WASHINGTON, 9 November 2006 — Americans sharply rebuked President George Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress on Tuesday, sweeping Democrats into power in the House of Representatives for the first time in a dozen years and dismantling most, if not all of the Republican Senate majority.
The battle for Senate seats in Virginia and Montana remained too tight to call yesterday. Democrats need to win both houses to shape a majority and complete their grip on legislative power. A potential Virginia recount could further lengthen the suspense.
While those races were inconclusive, the voters’ main verdict was not.
The election yesterday was a repudiation of Republican scandal, with a succession of tainted politicians losing seats as their leaders lost power, and a stinging referendum on the course of the Iraq war and the nation’s direction.
Republicans lost the political center on the Iraq war, according to national exit polls. Voters who identified themselves as independents broke strongly for the Democrats, the exit polls showed, as did those who described themselves as moderates. Almost 6 in 10 voters disapproved of the war in Iraq, according to the exit polls, and about the same number said they believed the United States should withdraw some, or all, of its troops. Six in 10 voters also said the war had not improved the long-term security of the United States, while one-third of voters said it had.
Now the biggest question for Democrats is how to deal with Bush, as they exercise power on Capitol Hill for the first time in a decade.
To begin with, and for the first time in US history, when Bush delivers his State of the Union address in January, a woman will be seated to his left on the dais. That will be Nancy Pelosi, the trim 66-year-old grandmother, who becomes the first woman to be leader of the House of Representatives.
The Democrats’ sweeping win of control of Congress ends 12 years in the wilderness for the party and elevates Pelosi as arguably the most powerful woman in the US. Move over, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The position of House leader means Pelosi is the third in line for the presidency if tragedy befalls the president and vice president.
Her rise comes despite a concerted campaign from Republicans to highlight her “liberal views.” That’s something of a pejorative term among Republicans, and most American conservatives, but of little surprise since she represents San Francisco, one of the more permissive cities in the US with a long history of tolerance for gays and a relaxed attitude to drug use.
Speaking on national television yesterday, Pelosi said Democrats “pledge civility and bipartisanship with Republicans in Congress,” and said the elections would mark a “new direction for our economy and the country.”
“Nowhere was the call for new direction more clear from the American people than the war in Iraq,” said Pelosi. “We know that ‘stay the course’ is not working, it has not made the country safer, has not honored our commitment to our troops, and has not brought stability to Iraq. I hope we can work with the president to bring a solution to this issue,” said the new House leader.
The battle for the Senate remained focused yesterday on Montana and Virginia, where razor-thin margins raised the prospect of lengthy recounts.
In Montana, Sen. Conrad Burns, a Republican, trailed his Democratic challenger, Jon Tester, by about 1,500 votes — less than one-half percent — with only one precinct’s results still unaccounted for.
In Virginia, another Republican incumbent, Sen. George Allen, trailed his Democratic challenger, Jim Webb, by a margin well below the 1 percent that allows for a losing candidate to demand that ballots be counted again.
A recount in Virginia could mean prolonged uncertainty over control of the Senate, since a formal request can be filed only after the results are officially certified on Nov. 27, according to the state board of elections. Last year a recount in the race for attorney general was not resolved until Dec. 21.
A victory in Montana would give the Democrats 50 seats in the next Senate. But to take control of the chamber away from the Republicans, they need to win Virginia as well, since Vice President Dick Cheney can cast tie-breaking votes.
In New York, Eliot Spitzer, the state attorney general who crusaded against Wall Street corruption, was elected governor of New York yesterday in a historic Democratic sweep on statewide offices, which included a huge victory by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that positions her for a possible presidential bid in 2008.
Members of both parties yesterday began adjusting to the Democrats’ victory in the House. Bush yesterday telephoned Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. Eastern time yesterday.
No less significant for the long-term political fortunes of their party, Democrats were winning governors’ seats across the country — notably in Ohio, a state that has been at the center of the past two presidential elections.
Among the faces that will be absent from the halls of Congress next year are some high-profile and long-serving members of the Republican Party, including Rep. Charles Bass of New Hampshire, Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr. of Florida, Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona, Rep. Jim Ryun of Kansas and Rep. Nancy L. Johnson of Connecticut.
The parade of departing Republican senators also included Mike DeWine of Ohio, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Jim Talent of Missouri, who conceded his race to Claire McCaskill well after midnight.
Television coverage of Tuesday’s elections was restrained. Cable and broadcast networks offered about 50 hours of commentary and analysis, amplified by celebrity anchors and often confusing special effects and the din of bloggers.
