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| Republican senator won't concede in Montana |
| 2006-11-09 |
| Democrat Jon Tester declared victory over Republican Sen. Conrad Burns in Montana on Wednesday in a close contest, but the incumbent declined to concede in a race crucial to control of the U.S. Senate. "We won this thing," Tester, the state senate president and organic farmer, told a Great Falls news conference. U.S. media called the election for Tester even as some results continued to be tallied after a night of uncertainty. "Jon Tester ran a good race and has the lead right now, but it is extremely close," Burns said in a statement. "There are still votes out there that deserve to be counted. I believe we need to continue to let that process play itself out and there is no need to rush to a conclusion when the votes are this close." A Democratic win in Montana would give the party 50 seats in the 100-seat U.S. Senate, with the only undecided contest in Virginia. "It's over," Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who campaigned for Tester, said by telephone. Burns is "no longer a U.S. senator come January." Incumbent Burns, first elected in 1988, was tainted by links to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his campaign was marred by several gaffes. Montanans have traditionally voted Republican. Updated unofficial results from the Montana secretary of state's office said Tester won 176,857 votes, compared to 175,059 for Burns. A recount would be allowed if the margin of victory in the official Montana tally is 0.5 percent or less of votes cast -- a possibility given the tight contest. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #12 So... |
| Posted by: George W Bush 2006-11-09 14:17 |
| #11 One of the few things I like about Repubs is that they don't reelect people like Murtha (ABSCAM) and Reid (eminent domain for personal profit) is that they don't reelect them. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-11-09 22:21 |
| #10 I love machaca burritos - perhaps he meant the reporter looked like scrambled eggs, shredded beef, onions, spices, salsa in a flour tortilla ? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-09 18:23 |
| #9 DeWine - anti gun, free spending non-conservative... |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2006-11-09 16:58 |
| #8 Anon, No one is saying that voter fraud isn't a problem. Hell, I live in C(r)ook County, IL, home of Vote Early, Vote Often. However, when you consider this election, you just knew that the GOP was cruisin' for a bruisin' for quite sometime. Look at the losses: 1. Allen - VA: One of the stupidest campaigns ever run, and this man had pretensions of being presidential timber? And what American has the word "macaca" in his vocabulary? 2. Burns - MT: Jack Abramoff. 'Nuff said. 3. Chaffee - RI: Widely acknowledged to be one of the dimmest wits in the Senate (and that's saying something), who only occupied the seat because Daddy did. 4. DeWine - OH: State-wide scandal Fill in losses and reasons accordingly, but notice (just as mcsegeek did), policy issues aren't exactly at the top of the list. Start recruiting candidates who aren't prowling for pages, bribes or places to spend father's trust fund, return to solid small-government principles, and send Denny Hastert on a fact-finding mission to Kazhakstan to find the real Borat (with a one-way ticket), and this thing can easily right itself. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2006-11-09 13:56 |
| #7 copy = company |
| Posted by: anon 2006-11-09 12:40 |
| #6 Time to look forward to 2008 Exactly. Let the Dems make fools of themselves for the next two years. Conservatives, get back to your core values--- to your heart and soul. The election was not a repudiation of Conservatism, but a repudation of folks who say one thing, then do another. If they finally do what's right, like reign in spending, secure the border, clean up corruption, stop ear-marking, etc, 2008 could shape up as a conservative landslide. If not, it'll be another 50/50 wishy-washy deadlock, or worse. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-11-09 12:40 |
| #5 whoa, whoa, whoa! While I agree that it makes sense not to scream stolen election and do so for the next eight years, I do think the biggest and most issue that we need to resolve over the next four years is to reestablish a trustworthy voting system. It will benefit both Republicans and Democrats and as Americans is probably the only bipartisan issue we can agree on. We need a system that assures citizen votes are counted and that the people's voices are heard. That means you have to show proof that you are a citizen, voter rolls are cleaned, those who register frauds are sent to jail, and especially that the votes can be recounted when questions are asked. It is outrageous that Diebold software was created by a copy with ties to Chavez and that there is zero way to establish fraud. We need outrage on this!! This race may be the perfect poster child to get this issue done, since the Kos Kiddies also want this. Don't let them scare you off with cries of sour grapes. I believe vote fraud is a grave threat to our democracy. With the way things are going now we are one step shy of third world status. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-11-09 12:39 |
| #4 Right on, Jackal. Time to look forward to 2008, not back to August 2006. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2006-11-09 11:58 |
| #3 I agree with Bigjim. If this were Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, or Pennsylvania, with the known widespread Demonrat cheating in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, or Philly, it would be a different matter, and I would call for state and federal investigations. But as it is, I think that Abramoff got tied to Burns' tail and people in Montana, unlike, say, Loozhyana, don't want crooks in office. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-11-09 09:05 |
| #2 Let's not even start that kind of talk. We'll sound like democrats. And we're better than that. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-11-09 05:58 |
| #1 What about wid Ole' VIRGINIA > by what I am reading on the Net, the State of VA does NOT allow voters to keep a record of their votes vv electronic voting machines, so how can electron machine users be certain of their vote??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-11-09 01:33 |