Congratulations Donna Edwards

Donna Edwards handily won her seat in Congress on Tuesday. She had defeated Albert Wynn in a primary and in the definition of sour grapes, promptly resigned his seat. A special bill was signed by Governor O'Malley, to allow for this special election. Edwards will face off again against her same opponent in November, this time with the benefit of incumbency.

I've had her sign on my lawn since early this year. Go Donna!

The 110th Congress Convenes

History was made today, when the 110th Congress of the United States convened. Members of the House of Representatives elected Nancy Pelosi of California to serve as Speaker of the House. She becomes the first woman ever to hold that position.

The leadership of the House was also announced on the floor:

• Majority Leader - Steny Hoyer (MD)
• Majority Whip - James Clyburn (SC)
• Minority Leader - John Boehner (OH)
• Minority Whip - Roy Blunt (MO)

Over on the Senate side, the new Senators were sworn in by Vice President Cheney.

A new day dawned in American politics as the Democrats took control of the entire Congress for the first time in 12 years. Let's hope they can pull it off, or it is likely to be a short majority.

Switchin' Senators?

With the Democrats in control of the Senate, there are Republicans who are being pushed off their committee chairs. Will the absence of power throw some close-to-the-line Republicans over the wall?

Three obvious suspects are Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Susan Collins (R-ME). With the recent election results in those two states, these three could actually see their popularity rise were they to switch parties.

Of course, there is precedence here. Most recently, the switch of Jim Jeffords of Vermont from Republican to Independent (caucusing with the Democrats) gave the Democrats a one seat advantage in the Senate. Jeffords was lauded with all sorts of perks, including the retention of his "party" seniority.

What will 2007 bring?

The House Will Be In Order

Nancy Pelosi was selected by her colleagues today as the first female Speaker of the House today. She will take office with the new Congress in January, putting the liberal Californian third in line for the presidency.

Shortly after her election, her colleagues handed her her first defeat. Despite her announced support and active campaigning for John Murtha, Democrats selected Steny Hoyer to serve as Majority Leader.

Hoyer and Pelosi have had a frosty relationship and it will be interesting to see them work together over the next two years.