Casey Jr., who defeated Republican Sen. Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, is an anti-abortion moderate. Webb once declared that the sight of President Clinton returning a Marine's salute infuriated him.
Are we counting Leiberman as a Democrat? Because, technically, he is not.
One thing is for sure, the turncoats will stand out like a sore thumb now. Anyone who crosses the aisle and votes for crap legislation is going to become a target. No more excuses.
In the House, 10 races remained too tight to call, with three of them leaning to the Democrats. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who would become the first female speaker in history, called for harmony and said Democrats would not abuse their new status.
She said she would be "the speaker of the House, not the speaker of the Democrats." She said Democrats would aggressively conduct oversight of the administration, but said any talk of impeachment of President Bush "is off the table."
Awwww, she's no fun. If ever a President needed some impeachin', it's this one.
King George had some words for us.
"The American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences, conduct ourselves in an ethical manner, and work together to address the challenges facing our nation," he told a news conference on Wednesday.
Just figure that out, George?
The temptation to verbally drop-kick this statement to the moon is so strong right now I can't stand it.
Trying to be a gracious winner here, but the hurts of the past five years are still fresh in my mind, and the desire for payback is powerful. We will see what happens. If the Pubs drop their nasty tone, we can play nice. If not...