[Update 16:30PST Thursday: Added a few new graphics; Allen concession
Democrats have won full control of the Congress - the law-making branch of the US government - for the first time since 1994. The next Congress begins session on 3 January 2007.
1) What happened in the House of Representatives?
The American people have elected more Democrat House representatives than Republican ones. For the first time in 12 years, the democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives. Results are still coming in, but the Democrats have taken enough seats from Republicans that it doesn't matter - they are guaranteed to get control.
This is significant because the House and the Senate together discuss and decide on the laws of the country. Republicans will no longer be able to dictate the laws passed by Congress.
The person in charge of the House of Representatives - the Speaker Of The House - will no longer be a Republican but instead will likely be Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who would be the first ever female Speaker and the highest elected female official in American history. Should President Bush wants to introduce bills for Congress to consider, he will have to convince Democrat Nancy Pelosi to do so. What's more, the Speaker of the House is second in line to replace the president. If anything happens to Bush, Cheney becomes president, then if anything happens to Cheney, the Speaker (which will soon be Pelosi) becomes President.
The newly elected House will begin session from 3 January 2007.
2) What happened in the Senate?
Americans in six separate state elections voted to replace their Republican senator with a Democratic one. The Democrats now have full control of voting in the Senate. Thursday afternoon in Virginia, Republican incumbent George Allen conceded to Democrat challenger Democratic Jim Webb, tilting control of the Senate to the Democrats.
Officially there are 49 senators registered as Democrats and 49 registered as Republicans. The remaining two senators - Lieberman from Connecticut and Sanders from Vermont - are registered as Independents belonging to neither party. Both however are expected to align with the Democratic caucus because of their past voting records, therefore they are effectively considered Democrats.
From an article in the Stamford (Connecticut) Advocate:
3) I'm not totally familiar with American government - what exactly IS the Congress, the House of Representatives, and the Senate?
There are three branches to the US Government: One is the executive branch which manages and operates the government (president, VP, department secretaries, etc). Another is the judicial branch which is the federal court system that rules on federal court cases, interprets the Constitution, and sets legal precedent, the highest court being the Supreme Court.
The last branch is the legislative branch, known as the Congress, which creates laws. Congress is made up of two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. from Wikipedia:
The House Reps are supposed to be the people closest in touch with the minds of the American people. They're supposed to fight for whatever their people want them to vote for. Senators, on the other hand, are supposed to be a bit separated from public opinion. To give an extreme hypothetical example, if American people demanded laws that would crown Britney Spears as the Queen of America, the House of Reps should support public opinion by passing a law declaring her to be Queen, but the Senate should sensibly protect America by voting against the majority opinion. Since bills have to pass both the House and the Senate in order to become law, Britney would not be Queen.
The two bodies embody the balance between the will of the majority and the righteousness of non-partisan, philosophical thought. This evidence of carefully-planned balance is a key reason why the structure of American government, as created by the forefathers, is respected around the world.
There are some other differences. The most important ones being that only the House can introduce bills that would raise revenue, and only the Senate can give consent to Presidential appointments. For example, although Bush today announced that Bob Gates would be replacing Rumsfeld, this is really only a nomination. The Senate has to vote to decide whether Gates can become the Secretary of Defense.
5) What other significant things happened in the elections?
Aside from electing officials, there were other votes in certain states that will set the national tone on many key issues.
- South Dakota voters rejected a law that would have banned virtually all abortions. Lawmakers had hoped the ban would be challenged in court, provoking litigation that might eventually lead to a Supreme Court reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. But they voted against the ban. This is seen as a huge victory for pro-choice supporters around the country, and a huge loss for pro-lifers.
- Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage. Voters refused to change its constitution to define marriage as a one-man, one-woman institution. The measure also would have forbidden civil unions and domestic partnerships.
- Eight states voted on amendments to ban gay marriage: Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Similar amendments have passed previously in all 20 states to consider them. However, the bans that succeeded won by much narrower margins, on average, than in the past. Gay activists claim it is a sign that "fear-mongering around same-sex marriage is fizzling out."
- Missouri approved a measure backing stem cell research by a narrow margin.
- State minimum wage increases were passed in six states: Arizona, Colorado. Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Nevada.
- Nevada and Colorado voters rejected measures that would have legalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by anyone 21 and older. South Dakotans voted down a proposal that would have allowed marijuana use for some medical purposes.
- Pennsylvania voters gave the state the go-ahead to borrow $20 million so that nearly 33,000 veterans in the state who participated in the Persian Gulf War could collect one-time payments up to $525.
Edit: Please let me know of any factual errors. Thanks
Democrats have won full control of the Congress - the law-making branch of the US government - for the first time since 1994. The next Congress begins session on 3 January 2007.
1) What happened in the House of Representatives?
The American people have elected more Democrat House representatives than Republican ones. For the first time in 12 years, the democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives. Results are still coming in, but the Democrats have taken enough seats from Republicans that it doesn't matter - they are guaranteed to get control.
This is significant because the House and the Senate together discuss and decide on the laws of the country. Republicans will no longer be able to dictate the laws passed by Congress.
The person in charge of the House of Representatives - the Speaker Of The House - will no longer be a Republican but instead will likely be Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who would be the first ever female Speaker and the highest elected female official in American history. Should President Bush wants to introduce bills for Congress to consider, he will have to convince Democrat Nancy Pelosi to do so. What's more, the Speaker of the House is second in line to replace the president. If anything happens to Bush, Cheney becomes president, then if anything happens to Cheney, the Speaker (which will soon be Pelosi) becomes President.
The newly elected House will begin session from 3 January 2007.
2) What happened in the Senate?
Americans in six separate state elections voted to replace their Republican senator with a Democratic one. The Democrats now have full control of voting in the Senate. Thursday afternoon in Virginia, Republican incumbent George Allen conceded to Democrat challenger Democratic Jim Webb, tilting control of the Senate to the Democrats.
Officially there are 49 senators registered as Democrats and 49 registered as Republicans. The remaining two senators - Lieberman from Connecticut and Sanders from Vermont - are registered as Independents belonging to neither party. Both however are expected to align with the Democratic caucus because of their past voting records, therefore they are effectively considered Democrats.
From an article in the Stamford (Connecticut) Advocate:
[url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/us/politics/10virginiacnd.html?hp&ex=1163134800&en=39154caed4de2d42&ei=5094&partner=homepage]OnStamford Advocate wrote:
Sen. Joe Lieberman, who defied Democrats and ran as an independent to hang onto his seat, said Wednesday there is nothing Republicans could do to convince him to switch to the GOP.
With Democrats and Republicans jockeying for control of the closely divided Senate, both parties will need Lieberman's vote.
Things were still up in the air Wednesday, but Democrats were assured of 50 votes with the defeat of GOP Sen. Conrad Burns in Montana. They led in Virginia over GOP Sen. George Allen, setting the stage for a possible 51-49 majority that would include two Democrat-voting independents, Lieberman and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Lieberman reiterated his pledge to remain with the Democrats, saying a prime consideration was maintaining his 18 years of seniority on Capitol Hill in order to help Connecticut.
"When I give my word, I stick to it, and I'm definitely going to organize with the Senate Democratic caucus," Lieberman said.
3) I'm not totally familiar with American government - what exactly IS the Congress, the House of Representatives, and the Senate?
There are three branches to the US Government: One is the executive branch which manages and operates the government (president, VP, department secretaries, etc). Another is the judicial branch which is the federal court system that rules on federal court cases, interprets the Constitution, and sets legal precedent, the highest court being the Supreme Court.
The last branch is the legislative branch, known as the Congress, which creates laws. Congress is made up of two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. from Wikipedia:
4) But is there any real difference between the House and the Senate? They sound the same.wikipedia wrote:
The United States Congress is the legislature of the United States federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a congressional district and serving a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states on the basis of population. Each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are 100 senators, serving staggered six-year terms. Both Senators and Representatives are chosen through direct election.
The House Reps are supposed to be the people closest in touch with the minds of the American people. They're supposed to fight for whatever their people want them to vote for. Senators, on the other hand, are supposed to be a bit separated from public opinion. To give an extreme hypothetical example, if American people demanded laws that would crown Britney Spears as the Queen of America, the House of Reps should support public opinion by passing a law declaring her to be Queen, but the Senate should sensibly protect America by voting against the majority opinion. Since bills have to pass both the House and the Senate in order to become law, Britney would not be Queen.
The two bodies embody the balance between the will of the majority and the righteousness of non-partisan, philosophical thought. This evidence of carefully-planned balance is a key reason why the structure of American government, as created by the forefathers, is respected around the world.
There are some other differences. The most important ones being that only the House can introduce bills that would raise revenue, and only the Senate can give consent to Presidential appointments. For example, although Bush today announced that Bob Gates would be replacing Rumsfeld, this is really only a nomination. The Senate has to vote to decide whether Gates can become the Secretary of Defense.
5) What other significant things happened in the elections?
Aside from electing officials, there were other votes in certain states that will set the national tone on many key issues.
- South Dakota voters rejected a law that would have banned virtually all abortions. Lawmakers had hoped the ban would be challenged in court, provoking litigation that might eventually lead to a Supreme Court reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. But they voted against the ban. This is seen as a huge victory for pro-choice supporters around the country, and a huge loss for pro-lifers.
- Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage. Voters refused to change its constitution to define marriage as a one-man, one-woman institution. The measure also would have forbidden civil unions and domestic partnerships.
- Eight states voted on amendments to ban gay marriage: Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Similar amendments have passed previously in all 20 states to consider them. However, the bans that succeeded won by much narrower margins, on average, than in the past. Gay activists claim it is a sign that "fear-mongering around same-sex marriage is fizzling out."
- Missouri approved a measure backing stem cell research by a narrow margin.
- State minimum wage increases were passed in six states: Arizona, Colorado. Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Nevada.
- Nevada and Colorado voters rejected measures that would have legalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by anyone 21 and older. South Dakotans voted down a proposal that would have allowed marijuana use for some medical purposes.
- Pennsylvania voters gave the state the go-ahead to borrow $20 million so that nearly 33,000 veterans in the state who participated in the Persian Gulf War could collect one-time payments up to $525.
Edit: Please let me know of any factual errors. Thanks
Last edited by The_Shipbuilder (2006-11-09 17:35:25)
