Looks like McCaskill needs about 56% of the remaining vote to win, according CNN’s website.

Posted by: The Truth Gets Vicious When You Corner It | Nov 8 2006 6:59 utc | 51

(23:06, PDST — That’s 11:06 At Night To You, Pacifistic Double-Summer Time in San Francisco, where it’s foggy and humid.)
In the House: ABC is giving a called net 24-seat gain (races where 90+% of the vote has been counted) so far to the Democrats, and the gravity-challenged female-gendered human has not yet sung.
In the Senate so far: Tester narrowly leads in Montans; McCaskill leads by 25K in Missouri; Ford did not win in Tennessee; and Webb leads by ~2,000 votes in Virginia — a recount certainty. Everyone seems to agree that control of the Senate may come down to the result of that recount, which wouldn’t be available until the end of the year.
Interesting — on Pox News, a giggling Bill Kristol said it appeared to him that the Democrats would take control in the Senate. I had to make certain I didn’t drop acid or hadn’t been reading The Economist; Billy-boy said this? PNAC flack and co-author (along with Perle and Feith) of the epic novel, “World Hegemony Or Bust!” and unindicted war criminal said that? Well, he was giggling… Maybe he was on acid…
The sock-puppet little punk who is the mouthpiece for the Cheney Presidency has scheduled a news conference for 1:00 PM Washington time, tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if he angrily declared war on — well, some country — or exposed himself, or had a tentacle pop out of his forehead while on live television.
To me, it’s a little like 1931: Hindenburg and the Centrist-Left coalition took back some control in the Reichstag from the Communists and the nazis, and solidified their majority. However, the NSDAP was still a viable and dangerous party, and Joseph Goebbels still had plenty of ideas…

Posted by: Austin Cooper | Nov 8 2006 7:13 utc | 53

@jj:

Depends. If all the people who are expecting the Democrats to show some spine now are right — you can’t see or hear me, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that I laughed a long and bitter laugh over that one — then in one important respect, the Republicans are now screwed: the Democrats can filibuster without having to worry that the Republicans will take their ball and go home. Granted, that won’t help actually pass any laws, but it would help shoot down some of the trash coming out of the right wing these days.

And now, shedding a tear for a utopian dream world which will never be, in which Democrats actually act as though they cared about doing the right thing, I’m heading off to bed.

Posted by: The Truth Gets Vicious When You Corner It | Nov 8 2006 7:59 utc | 55

All the things that won’t change now that the DLC/Demoplicans are in charge…
Study: 57 unarmed Palestinian minors killed by IDF since June

A third of unarmed Palestinians killed during IDF operations in the Gaza Strip since the abduction of Gilad Shalit have been minors, according to a new report prepared by Physicians for Human Rights, to be published Wednesday.
Between June 27 and October 28, 247 Palestinians, including 155 civilians (63 percent) were killed by the IDF. Among the civilians killed, 57 were minors. This figure does not include minors who were armed.
The report also claims that of the 996 Palestinians injured during the past four months, about a third, 337, are children.

Posted by: John Francis Lee | Nov 8 2006 8:36 utc | 57

@ annie (42) I’m up now.
🙂
When I heard that Hampton and NoVa precincts were still out I figured I could sleep.

Posted by: beq | Nov 8 2006 11:17 utc | 59

Tester wins. One to go.

Posted by: beq | Nov 8 2006 18:07 utc | 61

Democrat wins Montana seat, ties Senate

Posted by: annie | Nov 8 2006 18:25 utc | 63

A little less momentous but still a slap in Bush’ face. Another Latin Country elects a Southpaw. Ortega wins Nicaraugua.

Posted by: pb | Nov 8 2006 21:12 utc | 65

chris floyd writes

If anyone thinks the horrors of the Bush Imperium are somehow at an end – or will even be seriously impaired – by the results of yesterday’s election, they have a harsh and bitter awakening to come.
But still – the political situation we have today is better than what we had the day before. In a period of such deep crisis in the life of the Republic, and (to draw on Noam Chomsky) in a system of power so massive and far-reaching, even a small change can mean very real benefits to a good many people. (And to many good people.) And in any case, we should raise a glass to the American people for standing up – amidst the hailstorm of lies and bullshit thrown at them – and giving George W. Bush a resounding slap in the face. Long may he stew in this great and well-deserved humiliation.

plus, there was some satisfaction watching Il Dunce stumble around today

Posted by: b real | Nov 8 2006 23:39 utc | 67

What’s all the talk about recounts? Could the machines be wrong????

Posted by: pb | Nov 9 2006 0:43 utc | 69

pb @ 70, speaking to your comment, it has been an interesting day for a 40 something working amongst 90 or so 20-30 year olds. the atmosphere in our office was jubilant today, and suddenly this morning i received a message from the newly created “dems” distribution which has quickly become the company forum for politics. while very few spoke aloud about the elections – nearly everything happens on line anyway – more than one person noted how it felt like a thursday or friday – people were that kind of upbeat. i should also share that the 36 year old ceo of this company is a staunch republican and i have only heard politics discussed in this open loft once or twice and only briefly. so if this is what the results of this election can bring about, my hope is that the dino dems will prove us wrong or that this group of young people will join in with us to demand better if they don’t deliver.
and while i know that he his not everyone’s favorite around here, i read this excerpt from ned lamont’s concession speech and thought it was worth sharing:

We didn’t win, but we made a difference; tomorrow we start again. Don’t stop now, we’re just beginning. It starts with one person standing up and speaking out, and then a lot of people, powered by grassroots and netroots and a passion to do better. That’s what I heard all over the state: we can do better.
The last week of the campaign was so heartening, traveling the state in a big old campaign bus stopping by hot dog stands and rallies and, finally, polling stations. The bus sang out a little Marley or U2 as we wheeled into some of the towns and folks responded with hi fives and big grins. Kids ran up and shouted, “And so do we!” They responded to a fun, positive message of hope and I loved the fact that we won the overwhelming majority of the votes in the mock school elections around the state. And then on election day, there you were, standing in the rain at the polling stations into the evening waiting for the last of the voters to straggle in.
We worked our hearts out; it’s ironic that our message of change did not carry the day in Connecticut but it helped spark a sea change in Congress. Let’s make sure they act boldly: bring our troops home from Iraq to the hero’s welcome they deserve, invest in our kids, invest in clean energy, universal healthcare, a government that respects for our constitution, our right to privacy, and shows respect for other nations and cultures. We will be a stronger and better nation for it.
Peace,
Ned

who knows – maybe it will provoke malooga enough to break his silence? 😉

Posted by: conchita | Nov 9 2006 1:31 utc | 71

Conchita :
I wonder of Georgia10 is ready to get in Rahm Emanuel’s face, or if Israel will become the Third Rail it’s always been for the Demoplicans. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Up to their necks in evil.
I’ve not often been to Kos land. I’m told he forbade discussion of Israel at his Demoplican site?
Zionists left trail of destruction

“They committed a war crime in Beit Hanun,” he cries, his voice cracking, his hands gesticulating towards the Heavens.
A lone minaret that withstood Zionists’ bulldozer teeth and shell fire is all that remains of one of the oldest mosques in Gaza, the Nasser mosque.
Singed copies of the holy Koran were being gathered up by children.
“This mosque is more than 800 years old. It is part of our heritage and thousands of people visited it every year,” laments Akram Abdel Jawd Qassam, whose family have been caretakers of the holy site for half a century.
The Zionists “want to destroy everything. Even our heritage and our history. It’s a tragedy,” adds the old man.
They claimed “there were fighters in the mosque but they are liars. I have the keys and it was closed. They occupied my house for two days and never asked me to open the doors to show them that it was empty,” he said.

I’m afraid that they’re so pleased with their “victory” that it’s back to business as usual. And the killing business in Gaza is getting grimmer and grimmer every day.

Posted by: John Francis Lee | Nov 9 2006 3:50 utc | 73

jfl, afaik there is no ban on israel diaries at dkos, but i am not a dkos expert – i just find some good there. i will say that i have seen many israel diaries there and generally they degenerate into a lot of name calling and other ugliness. chances are for that reason they are discouraged. the community is large and diverse and emotions there run just as high as anywhere else where middle east issues are discussed.
however, i will say, with the disclaimer that while i was not on the site all day and the volume of diaries on a daily basis is tremendous, i did not see any diaries about this most recent israeli travesty against the palestinians. that is not to say none were written. i don’t know. similarly, i did not see any diaries about health insurance or the environment. given the role that kossacks throughout the country played in many of these elections, the results were the primary topic.

Posted by: conchita | Nov 9 2006 4:31 utc | 75

<http://www.prorev.com>Sam Smith, longtime Kremlinologist of the American persuasion — DCologist? comments that bipartisanship is alive and well in this sense at least:

IN KEEPING with the new spirit of bipartisanship, here – with links to more information – are some of the major issues that neither party addressed seriously during the campaign and for which neither party has a decent, coherent program:
CLIMATE CHANGE
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
RESTORING CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
RESTORING CIVIL LIBERTIES
GETTING OUT OF IRAQ
ENDING HOSTILITIES AGAINST MUSLIM COUNTRIES
PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
ENDING USE OF TORTURE
POPULATION GROWTH
ENDING THE WAR ON DRUGS
UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE
PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FINANCING
INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING

(emphasis mine)
And Bob Jensen echoes my own dour outlook:

As I stood in line for coffee on the morning after election night, a Democratic Party supporter ahead of me in line said, “Thank God this country is finally switching trains.”
If only that were true.
On Election Day 2006, the U.S. public didn”t switch trains but simply ratified a different group of conductors.
It”s the same old train, on the same tracks, heading in the same direction.
This isn”t an argument that there are never any meaningful differences between politicians; sometimes it does matter who is giving the orders on the train. But on this day after the morning-after, it”s crucial for those with a critical perspective to highlight that this train — contemporary U.S. society — is barreling forward toward disaster, no matter who”s punching tickets.
[…]
Many who would agree in some fashion with such an assessment will say, “Yes, but at least electing Democrats might slow down the train.” With a reactionary right-wing Republican Party in total control, the train is hurtling forward at 100 miles per hour, according to this position, but with Democrats in charge the train might slow down to 90 miles per hour.

agreed, 90 mph is an improvement over 100 mph but only in a theoretical kind of a way; a crash at 90mph is still going to be lethal.
Jensen concludes that the only viable strategy is to continue to mistrust the Democratic Party and work hard down at the grassroots:

The small amount of time we might gain will be meaningful only if we confront the harsh reality that the systems that shape our world — capitalism and empire, rooted in white supremacy and patriarchy — are fundamentally bankrupt and indefensible, yet deeply rooted in our culture.
When I make this point, I”m often told by liberals and progressives that I”m not being realistic, that ordinary people won”t listen to such analysis. That”s not my experience. When I have tried to articulate this worldview in plain language in recent political talks, I have found that a growing number of people not only will listen but are hungry for such honesty.
Of course not everyone agrees — not anywhere near the number needed for a mass movement right now, and certainly not a majority — but one wouldn”t expect that in this affluent society in which many people are still insulated from the consequences of these systems. But more and more people, from many sectors of society, are facing these realities, and we are searching for a community in which to confront this together.
Our political work should focus on connecting with people on common ground, and then working to shape a radically new vision of justice and sustainability…

only 40 percent of the US electorate turned out at thiw critical juncture…

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 9 2006 20:45 utc | 77

beq #76. unless i am mistaken the choice of who runs the senate is down to one man, lieberman

Posted by: annie | Nov 9 2006 20:58 utc | 79

Oops. Make that, WARRENTLESS domestic wiretapping.

Posted by: Maxcrat | Nov 10 2006 0:48 utc | 81

That is the ‘I’ word as in impeachment, of course.

Posted by: pb | Nov 10 2006 6:57 utc | 83

‘if it’s business as usual’ in washington
not going to happen unless the usual is now total mayhem. the dems have two years to secure the WH. there is a strong likelihood that the disaster in iraq will erupt and become worse. palestine is unlikely to improve. iran could be a nightmare. i have suspicion the rethugs know this, am suspicious enough to think they are planning for it, as billmon eludes. the dems are not idiots, they will make their mark and it most likely will include some payback.

Posted by: annie | Nov 10 2006 7:23 utc | 85

fishy

Posted by: annie | Nov 14 2006 2:37 utc | 87

Oops that link didn’t work – just replicated annie’s. Sorry – try this one instead.

Posted by: Bea | Nov 14 2006 3:19 utc | 89