National:
Allen concedes to Webb- Democrats will control Senate
Sen. George Allen conceded the Senate election today to Democrat Jim Webb. The concession gives Democrats control of the U.S. Senate when it convenes in January.
Bush To Re-Nominate Bolton?
At today’s White House press conference, Tony Snow revealed that the White House has officially renominated John Bolton as U.N ambassador and plans to push for his confirmation during the lame duck session of Congress. Bolton, who has repeatedly failed to gain Senate confirmation (appointed in recess by Bush), is one of Bush’s most divisive nominations. The move comes one day after Bush pledged to “to work with the new Congress in a bipartisan way.”
This may be a failed attempt already since Democrats and a pivotal Republican (Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) –now to be replaced by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse) told reporters in Rhode Island on Thursday that he would continue opposing Bolton. That would deny Republicans the votes they would need to move Bolton’s nomination from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the full Senate.
Allen concedes to Webb- Democrats will control Senate
Sen. George Allen conceded the Senate election today to Democrat Jim Webb. The concession gives Democrats control of the U.S. Senate when it convenes in January.
Bush To Re-Nominate Bolton?
At today’s White House press conference, Tony Snow revealed that the White House has officially renominated John Bolton as U.N ambassador and plans to push for his confirmation during the lame duck session of Congress. Bolton, who has repeatedly failed to gain Senate confirmation (appointed in recess by Bush), is one of Bush’s most divisive nominations. The move comes one day after Bush pledged to “to work with the new Congress in a bipartisan way.”
This may be a failed attempt already since Democrats and a pivotal Republican (Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) –now to be replaced by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse) told reporters in Rhode Island on Thursday that he would continue opposing Bolton. That would deny Republicans the votes they would need to move Bolton’s nomination from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the full Senate.
Incoming Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden (D-DE) said yesterday that John Bolton's troubled nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is "going nowhere." He added, "I never saw a real enthusiasm (for Bolton's nomination) on the Republican side to begin with. There's none on our side."
Meet The (Liberal) Press?
Sunday’s edition of NBC’s Meet the Press will include two interviews: one with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), an Iraq war supporter who defeated Ned Lamont (D-CT), and one with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who recently called for 20,000 additional U.S. troops to be sent to Iraq, and who was not up for reelection in 2006.
In other words, the first post-election edition of Meet the Press will exclusively feature politicians who support the war in Iraq, neither of whom ran as a Democrat (who seem to be the big winners this cycle).
International:
Iraqi Official: 150,000 Civilians Dead
A stunning new death count emerged Thursday, as Iraq's health minister estimated 150,000 civilians have been killed in the war - about three times previously accepted estimates.
Moderate Sunni Muslims, meanwhile, threatened to walk away from politics and pick up guns, while the Shiite-dominated government renewed pressure on the United States to unleash the Iraqi army and claimed it could crush violence in six months.
After Democrats swept to majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld resigned, Iraqis appeared unsettled and seemed to sense the potential for an even bloodier conflict because future American policy is uncertain. Read the full story here
Mubarak Warns Against Hanging Saddam
The statement from President Hosni Mubarak of Eygpt broke an uneasy silence among Arab leaders over Sunday's verdict by an Iraqi court, which convicted Saddam for the killings of some 150 Shiite Muslims after an assassination attempt against him in 1982.
Mubarak, a regional heavyweight and a top U.S. ally, appeared to speak for many in the region who are uneasy about seeing a former Arab president tried and sentenced — no matter how much they disliked Saddam's regime. More here
In Other News…
Incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) yesterday promised to press forward with an ambitious agenda "that includes an increase of $2.10 an hour in the minimum wage." Her agenda for the first 100 hours of Congress includes proposals that, "though opposed by Bush, should attract near-universal approval from Democrats and could even win some Republican votes."
Defense Secretary nominee Robert Gates apparently holds a view on the highly sensitive subject of relations with Iran that hasn't been embraced by all his new colleagues in the Bush administration. In a report entitled "Iran: Time for a New Approach," he and former NSA Zbigniew Brzezinski co-chaired a task force that argued for opening a dialogue with Iran.
A day after Michigan approved an initiative to ban affirmative action, University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman pledged to "consider every legal option available" to continue to fight for diversity on campus. Opponents of the proposition also "filed a federal lawsuit challenging the measure as unconstitutional."
Iraq's parliament yesterday voted to extend the country’s state of emergency for 30 more days, "a recognition that Iraqi security forces and their U.S. allies are still far from bringing violence in check."
Rummy resigns, Onion-style. The satirical news site The Onion caught the tail end of Rumsfeld’s resignation speech yesterday: "Years ago, I decided to bog this great nation down in an extended, grueling foreign occupation, and I'm happy to say that's exactly what I've done. … Each of my actions - from undersupplying troops with body armor to focusing on capturing Saddam Hussein while Osama bin Laden remained free - has led America inexorably toward our current state of extreme crisis. Well, anyway, goodbye!"
From The Right:
Hugh Hewitt: The Road Not Taken: Forfeiting a Majority
The post-mortems are accumulating, but I think the obvious has to be stated: John McCain and his colleagues in the Gang of 14 cost the GOP its Senate majority while the conduct of a handful of corrupt House members gave that body's leadership the Democrats.
From The Left:
Molly Ivins: Post-Election Etiquette
The sheer pleasure of getting lessons in etiquette from Karl Rove and the right-wing media passeth all understanding. Ever since 1994, the Republican Party has gone after Democrats with the frenzy of a foaming mad dog. There was the impeachment of Bill Clinton, not to mention the trashing of both Clinton and his wife—accused of everything from selling drugs to murder—all orchestrated by that paragon of manners, Tom DeLay.
Thought To Ponder:
The president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Michael Ratner, is heading to Germany today to file a new case charging outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with war crimes for authorizing torture at Guantanamo Bay.
Quote Of The Day:
“…a bump on an otherwise smooth road to continued conservative dominance.”
Right-wing activist Grover Norquist expressing his view of the 2006 election
(Sources: WhiteHouse website, Richmond Times-Dispatch, NBC, Washington Times, CommonDreams, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, TheHill, WashingtonPost, WSJblog, NYTimes, Reuters, Center for American Progress, TheOnion, Political Cartoons.com)
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