A Glimmer Of Hope

With the election of Republican Saxby Chambliss in yesterday's runoff election in Georgia, the Democrats will be prevented from having a filibuster proof Senate, even if Al Franken does manage to steal Minnesota. This means that the Democrats will have a tiny roadblock in the way of extreme legislation they might want to pass.

Two "filibuster-worthy" pieces of legislation are already in the pipeline. The first is the so-called fairness doctrine which would force radio stations to give equal time to opposing opinions, aimed at killing conservative talk radio.

The second is the "card check" legislation which would allow a union to organize a workplace without the traditional secret ballot, breaking down a significant barrier to unionization.

Georgia has an interesting election rule that says a candidate must win 50% of the vote. In the November race, with several 3rd party candidates on the ballot, Chambliss won 49.8%, triggering yesterday's runoff.

An interesting aside: although this was a crucial election (or maybe because it was) pundits wondered aloud whether Barack Obama would risk spending political capital and go to Georgia to campaign for the Democrat. He didn't.

But Sarah Palin did. And her guy won.