Oh Happy Day! Republicans Gain Control of the Senate

[nashvillegoldenflash]

Oh Happy Day! When Jesus Washed All Our Sins Away!

Republicans take Senate majority, Fox News projects

Republicans have won a majority in the Senate for the first time in eight years, Fox News projects, giving the party full control of Congress for the remainder of President Obama's term.
Republicans notched a string of victories across the country, retaining every one of the GOP-held seats up for grabs and picking up more than the six seats needed to take control of the Senate.
So far, Republicans have gained seven Senate seats. In North Carolina, Fox News can project that Thom Tillis, a Republican member of the state legislature, will oust U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a first-term Democrat, in a closely fought race that saw spending top $100 million.
Republican Joni Ernst is also projected to beat Democrat Bruce Braley in Iowa.
Republicans enjoyed a banner night after mounting campaigns from coast to coast that, almost without exception, sought to cast their opponents as rubber stamps for the unpopular president. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who fended off a Democratic challenge in Kentucky, is now poised to ascend to majority leader next year.
Republicans also are projected to retain control of the House -- and gain about 10 seats, reversing some of the losses the GOP experienced in 2012 and restoring the party to a majority similar to its historic victory of 2010.
The landscape means Republicans will have new powers to challenge Obama's agenda in the final two years of his term, able to launch investigations and hold hearings from both chambers; hold up key appointments; and pass GOP-favored legislation, if only to force the president to employ his veto pen. The division of power also could yield areas of agreement, on areas ranging from immigration to energy -- though the Affordable Care Act and efforts to undermine it could continue to sour talks on other issues.
McConnell, after winning his own race, said some things won't change next year -- but stressed that lawmakers and the White House don't have to be in "perpetual conflict" and "have an obligation to work together."
"Tomorrow, the papers will say I won this race, but the truth is ... tonight we begin another one, one that's far more important than mine -- and that's the race to turn this country around," McConnell said in Louisville.
In a written statement, current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid congratulated McConnell and said he looked forward to working with him as the next majority leader.
Republicans picked up seats in territory all over the country Tuesday night. In Montana, Republican Steve Daines was projected to defeat Democrat Amanda Curtis, flipping control of the seat to the Republican Party for the first time since 1913. In Colorado, GOP Rep. Cory Gardner was projected to oust first-term Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, one of the most closely watched contests in this election cycle.
Fox News projects that South Dakota Republican Mike Rounds will win the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. Further, GOP Rep. Tom Cotton will unseat two-term Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor in Arkansas and Shelley Moore Capito will beat Democrat Natalie Tennant for an open Senate seat in West Virginia, Fox News projects.
In a vital set of victories, Republicans also held onto all three seats that were in contention this year.
In Kentucky, McConnell defeated Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's secretary of state. Fox News projects that Republican David Perdue, former CEO of Dollar General, will beat Democrat Michelle Nunn for the open Georgia Senate seat; and three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts will survive the political scare of his life by beating independent challenger Greg Orman in Kansas.
In a setback for Republicans, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen beat Republican challenger Scott Brown, despite Brown's late-surging campaign.
But Republicans' momentum was undeniable.
A handful of other races remain too close to call -- most notably, in Virginia, where Republican Ed Gillespie is running a late-surging campaign against Democratic Sen. Mark Warner.
According to Fox News exit polls, this race is looking much closer than it did in pre-election polling, in which Warner, a former Virginia governor, held a months-long, 20-point lead over Gillespie, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Gillespie eventually cut that lead in half, but the race now appears even closer.
Polls in Alaska also have not yet closed.
Fox News, though, can project that the Louisiana Senate race will go to a runoff on Dec. 6, meaning there will be no winner Tuesday night. Based on exit polling, Fox projects that three-term Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican challenger Bill Cassidy will both fail to exceed 50 percent of the vote, sending both into a runoff, this time without competition from candidates such as Republican Rob Maness.
At stake Tuesday night were 435 House seats, 36 Senate seats, and another 36 gubernatorial races.
The U.S. Senate battle, with control of Capitol Hill at stake, was the most closely watched.
Fox News also projects that the following Republican incumbents will win: Sen. Thad Cochran in Mississippi; Sen. Lamar Alexander in Tennessee; Sen. Susan Collins in Maine; Sen. Mike Enzi in Wyoming; Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Tim Scott in South Carolina; Sen. Jim Risch in Idaho; Sen. John Cornyn in Texas, Sen. Jeff Sessions in Alabama; and Sen. James Inhofe in Oklahoma. Fox News also can project that Republican James Lankford will win the seat being vacated by Republican Tom Coburn, and serve out the remaining two years of his term.
Fox News projects university president Ben Sasse, a Republican, will beat Democrat David Domina for an open Nebraska Senate seat.
Fox News can project, based on exit polling, that the following Democratic senators will win: Sen. Dick Durbin in Illinois; Sen. Cory Booker in New Jersey; Sen. Brian Schatz in Hawaii; Sen. Jeff Merkley in Oregon; Sen. Tom Udall in New Mexico; Sen. Al Franken in Minnesota; Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts; Sen. Chris Coons in Delaware; and Sen. Jack Reed in Rhode Island.
In Michigan, Democrat Gary Peters is projected to win an open seat.
The Obama factor may have weighed heavily over the vote Tuesday night. Fox News Exit Polls show more than a third of voters -- 34 percent -- said they voted to show they're opposed to Obama's policies. That number was a bit higher in 2010.
By contrast, just 20 percent voted to show support for Obama. Forty-five percent said it was not a factor.
The economy is by far the biggest issue for voters; 43 percent said it was the most important issue. Of those worried about the direction of the economy, they voted for the Republican candidate by a 20-point difference, exit polls show.
Most the campaigning and the big money in recent months have concentrated on roughly 10 competitive contests. Seven were for seats held by Democrats: in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Three were for seats held by Republicans: in Georgia, Kansas and Kentucky.
Surprise developments colored the elections in several states -- most notably, the Democratic candidate's decision to drop out of the race for Senate in Kansas. His decision immediately boosted independent Orman in his race against Roberts, who until that race shakeup was leading in the polls. Roberts ultimately survived.
In Kentucky, Grimes also suffered a PR blow after she repeatedly refused to say whether she voted for Obama. In the final days of the race, both campaigns turned to accusing each other of putting out inappropriate mailers.
At the state level, nearly a dozen U.S. governors are considered in political peril, making it one of the toughest years for incumbent governors in decades.


Oh Happy Day-Edwin Hawkins Singers

 

[nashvillegoldenflash]

Oh Happy Day! When Jesus Washed All Our Sins Away!

Tennessee Amendment 1 abortion measure passes


Tennessee voters by a solid margin backed Amendment 1, a measure that gives state lawmakers more power to restrict and regulate abortions.
The measure was perhaps the most closely watched and most contentious Election Day vote in Tennessee's midterm elections, which had few contested high-profile candidate races this year. It also was one of the most expensive ballot measures in Tennessee history.
It passed with 53 percent of the vote, but there was a clear urban and rural divide, with Davidson County voters opposing the measure by a 2-to-1 margin, and voters in Shelby, Knox and Hamilton counties voting against the measure.
Its passage has no immediate effect on abortion policies in Tennessee. But it will give lawmakers far more power in enacting abortion regulations and restrictions in Tennessee.
Already on Tuesday night, at least one newly elected state lawmaker, Sumner County Rep. Courtney Rogers, had pledged to back abortion restrictions when the legislature reconvenes in January.
Backers of the amendment were jubilant, embracing at the offices of Tennessee Right to Life, the campaign headquarters for the effort.
"Obviously for those of us who believe life is sacred, this was the necessary first step toward protection not only for the unborn but for women and girls who fall prey to people looking to profit from untimely or unexpected pregnancies," said Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life and a coordinator for the "Yes on 1" campaign, who has devoted much of the past 14 years fighting for the measure to get on the ballot.
Harris said his group's next step is returning to the legislature to persuade lawmakers to restore a package of laws stricken by a 2000 state Supreme Court decision, including requiring a short waiting period for women seeking an abortion, a requirement to provide educational materials and greater regulation of abortion facilities.
Opponents on Tuesday night called the measure a "dangerous ballot measure that strips away the state's established right to safe and legal abortion" and vowed abortion rights supporters "will not stand for restrictions that serve only to create barriers to service," said Ashley Coffield, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood - Greater Memphis Region.
Related: What you need to know about Amendment 1
The abortion measure drew the close attention of national groups on both sides of the abortion divide - and large contributions from abortion rights advocates outside the state concerned not only about the impact in Tennessee, but beyond its borders.
One in four abortions in Tennessee is sought by a woman from out of state. Proponents of the measure called on Tennessee voters to end the state's status as an "abortion destination."
Opponents of the measure said Tennessee, bordered by eight states, has long been a destination for quality health care. Abortion restrictions in surrounding states have made the South increasingly hostile to abortion rights, prompting women in neighboring states to travel here for the procedure.
Tennessee was one of three states with abortion measures on the ballot Tuesday. Voters in North Dakota and Colorado rejected so-called "personhood" measures that would have broadened the definition of persons to include fetuses.
The Tennessee measure will add this language to the state constitution once the votes are certified:
"Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother."
The campaign has proved to be the most expensive referendum ballot in recent years. The "Yes on 1" and the "Vote No on 1" campaigns raised more than $5 million combined, spending most of it in a barrage of television and radio ads in the weeks leading up to the election.
In the first three weeks of October alone, the "No" campaign spent more than $3.4 million on its efforts to defeat the measure. Most of the contributions came from Planned Parenthood affiliates in Tennessee and other states, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union. The two groups are the primary organizers of the "No" campaign.
The "Yes" campaign spent more than $1 million in October, almost entirely on campaign advertizing - thanks in part to raising $670,000 in the first three weeks of the month. The majority of "Yes" campaign contributors were individuals, with churches and abortion opponent groups making contributions as well. Tennessee Right to Life was the primary organizer of the "Yes" campaign.
With Amendment 1's passage, Tennessee becomes the fourth state to explicitly amend its constitution on the issue of abortion. The word "abortion" also appears in the Arkansas, Colorado and Rhode Island constitutions.


Tennessee Amendment 1 abortion measure passes

 

[bigbadjohn45]

WHOO HOO!!!!!! God bless the voters of Tennessee who made the RIGHT DECISION while passing Amendment 1!!!

Thanks for all your support in this cause, Flash. It's our duty and obligation to do all we can to protect the rights of the unborn. God bless you, my friend.

--BBJ

 

[RandallThomason]

It's awesome that Harry Reid has been demoted. Nobody deserved it more.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[bigbadjohn45]

Originally posted by RandallThomason:
It's awesome that Harry Reid has been demoted. Nobody deserved it more.

Posted from Rivals Mobile

Randall, I'm with you! Harry Reid has been Obama's cover man for too long. Change was way overdue. Time for a REAL SENATE to convene that will actually take-up bills passed by the House, pass a budget, etc. Let's put The One on the spot and make him get out his veto pen. If nothing else, we can hold Democratic Senators accountable who vote against overriding the veto. This will put them on record as obstructionists for job-creating bills passed by both the House and Senate. Cover can no longer be provided by Dingy Harry.

 

[nashvillegoldenflash]

This picture paints a thousand words -- hope it does for you -- illustrating rays of hope that peek through the clouds to light a right way forward. With thankfulness for the wisdom of involved Americans this week, I know we can count on the guiding illumination our nation needs when we look up. My brother photographed this glorious open sky while walking with his baby girl along Alaska's Cook Inlet shore. In our eyes, anyway, we see the hand of God in this, and we are grateful.

- Sarah Palin

 

[bigbadjohn45]

Originally posted by nashvillegoldenflash:
This picture paints a thousand words -- hope it does for you -- illustrating rays of hope that peek through the clouds to light a right way forward. With thankfulness for the wisdom of involved Americans this week, I know we can count on the guiding illumination our nation needs when we look up. My brother photographed this glorious open sky while walking with his baby girl along Alaska's Cook Inlet shore. In our eyes, anyway, we see the hand of God in this, and we are grateful.

- Sarah Palin

What an inspiring picture and message! Thanks for sharing that, Flash. Let's pray that Tuesday's elections are a sign that our country is waking up and heading back in the right direction.