Looks like with all the votes counted, Joe Walsh has won the election in the 8th Congressional District in an upset that very few folks predicted....
But will Melissa Bean demand a recount? To paraphrase a famous saying, we count the votes, and if the right person doesn't win, we keep counting until he does... it worked for Al Franken in Minnesota, so the GOP needs to remain vigilant...
UPDATED 10:00 p.m.: The Daily Herald has now updated its story to state that Democrat Melissa Bean has conceded the race, which means no recount and no costly and drawn-out legal battle, which is great news. Walsh has a lot of work to get done in the House, so it's time to dig in and band together with his new freshman house members like Bob Dold to start making some real changes in Washington. Congrats, Joe!
UPDATED x2 11:30 a.m. 11/17/10: Melissa Bean is now speaking out about her loss to Joe Walsh and blames the national GOP tsunami. Bean says she took Walsh "seriously". Agree/disagree?
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28 comments:
Something interesting is up...the DH has pulled their original story. No mention anywhere on their website about the votes being finished and walsh being ahead.
Smells funny...just like the chicken we threw away tonight.
I want to give a major shoutout to the 8th gop who pulled this sucker off. to beat bean with the lack of funds and help basically blows up the arguments of other republicans who lost and blamed it on obama or the blueness of the state. there are problems with this guy like all guys, but the 8th pulled off a national stunner and I give them all the credit in the world.
For those thinking bean will get this back in 2 years, walsh will have money, organization and help next time.
all in all a great win and congrats to all involved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FOKLAES
Wow!
100% press the flesh campaign. No TV ads. Running against a well funded, well entrenched opponent.
Joe Walsh. Congressman!
Congratulations Joe!
Louis G. Atsaves
I can not stand Bean, as she is in reality a right-wing republican. She is very right wing, like all blue dogs. So in a way, I am glad she lost. Of course, Walsh is a tea-partier which means that insanity won in IL8. He is worse than her, but marginally so.
I think the best analysis of the 2010 elections was from Bill Maher and Michael Moore. Here it is:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/real-time-bill-maher-explains-how-america-is-like-a-dog/
Blue, it's distressing and sad that you should get your political dogma from Michael Moore. You're better than that - please wise up.
RE:my 7:35 comment...just the herald's crummy new site.
Congrats to Joe...was a cool feeling to wake up this morning knowing I finally have a congressman that represents me. Picked up the Blackberry, and lo and behold a personal response from my Congressman-elect to an email I sent him last night. Nice to have such communication from an elected official; let's hope he keeps it up and doesn't fall into the crane/bean trap.
I really think that he is going to do a good job; he knows they have to, or they'll be thrown out as quickly as they were voted in.
This win is as much a tribute to the people who knocked on doors, made calls, walked in parades in 95 degree heat, as it is to the dogged determination by the candidate. Congrats to all involved!
Foklaes....you think Walsh will make it two years before he has ethic charges levied at him? Remember he has a lot of personal debt to resolve, and since he has questionable personal fiscal integrity, he might just be tempted by his new found power.
yes,
to all those that blame the Tea Party for losing Alaska, Nevada, and California, it really depends on the grassroots efforts and the energy to get their candidate elected.
The 8th tea party won a congressional race against a 2 million dollar friend of the president in the president's home county without running a tv ad. this has to be a first in modern american political history. I don't know walsh or his team but they deserve huge praise for this win. think about that. no tv ads, and winning againt the presidents candidate in his own home county.
It's as if not more impressive than any other win this century for a republican.
also democrats who want to talk scandal can look at the front of this page, which btw is still missing a picture of kirk from his senate night win or something to that effect. only thing to drive 10th dems more nuts than a picture of them with blago-is a picture of a kirk for senate victory speech-and it can stay up for 6 years.
FOKLAES
FOKLAES:
Agree with the impressiveness of the win. The Walsh people did an impressive job getting earned media and keeping in constant contact with their supporters. It was a good, old-fashioned campaign without lots of evil, big money.
As for the tea party, I'm thinking that while their success at the Senate level was mixed and there was a few wacky candidates there; they did do a good job getting lots of average Joe professionals interested in politics. The Republican freshman class includes lots of doctors, nurses, veterans, and small business owners. I'm thinking that it was easier for the Tea Party to recruit plausible citizen legislators for the House. It is easier for a newbie who might have dabbled in local politics to mount a credible campaign for the House of Reps vs. the Senate.
Congrats to Congressman-elect Walsh on a very nice win.
That being said, a little realism is needed here. This was a enormous Republican-wave election in the 8th. Look at the vote counts for Kirk, Topinka, Rutherford and Brady in that district for proof.
However, Walsh squeaked this one out, so he is going to be a HUGE target in 2012, assuming redistricting doesn't pit him against a neighboring Republican. Keep in mind that Obama will be at the top of the ticket in 2012, so Walsh needs to learn from what Kirk did in the 10th if he wants to keep this seat. Simply he needs to become a media darling. Unfortunately his treatment of the media during this race is unlikely to help him do that.
I think the future of this seat has the potential to be very volatile.
Blue,
I'm really disappointed that you would shirk away from Melissa Bean because she was upset in a Republican wave election by an opponent that no one took seriously. She's an outstanding leader, a necessary moderate voice and still has a bright future in politics. I've been on here defending unemployed garbage like Seals for too long to sit quietly as you trash a truly independent and competent (now former?) member of Congress.
She'll be back in 2012 and will expose Walsh for the joke of a person that he is. I mean seriously, some of the things he said during the election are downright scary. How he won is beyond me.
Until Next Time,
A Concerned Colonial
=== I've been on here defending unemployed garbage like Seals ===
That's hysterical, CC. If I'd said something like that, the moonbats would be calling me a racist and picketing my house. So I will just tacitly agree with you and smirk to myself the rest of the day.
I forgot to add to my earlier comments the ability of Joe Walsh to actually unite the various Tea Party groups in his district, no mean feat and extremely difficult to do.
If Walsh uses those talents of uniting such groups which refuse to be united and pride themselves in their independence, and uses those talents in Washington, he may be a fixture there for years to come.
Give the man his due. He earned this one.
Louis G. Atsaves
1. a bees. "Should become a media darling". WRONG, he should become an 8th district conservative, independent and moderate darling by working his ellen off to fight for team america's and king louis's of the world. In case you don't read the newspapers, the chicago media is super liberal and super anti-suburb/moderate/republican/reformer. Mark also struggled in 2006 because the feeling in the district was that he lost touch. Starting with terri schiavo and katrina he lost his touch with voters and it has never come back forcing him into tough campaigns against punks like alexi and the pup.
2. Agree with anon who agreed with me, there are virtually no ivy leaguers in this freshman class and there are some without college degrees-they are normal people which is what a party of drunk on dc folks like hastert, mcconnell, santorum needs.
3. cc. HAH. I wonder if 10th dems get physically ill when they go to zoos and see seals! They will never think the same way about the fatty critters again!
FOKLAES
CC,
I also find it hilarious you call bean an independent open minded person. You should read your own liberal press and what they thought of bean, which is to say what catwoman thinks of mark-nothing. they tore her apart for being wall street's go to gal in dc and frankly i was shocked walsh didn't refer to her as manhattan melissa because that's where most of her campaign money came from.
FOKLAES
Concerned Colonial,
I just have a major distaste for blue dogs. I simply can not stand their idiotic ideology. The country has moved to the far right and the blue dogs are obedient passive followers of the republican extremists. Nevertheless, I agree to some extend with you. Bean, despite being to the right on many issues, is better than an insane tea-partier. She is at least pro-choice and voted for the health care reform bill. But the people of IL8, as the majority of American voters, are semi-ignorant and they vote reflexively. Watch the Bill Maher video I posted earlier. It summarizes the case accurately.
As for your comment about Seals, what can I say? I have been very critical of Seals, I dont like him and he is clearly a loser. But calling him names the way you did is totally unacceptable and I hope you realize it.
TA, Blue and Others,
I did not mean to imply that Seals was 'garbage' because he was unemployed. There are plenty of very respectable and intelligent people who have been unemployed for one reason or another. I've seen it happen in my own family as well as with friends. That being said, Dan Seals isn't one of those people. His decision to run a third time was ill-advised, but I can honestly say that I did everything I could to support him--including providing oppo information on Dolt to selected sources. I did not mean to offend the unemployed, but rather looked to draw a stark contrast between Melissa Bean and three-time loser Dan Seals.
Blue, I really disagree with your stance on Blue Dogs. They likely represent what the real majority of Americans think and they are a necessary voice in our big tent. To shut them out would be to embrace the closed-minded approach championed by Boehner, Dold and Walsh. Bean is a great person and was a leader among moderates. I can only hope she finds another way to serve this country (and that Dan Seals leaves town!)
Until Next Time,
A Concerned Colonial
CC,
I appreciate the reasons of your frustration with Seals. I strongly disagree about Blue Dogs. The blue dogs are not "moderate". They are ideologically very close to the republican party of today, which are far right extremists. Bean is to the left of Walsh, but that does not say much.
Personally, I would not vote for many blue dogs. However, I have to admit that I am not familiar with Bean's positions on many issues. In any case, I am not upset she lost her seat, because I dont really care if blue dogs lose their seats. To me they are not that different from republicans.
FOKLAES -
I'm sorry but you comments about Chicago media are completely incorrect. Some are very liberal, like the Chicago Sun Times, but others are more conservative, like the Chicago Tribune and WLS Radio.
Remember that what truly identifies the perspective of the paper is the editorial boards (for those who don't know, those are the guys who assign and edit the stories).
Regardless, it is of paramount importance that Walsh build a positive relationship with the media. I can tell you from personal conversations that many members of the media dislike him. Some of those members are staunch Republicans too. His comments, actions and accusations towards the media burned a lot of bridges and it would be naive to think they won't be keeping a very close eye on his activities. If he doesn't fix this relationship, his future opponents will have the upper hand with the media and it is the independent voters who are coming out for Obama who will take what the media says and vote accordingly.
Blue -
If you think that Blue Dogs and Moderate Republicans are right wing extremists, then you have NO concept of where the center is in this country.
CC, Blue wind,
I find it hilarious you are championing a banker like alexi, ge financial guy like pup and wall street tool like bean after your president spent 3 years trashing wall street. It's particularly interesting considering what liberal bloggers had to say about her.
""Bean, a member of the House financial services and small business committees, has a long history as a favorite of Wall Street. Her top donors hail from the finance, insurance, and real estate industries, which together have poured $2.5 million into her campaign coffers over her five-year career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2008 elections, Bean bagged more money from the Chamber of Commerce, which vehemently opposed the Dodd-Frank bill, than any other House incumbent. And among the top contributors to her 2010 reelection campaign were JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Allstate Insurance, all of which sought to weaken aspects of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau...""
FOKLAES
a bees,
wrong.
the media don't vote. kirk won 3/4 of editorial boards and 49 percent of voters. 95 percent of journalists voted for kerry and gore, bush won the white house. the media hated blago-he won twice, they hated joe berrios-he won. neil steinberg and lynn sweet and carol marin have trashed kirk for a decade-he won.
the scum-times does not pay walsh's salary, nor does the tribune or team america reader russell lissau at the daily herald-the american people do and walsh would be better served to fight for them than to be some msm toe sucking dilettante who spends his waking moments cowtowing to some j school hack at a local paper losing readership by the moment. The fact is a bees, most media members are liberal, they don't like conservatives, don't come from conservative areas and treat republicans like dirt. If anything in today's media circus those clowns are less important.
Look at mark, they trashed him for 2 years. Did one single writer in the entire state write anything about his storied career in dc? NO. Did one write about his suburban strategy, his work on human rights, israel, the enviornment? NO, NO and NO. They don't like republicans unless they are RINO's like dillard and topinka and ray lahood who play paddycake with the machine.
they are never going to accept or like walsh and it's better he just focus his time on his job.
FOKLAES
FOKLAES -
In my professional opinion, you are very misguided in your perspective. But better to let it go and move forward.
Congrats to Joe and everyone that kept the "faith in eighth". A word of advice, get in front of the map game early. As you just witnessed, one precinct either way can decide your political fate. Illinois will likely lose a congressional district in reapportionment the consequence of which is every remaining congressional district will increase in population. Be mindful and have experienced map people on your side. The eighth district's vulnerability began the day Crane was convinced to trade red squares for blue squares to help Kirk.
A bees,
You are absolutely right that a political leader needs a good flak, if walsh is reading this, he could do much much much worse than to hire you. Given his inexperience as a politician he needs to be very careful to avoid the foot in mouth disease that has already plagued the congressman elect from maryland who opposed health care but got nailed asking for his own. We would lose your voice on this thing-a loss, but the 8th could use your leadership as could walsh.
Having said that, Walsh's first priority is to represent his constituents and to work his ellen (we are never going to stop ridiculing her) off for them because they sent him to dc and will determine if he gets a return trip in 2 years. The daily herald won't determine that and in an era where team america gets more comments on his stories than the daily herald gets on theirs's, the msm is much less important.
Great story in foreign policy mag about senator elect kirk's upcoming vote on the start treaty. Love seeing him get big league coverage now.
FOKLAES
Interesting that none of these Tea Partiers want to get anywhere near the appropiation committee( Or Steven King and Bachman). In fact Boehner is going to shrink the committee because of lack of Republican interest. As this is the place for real budget cutting, one has to wonder if this is all opportunism and demagogy. They want to avoid getting the blame for any cuts. All talk no walk.
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