Jim Webb

I have come to depend on Brad Friedman's mailings on everything having to do with Diebold's voting machines. So it is with great curiosity that I read a missive that contained this:

I am calling on Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to keep next week's joint session of Congress open after Bush's speech to allow Jim Webb, who has smartly been selected to deliver the Democratic Response, to deliver it live to the full Congressional chamber instead of via the usual, limp, in-studio response with no audience, which few even bother to actually watch.

Go read his article at Congressional Dems - You're a Co-Equal Branch, the State of the Union Address is the Perfect Opportunity to Point That.

Oh my ... Jim Webb live on the floor of Congress giving a retort to George Bush. Can you picture that one?

Oh my.

Here's Ms. Pelosi's contact information if you need it :

Reuters

George Allen concedes, Jim Webb wins and Democrats control the Senate, 51 to 49. Sweet!

ALEXANDRIA, Va. Nov 9, 2006 (AP)— Republican Sen. George Allen gracefully conceded defeat Thursday after a bruising battle against Democrat Jim Webb, sealing the Democrats' control of Congress and the political downfall of a man once considered a White House contender.

Allen said the "owners of government have spoken and I respect their decision."
Source : ABC News

Jim Webb is winning by half a percentage point. He should declare victory NOW. Force Allen to go on the defensive.

UPDATE!
I mourned Jim Webb's loss too soon! He's winning by 3,000 votes! Talk about drama. Do we smell a recount in the air? I wonder if Diebold machines are involved in that election. And what about absentee ballots?

WOW.

This is getting exciting.

It looks like Joe Lieberman has held on to his seat in a three-way race. Ned Lamont has not conceded but it's not looking good.

Jim Webb, at the time of this post, is losing by less than 7,000 votes. The race has not been called yet.

What do you think this means for the liberal blogosphere or netroots? They poured with direct and indirect contributions to these races millions of dollars yet still could not deliver these high profile seats.

Why do you think this happened?

The Republicans recently conceded that they will lose many Senate seats and decided to entrench, or as they called it, build a fire wall at three states: Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia. Barbara Boxer, the excellent Senator from California, is challenging all Democrats to help break through that Republican firewall. Here is her challenge, including some good info on the three Senate races.

The Republicans have drawn their line in the sand and are making their last stand in 3 "firewall" states to desperately try to hold on to their narrow Senate majority. This Republican firewall is the only thing left standing between us and a Democratic Senate -- and we've got 18 days to break through.

Contribute to the 3 Senate races that will ensure a Democratic victory -- break down the Republican firewall now!

Yes, there is an almost unanimous view (with that pillar of integrity Karl Rove dissenting) that the House and the Senate are poised to swing to the Democrats this November.

So now the Republicans have started to circle the wagons around their most threatened Senate seats. They have admitted pulling money out of other states where they are trailing badly to try to build a firewall around these three seats: Tennessee, where Bill Frist is retiring; Virginia, where George Allen has been imploding; and Missouri, where Jim Talent has consistently rubber stamped President Bush's extreme right-wing agenda.