Think you great the blogs would look if people wouldn't have sit out challenging Emanuel with Cegelis.

Next cycle, people should fight first and ask questions later. Hells Angels rules!

definitely a sweet victory.  the stunning thing, though, is the margin.  some theories for what explains the discrepancy between the polling and the results:

1) the NRCC was decapitated and gutted after nov. 7, which explains the absence of NRCC involvement

2)  the likely voter model for rasmussen was faulty

3)  the D-trip's added muscle

4) some combination

i really want to hear the breakdown on this, because this was an absolute catastrophe for bonilla.  total breakdown.

Actually, 233 is more seats than the Republicans have ever held since the "do nothing" congress of 1946-1947.
http://arts.bev.net/roperldavid/politics /congress.htm

Celebrate!  And on to FL-13.

Of course we do not know why everyone voted the way they did, and voter turnout clearly played a big role.  But I just want to put out there the notion that with Bush's poll numbers now at 31 percent, and the public dislike of the war at historical (i.e. Vietnam) levels, people in the district saw Bonilla as a big, fat, tool for Bush and his failed policies.

I bet if they held a FL-13 revote right now that Buchannan would get trounced by Jennings.

Chris Bowers is a national treasure.

We bloggers might also take a lesson too--just because we think the reason a candidate lost becaue he was a poor campaigner, doesn't mean we were right.

This doesn't necessarily prove Ciro is a good campaigner yet.  The DCCC spent something like $1.5m the past few weeks in TX-23, and by all/most accounts pretty much ran every aspect of the campaign.  That's not to say that Ciro shouldn't get credit for his win - of course he should - but I think in this case, it is clear the DCCC came through with major assistance, and they deserve a good deal of credit this time.

Ciro also raised a million bucks this election cycle.  His first campaign, like this one, started slow and closed fast.  This campaign, however, was pushed over the top with DCCC money.  The first campaign lacked that extra oomph and didn't quite make it.

A lot of the real surprises this cycle came from candidates who outperformed their money.  If the DCCC had shoveled more money into some of those races we would have done even better.

They still won 14 of 23 races within 2000 votes.

But their ideas are incredibly unpopular.  As The Carpetbagger Report points out, the way the Iraq War is being fought is now more unpopular than gay marriage, ending the death penalty, legalizing pot, and banning handguns.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/arc hives/9320.html

Can you imagine if the Democratic party were loudly and proudly in favor of any of those?

So I think we can do even better, as our side continues to improve on stuff like GOTV and fundraising.    

It's also possible that the Democrats cuting the earmarks out of the budget before the election played some roll in this result.Since Rodriguez won in a number of counties they expected to go for Cuellar.  

"Eight challengers will be in Congress next year. One, Ned Lamont,..."

In my universe, Ned lost to Republican surrogate Joe Lieberman.

the 109th congress was incapable of doing even the very most basic job it was hired to do. this disturbs me, as a voter, regardless of partisan victory.

I believe firmly that this historic election is a turning point. I am excited by the possibility that one day a third party may arise, being an independent. However, the democratic party's rapid embrace of the internet and its newfound 50 state strategy makes me hopeful that such states as my own, georgia, and texas, will see more focussed initiatives as the victory last night in TX-23 so easily proclaims.

I am very happy and thankful for this election and as a simple voter and a somewhat activist I am proud that my money on webb's campaign, as well as others - was well spent.

please understand, however, that there is a machine in America - that simply feeds on inactivity and a wierd sense of evangelism and destruction of the constitution, be it 4th, 1st, even our right to emminent domain.  They were in power calling themselves conservatives, and are gone.

But that machine feeds on the destruction of america - just as al qaeda feeds on such idiocy as iraq.

If we are, as a country to really party - lets party when we hit the first 100 hours and come out with a victory unlike any other.

LULAC, no TX-23. Even Rahm would agree.

I meant to post last night, but that didn't happen.

My hispanic neighbor had a Bonilla sign, and there were about 30 of those signs at the polling station.  I don't recall seeing a single Ciro sign.  There was also a Bonilla van at the polling site.  So, it wasn't looking that good.  But I was the only white voter in line, so that was a good sign.  And when I asked my non-political but very conservative Southern Baptist friend who she was voting for (after reminding her there was an election) she said she was voting for the guy who was falsely accused of being pro-terrorism.  

Apparently, Bonilla's commercials had a huge effect, just not the one he wanted.