US Election finally ends

Congratulations to Al Franken, committed lefty (by US standards anyway) and comedian, who was finally declared the winner of the Minnesota Senatorial race by the Supreme Court, despite the increasingly ridiculous refusal of Norm Coleman to admit he'd lost.

It's important because it takes the Democrats to 60 (including 2 pro-democrat independents), which can stop the Republicans killing legislation through filibustering (talking until time runs out). Now the Dems can get on with founding a first world health service, if the lobbyists don't ruin it.

Rats are deserting the sinking Republican ship

Senator Arlen Specter ('is haunting Europe' - sorry, bit of a politics joke there) has joined the Democrats. He's still anti-union and generally rightwing, but if Al Franken finally gets seated, the Dems will have a filibuster proof majority of 60-40 and can really start to dismantle the Bush legacy. Poor people might even get medical care!

New York's new Senator

I ranted earlier about Caroline Kennedy's monarchical progress towards the New York Senate seat. Now it turns out that the Democrats have made an even worse choice: Kirsten Gillibrand, angel of the NRA and guardian of those bastards at the NYSE. Just when the Democrats have got enough credit in the bank to make some bold choices, they go back to their nasty triangulating ways. It's a sign of weakness. Picking neo-Republicans (DINOs - Democrats In Name Only) reveals a covert belief that the US population is essentially Republican - just as the actual election results reveal otherwise.

State of the Nation

The election's over. Obama won. Or rather, the election isn't over but he's won the Presidency. What's important now is getting a 60 seat majority in the Senate so that filibustering can't delay legislation, and it's looking unlikely. However, at least having a few more senators (hopefully including Al Franken currently behind by 700 votes) means that the Democratic Party can now hound, harass, isolate and generally make life unpleasant for Joe Lieberman, traitor, turncoat, egotist and blackmailer.

I'd still like to have seen President Kucinich, even if he is slightly hippy, but Obama will do as long as there's a good leftwing ginger group in Congress (this seems to be the position of the CPUSA, which is good enough for me). Langston Hughes would approve.