1 Leiberman and 1 Specter, though they seem to be passing each other in opposite directions as they approach their new party affiliations. And the Senate got significantly funnier - intentionally, I mean.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.

it doesn't matter, because now the democrats are saying 60 votes isn't enough.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/democrats-caution-franken_n_223...

you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself here. It is not like the caucus is unanimous on every issue."

you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself here. It is not like the caucus is unanimous on every issue."...

"Sixty is an imaginary number," said one operative. "You are always going to lose the Ben Nelsons and all the centrists. This is why 2010 proves to be so important because it can set a buffer for that 60 threshold."

"This is a story Jim Manley [Majority Leader Harry Reid's press secretary] will love, but it has the virtue of being true," the operative added.

"It's true," said Manley when reached by phone. "It is obviously sometimes difficult to say this to your audience [Huffington Post readers]. While this is, of course, good news to the people of Minnesota, President Obama, and the Senate Democratic, Franken's mere presence alone will not mean that the Democrats will be able to jam through our agenda, or make it any less critical for Democrats and Republicans to work together.

ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

the number 60 does include Lieberman who not only is actually registered Independent but really, really, really thought John McCain should be President of the United States (and him maybe his veep). Think where we would be on the road to regulating those nasty financial derivatives and rebuilding the economy if he had had his way. Seriously, ponder Treasury Secretary Phil Gramm for a second. On many, many issues, previous sarcasm aside - Leiberman really should not be considered a "D" by virtually any fair-minded yardstick at this point.

And to sober up yet a little more on what Franken means in terms of climate change legislation here's R Sen Jim Inhofe on Franken also from HuffPo

Democrats wouldn't be able to hustle up 60 votes to stop a filibuster, the Republican said. "I'll tell you what a lot of people are thinking, and that is it looks like things are going to be over and we are going to get the clown from Minnesota ... They are not going to get more than 35 votes."

Asked if he was referring to Al Franken, Inhofe confirmed that he was. "I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I don't know the guy, but ... for a living he is a clown. That's what he does for a living."

-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.

Is there anyway we can covertly start a GOP "Draft Bachman 2012" groundswell?
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.