HOUSE AND SENATE!!!!!!!!
Democrats take control of Congress, AP reports

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Democrats wrested control of the Senate from Republicans Wednesday with an upset victory in Virginia, giving the party complete domination of Capitol Hill for the first time since 1994.

Jim Webb's squeaker win over incumbent U.S. Sen. George Allen gave Democrats their 51st seat in the Senate, an astonishing turnabout at the hands of voters unhappy with Republican scandal and unabated violence in Iraq. Allen was the sixth Republican incumbent senator defeated in Tuesday's elections.

The Senate had teetered at 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans for most of today, with Virginia hanging in the balance. Webb's victory ended Republican hopes of eking out a 50-50 split, with Vice President Dick Cheney wielding tie-breaking authority.

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So I heard about this in the dressing room during tonight's performance. Rarely these days do I feel any sense at all of absolute joy, but when I heard the news I started dancing and jumping around. This is fantastic. Both houses. Far freakin' out! Granted, I give the Democrats about six months or so before they start fucking it all up themselves, but tonight I can rejoice: the Republicans no longer control Congress, and that's good for the whole fucking world.

My buddy Reuben, who is in the show with me, probably had the best take on it. He said something to the effect of, "The Democrats didn't win; the Republicans lost." So true. But now it belongs to them. They have a major opportunity here: continue to allow the GOP to govern the shape and agenda of public discourse, as they did even before they took over in 1994, or to truly change the way the debate functions. That is, they have the chance to get the goddamned corporations, with their human grinding labor machines and policy, which is ultimately what gave Republicans total control in the first place, out of politics for good. Something tells me that's not going to happen.

But for now, I can dream can't I?

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