Senatorial Updates

It appears that the Democratic numbers for the Senate have reached 58--Mark Begich has pulled out a victory in Alaska over Ted Stevens. Not all votes have been counted, but the number of uncounted votes is smaller than the lead Begich has put together. I'm not quite sure what the symbolism is, but today is also Stevens's 85th birthday. According to the Anchorage Daily News, there may still be a recount, but recent history suggests that Alaskan recount totals don't vary widely from the original counts. The upside to this is that God has chosen not to open this particular door for Sarah Palin, so there's no possibility of a Washington job in her immediate future. The downside is that there will be fewer Incredible Hulk ties in the Senate well.

Of course, there was a less exciting development today, as well. As expected, Senate Democrats caved completely and declared to Joe Lieberman that all is forgiven. Well, on their side, anyway. At least as far as I've heard, Lieberman hasn't made any statement about whether or not he remains in fear of a 60-seat Democratic majority that may be getting closer (and of which he may now become a part.) It's not clear how much this might've reflected Obama's preference. Howard Dean suggests that Obama is pleased with the resolution, although he doesn't spell out that this followed Obama's direct wishes. Another piece of evidence toward this conclusion, though, is that it appears as if Dick Durbin, the senior senator from Illinois took a major part in working for this resolution. Although I wouldn't suggest that Durbin is Obama's proxy in the Senate at this point, I would expect that Durbin is likely privy to the president-elect's thoughts on the issue.

So we're stuck with Lieberman. Now what? Adam B at Daily Kos has some ideas--Lieberman should make himself available to help Jim Martin in Georgia campaign for his run off and help Al Franken with his Minnesota recount in any way he can. The Democratic caucus has to stay together, after all.