The people have spoken: Change the course

By Steven Mendoza

Pres. Bush must now acknowledge that the American people are no longer willing to “stay the course,” since they voted the Republicans out of congressional power.

The Democrats took control of the House early in the morning on Nov. 8; when incumbent George Allen of Virginia conceded the election for his Senate seat on Nov. 9 to Democratic challenger Jim Webb, a former Navy secretary, the Democrats completed the sweep.

Shortly after Allen’s concession, Webb spoke in front of a crowd of supporters. He began by lifting a pair of combat boots, something he often did on the campaign trail as his son is serving the Marines in Iraq. “We have a much stronger Democratic party . . . We’re going to work hard to bring a sense of responsibility in our foreign policy that will, in my view, result in a diplomatic solution in Iraq.”

Beginning in January, the Democrats will hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate because the two Independents elected to the Senate, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, say they will caucus with the Democrats. (Sanders is the first self-described socialist to be elected to the U.S. Senate.) The last Democratic Senate majority occurred in May of 2001 when former Vermont Sen. James Jefford defected from the Republicans to become an independent. The majority lasted only to the mid-term elections of 2002, however, when Republicans once again regained the Senate majority.

The Democrats have not held the majority in the House since 1994. As of Nov. 13, with 10 races still to be decided by recounts, the Democrats held a 229-196 majority in the House. Projections of the final vote tallies could give the new majority a 232-203 spread.

It seems that the two remaining years of Bush’s term will be dedicated to resurrecting bi-partisan relationships after six years of Republican domination. Before it even was certain that the Senate was lost, Bush began his bipartisan outreach Nov. 8 when he announced the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. Only a week before the elections Bush stated that, “both [Cheney, Rumsfeld] are doing fantastic jobs and I support them.” Military leaders and other personnel joined many Democrats in calling for Rumsfeld’s resignation as progress in the Iraq war has continuously slowed. In a speech after his resignation, Rumsfeld admitted that the second phase of the war, securing and stabilizing Iraq, was not going “well enough or fast enough.”

His replacement is current president of Texas A&M University and former CIA director Robert Gates, who is currently part of the bi-partisan Baker-Hamilton Committee assigned to review and make suggestions in dealing with the insurgency and ongoing war effort in Iraq. The Senate must confirm Gates, but the Democrats have made no suggestions that they will fight his nomination.

The elections also brought changes to the demographic make up of Congress. Nancy Pelosi will be the first female House majority leader in U.S. history. Since 1987, she has served San Francisco’s 8th district that includes most of the city, the Golden Gate Park, Fisherman’s Wharf and Chinatown. Pelosi was elected the House minority leader in 2002.

The 5th congressional district of Minneapolis, Minnesota elected Keith Ellison to be the first Muslim ever to serve in Congress, and he is the first African American to represent Minnesota in the House of Representatives.