Free Republic

Exhibit A in why it is in fact possible to have too big of a majority: Once you hit 60, the cranks on your side demand results. The nutroots will be watching cap-and-trade and amnesty and health care and maybe even a second stimulus verrrrrry carefully, Harry. As will we, as will we. Note what constitutes “fair and balanced” on Ed Schultz’s show. Kos and Bill Press.

Franken Declared Winner of Minnesota Senate Election, Giving Dems Filibuster-Proof Majority After the Minnesota high court rejects a legal challenge from Norm Coleman, the Republican concedes to Democrat Al Franken in the state's Senate race. Democrat Al Franken, right, with his wife Frannie Franken smile as they meet the media at their house in MInneapolis Tuesday June 30, 2009 after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Democrat in the Senate race against Republican Norm Coleman. (AP) Democrat Al Franken as the winner of the state's vacant Senate seat after the state's high court ruled that Republican challenger...

Minnesota Court Confirms Razor-Thin Election Win, but Party's Filibuster-Proof Majority Is Vulnerable to Internal Fissures. WASHINGTON -- The Minnesota Supreme Court cleared the way for Democrat Al Franken to become Minnesota's new U.S. senator, ending a festering eight-month election dispute and giving the Democrats a 60-seat voting majority in the Senate. The court on Tuesday unanimously upheld Mr. Franken's margin of 312 votes out of 2.9 million cast in November's election, giving him the seat that had been held for one term by Republican Norm Coleman. Mr. Coleman conceded at a news conference at his home two hours later, saying...

There is absolutely nothing to stops a single party from turning this country upside-down. Nothing. If we have any patriots in the Dim side at all, they must be getting worried. Can you imagine the pressure that will be put on them? This is going to get interesting very quickly because if radical changes are to be made, then it must be before an election.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats are urging Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to certify Democrat Al Franken's election to the Senate following the state Supreme Court's ruling that the former Saturday Night Live comedian defeated GOP incumbent Norm Coleman.

In a 15-minute news conference, looking relaxed and upbeat, Norm Coleman congratulated Al Franken, reminisced about his 6-year term and the "longest election in Minnesota history" and didn't discuss the details of the rejected legal challenge. "We have reached the point where further litigation damages the unity of our state," Coleman said. "I congratulate Al Franken in his victory in his election." "The bottom line is that's history. I'm not looking back… We are a nation of laws, not men and women. The court has spoken.".... Moments later, Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office issued the following statement: "The Minnesota Supreme Court...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -Republican Norm Coleman conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota's contested Senate race on Tuesday, ending a nearly eight-month recount and court fight over an election decided by only a few hundred votes. Coleman announced his decision at a news conference in St. Paul hours after a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Franken, a former "Saturday Night Live" comedian and liberal commentator, should be certified the winner. "The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman told reporters outside his St. Paul home. Coleman, appearing relaxed and upbeat, said he...

By large margins, California voters want to retain the two-thirds legislative vote requirement for budgets and the state's initiative system that allows voters to pass laws, according to a new attitudinal survey conducted by students at the University of California, Riverside. Voters also oppose layoff of teachers to narrow the state's budget deficit, and blame the Legislature, more than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for the state's chronic fiscal difficulties. . . . The two-thirds budget vote, which has been in the state constitution in one form or another for most of the last century, has become a point of partisan contention...

Conservatives can sputter endlessly that Sonia Sotomayor is a lefty judicial activist. Privately, they glumly recognize the political reality - she's a slam dunk for confirmation. Republican leaders also understand - most of them, at least - that Sotomayor's nomination is also a savvy political move by President Obama that puts the GOP in an electoral bind. At heart, this appointment reminds that as a President who has already made history, Obama is intent on making more. Elections, as the old adage goes, have consequences. Yet Supreme Court nominations are never just about the law. Politics is always a centerpiece...

Pelosi: now we don't have to 'explain process' @ 7:44 pm by Eric Zimmermann Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to switch parties will make it easier for Democrats to move forward with their agenda, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday. Specter's switch will give Democrats 60 caucus members in the Senate (assuming Al Franken wins his legal battle in Minnesota). That is enough votes to end debate on a bill and overcome Republican filibusters. "Very exciting, very exciting for the American people, because now we can get things done without explaining process," Pelosi told CNN's Candy Crowley. Specter has said that...

I always try to look for a silver lining on a cloud. I try to see both sides of the coin, and to be positive. That's a lot harder today, BUT it is not impossible! Senator Specter is switching from a Republican to a Democrat, and this gives the Democratic Party absolute power in Washington DC. They now have full control of the White House and both Houses of Congress as well as a filibuster-proof majority. That means they can pass and do anything they want, and no one can stop them except themselves. Therein lies the silver lining. It's...

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator from Minnesota. (Former Sen. Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.)

The man in charge of electing more Republicans to the Senate said it will be difficult to stop the Democrats from winning a 60-seat majority in 2010. Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the new head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), knows he has a difficult road ahead of him. “That’s going to be real hard, to be honest with you,” Cornyn said of keeping Democrats from reaching 60 seats, adding: “Everybody who runs could be the potential tipping point to get Democrats to 60. We’ve not only got to play defense; we’ve got to claw our way back in...

Last night, by a single vote, Senate Republicans barely blocked the passage of the pork-laden $410 billion omnibus spending bill. Late in the evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged that with 59 votes, he was just one short of the 60 he needed, and the massive spending bill was shelved for the weekend. While the temporary stalling of the bloated bill is good news for the American people, it also illustrates the incredible importance of the 60-vote threshold in the United States Senate. Right now, Democrats stand on the brink of the magical 60th number, with 58 reliable Democrat...

Suddenly, Al Franken represents more than just an empty seat in the Senate chamber. Franken could have been the critical 60th vote on the stalled $410 billion omnibus Thursday night. He’d be a likely yes on President Barack Obama’s ambitious budget. A Sen. Al Franken would be reliable Democratic vote on health care, tax increases on the rich, global warming legislation and virtually any other issue in which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finds himself hunting for a couple Republican votes. With the Minnesota Senate seat in limbo for the foreseeable future, it means Reid will have to turn...

New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg “would never allow his seat to go to a Democrat,” says a Republican close to President Obama’s presumptive pick for Commerce Secretary. “The only way he would allow it is if he died.” Buzz today is that if Gregg took the gig, his replacement would share parties with New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat. (If Al Franken is deemed the winner here in Minnesota, the Dems would then secure a veto filibuster-proof majority.) But The Hill now reports that Republicans are saying Gregg will only take the job if he’s guaranteed that the seat...

Not on web site yet. Just heard on Fox News that Judd Gregg (R-NH) is nominee for Commerce Sec. That would tip the senate wouoldn't it?

This week Senator Saxby Chambliss won a runoff vote in Georgia. It’s possible you missed this... Above all, you have to love the fact that as things stand, the nexus of power will lie in the Republican moderate caucus, consisting entirely of the two senators from Maine, the Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. “And Senator Specter,” corrected Snowe.... But I like thinking of next year’s senate as a kind of mythic quest movie in which a Democratic hero in need of a stimulus package or a Supreme Court confirmation is told: “Go forth and seeketh the Women of Maine,”...

- December 2, 2008 9:03 PM ET ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss has won re-election in a runoff, dashing Democratic hopes of capturing enough Senate seats to thwart Republican filibusters. Chambliss, who fell just short of the majority vote needed to win re-election in November, prevailed in a one-on-one rematch with Democrat Jim Martin.

It is a must that Saxby pulls it out tommorrow. If the Democrats get to 59 with a there is a decent chance they will just install Al Franken as Senator and know their is nothing that anyone can do to stop them for 2 years. It is important if you don't live there to call everyone you know there. Or if you can influence other people who have friends or family there ask them if they can do the same, turnout is critical in this race.