The Democrats are In The House…and The Senate

Washington's gone BLUE: Democrats propel to their first majority on Capital Hill in a dozen years.

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(SALEM) - No more Republican rule, the Democrats seized control of both houses of Congress Tuesday by capitalizing on voter anger over Iraq and frustration with the Bush administration overall. Recent congressional scandals also rocked the Republican boat, which didn’t right itself, as the turbulent waters just seemed to increase. Expected to be the first female speaker in history, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California may not be everyone’s favorite politician, but she has been a strong leader for many years, and is solidly in place to set the mode for change.

Grove Insight, of Portland, was one of five teams in the nation tasked with the Independent Expenditure efforts for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee playing in a dozen key house races across the country. They created the message framework for the “Oregon Roadmap” strategy to elect Democrats to the House.

“In most cases, this election was all about change. When given a choice between staying the course and backing the Republican status quo, including this President, or voting for the vision of change offered by the Democrats, voters clearly felt that our country needed to move in a new direction,” said the firm’s principal, Lisa Grove. “But let’s be clear: none of this would have happened without careful planning, targeting and analysis. I applaud leaders like Rahm Emanuel who dreamed big when few dared to do so.”

Grove Insight’s polling also provided the message strategy and targeting that helped defeat a number of ballot measures in Oregon, and was lead strategist for Ted Kulongoski’s big win over Ron Saxton. “This was especially important given the stakes in Oregon right now,” Grove said. Kulongoski’s campaign was significantly outspent by the Saxton camp, but still came out ahead.

Family values aren’t what they used to be. Americans from all walks of life found the recent sex scandals revolting, the war in Iraq tragically costly, and the growing “culture of corruption” an embarrassing reflection on the country. These concerns were the same across the board, and they made their voices heard at the voting booth. Or in Oregon's case, with each ballot cast.

Common sense set in with the voters, as demonstrated with the verdict on abortion rights, which was loud and clear. Oregon and California voters defeated measures that would have required parents to be notified before a girl under 18 could get an abortion, and South Dakotans, by a 12 percent margin, rejected a new state law that would have banned all abortions except to save a pregnant woman's life.

The race wasn’t over though, until the votes for the Senate were final. The race teetered at 50 Democrats and independents, 49 Republicans for most of Wednesday, with Virginia hanging in the balance.

The Associated Press and NBC News reported that Democrat Jim Webb was the apparent winner Wednesday night, effectively giving Democrats their 51st seat in the Senate, ending the chance of a 50-50 split, which would have made Vice President Dick Cheney the tie-breaker.

Too close for comfort to scandals these last weeks, Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill, has already announced that he will not seek to be his party’s House minority leader in January, when Democrats take control.

Democrats won another unexpected victory earlier in the day, one sought after for more than a year, when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned, apparently over the troubled war in Iraq. His resignation was requested by the publication Army Times this week, for the second time, and several Generals have made the same plea for many months.

Now both the war and the Pentagon will be under new management.

While President Bush gave Rumsfeld credit for successfully driving out the Taliban in Afghanistan, this news organization is sending it’s chief correspondent there to cover the worst uprising by that same group in five years. That mission is far from accomplished.

Finding common ground in both houses of Congress is mandatory for Democrats from this point forward, locally and on a national level. Americans already have moved in that direction, proven by the results of this election and the dynamic shift in leadership.

Nancy Pelosi says she understands Americans have placed their trust in Democrats. “We will honor that trust. We will not disappoint.”

And so begins a new era. And with it, the challenge of righting the upset ship with intelligence, grace and dignity. The true democracy of balanced power.