About which of our new Senators were you most thrilled?

[Stinky The Clown]

I know we're all thrilled about all of them, but in this poll, I'm trying to gauge about whom the larger DU cumminty feels most strongly positive.

NOTE WELL:

This is NOT intended to be divisive ANY way. If you're inclined to say something negative about any of these people, start your own thread. Don't hijack mine. Be positive all you want. Be negative and be gone.

I've listed them in reverse alphabetical order. Alphabetical to be fair. Reverse order, just to change the usual perspective.

Have fun and cheer all ya want! :hi:

[longship]

1. Tester, Webb, or McCaskill. I voted Webb.

All three were part of the block we needed to get. All three races were close. All three promise to be very good Senators, orders of magnitude better than those they replaced. I basically flipped a three-sided coin.

[JudyM]

2. Webb - because I volunteered in VA and because when he won it tipped the Senate to us. nt

[jonnywishbone97]

3. I voted Casey

Because Ricky boy is now filing for unemployment

[Flirtus]

4. every single one is needed for the majority, Claire has my vote

just 'cause.

[napi21]

5. It was a tossup between Casey & Webb, but I chose Casey

because I gew up in Pa, and I am THRILLED that Santorum, the #3 Pub in the Senate, is GONE!!!!!!

[robinlynne]

6. Debra Bowen, secretary of state! honest elections

[Andrea]

7. They are all wonderful, but Sherrod Brown is my fav!!!

I am thrilled to have a Dem representing me in either house for the first time since John Glenn retired. Sherrod Brown is the real deal - smart, populist, experienced, a real friend of the middle class. He also has Kennedy-esque good looks and a great speaking voice. Not too far down the line, he could make a really good Dem presidential candidate.

Great idea for a thread - thanks!

[Eric J in MN]

8. I like Jon Tester.

He had the guts to campaign against the Patriot Act, and he won.

[Kolesar]

11. Jon Tester is an organic farmer. He ought be great on environmental issues

I am sure that he has a perspective on "sustainability" with respect to agriculture and a perspective on the energy overusage of industrial farming. I am also grateful to Jon for running and giving up a great job that I would love to have: an organic farmer.

[rhiannon55]

9. I'm thrilled about all of them, but

My mother and sisters live in Missouri and had the privilege of voting for Claire, and she's right across the border from me, so it feels like a personal victory. Also, Claire was born in Rolla, where my mom lives, another interesting little touch.

Also, stem cell research!

I'm proud of my home state--they done good!

[AnneD]

10. The best crop we have ever had....

but I'm a farm girl at heart-I like Tester. He looks like he has the goods-a real Mr Smith.

[Kolesar]

13. great pun, there

I just love this picture.

[AnneD]

24. Just because we talk slow

doesn't mean we think slow ;)
Love the photo too, but the commercial with his dog was the real winner. What's that saying about Washington...if you want a friend in DC get a dog.

[Kolesar]

28. Which of these is the "dog" commercial?

I have not been following the commercials. It may have been from the DSCC and on their site, for that matter. http://www.testerforsenate.com/multimedia

[Alexander]

12. Sheldon Whitehouse. We got 2 Dems for the price of one!

Not only did we get a Senate seat, but Chafee has now stated publicly that it was a good thing the Republicans lost, and that he is considering leaving the party.

I was happy to see all the other jerks gone, but I hope Chafee has a promising political career ahead of him, preferably as a liberal (I) or a (D).

That being said, there are two Rs in "Sherrod".

:hi:

[Kolesar]

15. I recall that Lincoln Chaffee had some dementia &was considering retirement

...before the 2006 election. I find Lincoln to be a sympathetic figure. He voted to protect the Arctic Refuge. He was about three times as popular as Sen Mike Dewine, but got booted because of Bush (and Rumsfeld, Frist, Delay, Foley, and Abramov for that matter).

[cali]

19. No. You're thinking of Jim Jeffords

and sadly, it's true that he's suffering from dementia or something akin to it.

[Kolesar]

21. Thanks. Now I wonder what Lincoln would run for as a Dem.

And why the "new born Democrat" act? Maybe if he had switched before the election, one of the bushies would have mailed him the anthrax. Good luck to Jim & his kin. I know what that is like from experience.

[ellenfl]

26. i think lincoln registered as a repub in honor of his father. eom

[Auntie Bush]

40. OH NO!!! I didn't know that!

What a damn shame! I just wondered after he passed out and they said he was OK...I never heard any more about except that he was retiring. I'm so sorry to hear this news. Too bad it couldn't have been bush* instead. However, maybe he got it too. No one could make so many dumb decisions...except Rummy and Cheney.

[LeftishBrit]

14. ALL of them; but I'm most excited about Bernie Sanders!

[w13rd0]

16. Seeing as I am a resident of Missouri...

...I have to go with Claire, feels good to have SOME representation in the Senate.

[cali]

17. How come you left off Bernie?

He's my new Senator, and yes, he's whom I'm most thrilled about.

[election_2004]

18. Gotta go with McCaskill

Webb and Tester are awesome, but someone really needed to take that extremist nerd Jim Talent down a notch. Talent was probably angling for a leadership position within the GOP Caucus.

Santorum was already on his way out. Allen's demise is strategically valuable too, definitely (I felt Allen's was the GOP's strongest candidate to mobilize the Fundie vote for '08). But Talent was, policy-wise, a sleeping giant.

Of course, as a Californian I agree with robinlynne - - electing Debra Bowen was definitely THE most important race in the country last Tuesday! Go Deb!!!

[Kolesar]

20. I think McCaskill is the real story. A tough race w/ no Macaca to throw the race

She had to fight it out in a socially conservative state and bring in the big gun--an incredibly cute actor with Parkinson's disease.

[Divine Discontent]

22. yep, her victory is the most impressive

along with 2 termer DeWine's loss in traditionally red Ohio to a liberal Dem candidate who trounced the incumbent! I'm so glad Brown and McCaskill are in! Both great people.

[OhioBlue]

23. Sherrod Brown

His progressive voice will bring a great deal to the Senate. Also, for the first time in a long time, I have a Democratic Senator.

Also, all of my other elected officials (except our Gov., SOS, AG and State Treas. - elect) are Republican. I haven't felt represented in our Government in a long time... I'm so proud to be able to call Sherrod my Senator!

Plus, I logged hundreds of volunteer hours for his campaign - so it's very rewarding!

[Maeve]

36. Yep, Brown cuz he's OURS!! Buh-bye DeWhine!

Now, if Kilroy could just pull ahead of Pryce...but I'll settle for a Senator!

[phiddle]

25. An awful, nay impossible choice.

I admire all, but I go with Tester because he both broke through and broke up a solidly red area of the country using an unabashedly progressive platform

[ellenfl]

27. i voted for sherrod because i believe he is the most progressive but

my vote would definitely have been for bernie, had he been on your list.

ellen fl

[PBass]

29. Jim Webb for me, hands down

I think Webb has the credibility and the spine to take the lead, on Iraq and other sticky 'defense' issues (and I use the word 'defense' loosely, since we are not actually defending America, in Iraq).

Think about that: a Dem senator who can take on the GOP chickenhawks on their Iraq fiasco.

[ellenfl]

30. i agree and i am ecstatic that he won

but he is a recovering republican so on other issues i will take a 'wait and see' attitude.

ellen fl

[Renew Deal]

31. I am fond of Tester, McCaskill, and Brown, but Webb is the man.

He's going to be a great senator.

[PBass]

33. To ellen FL

I'm not an expert on Jim Webb, but I heard an interview with him that was impressive. Some nitwit on NPR was trying to spin him as strictly an anti-war candidate, and he took pains to say that economic disparity was one of his main issues. He sounded like a populist, and (dare I say it) a real LIBERAL.

I'm sure he's not as progressive as I'd like, on some issues... almost nobody is.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

32. I could answer this 2 ways- The senator I was happiest when they won vs. the one I'm happiest about.

Obviously, I was happiest when Webb won-it meant that the senate was ours! As far as on an ideological level, I think I'm happiest about Sherrod Brown. I've liked him for years as a member of the house... hope he doesn't disappoint as a senator.

Congrats to everyone who got a new senator on that list- nice early holiday present! :party:

[cadmium]

34. I totally can't pick--Got to add Sanders n/t

[Infinite Hope]

35. Go Amy Klobuchar!!!

She's a rising star. Watch out for her, she'll be a big player in the coming years.

[burrowowl]

37. Other! Bernie Sanders first SOCIALIST Senator!

GO BERNIE! :patriot: :woohoo: :applause:

[JI7]

38. where the fuck is Bernie Sanders ?

i guess i would go with Sanders and Brown in that i already know what they are like and will enjoy watching them on the Senate floor and given a bigger voice. i'm sure they will be one of those i would always stop what i'm doing to watch and hear what they say when they come on.

Jim Webb is the one i am most interested in though and look forward to seeing how he will do. so far i like what he has to say. and it's a big turn around from early on when i viewed him as suspicious because o fhis history and what he said about Kerry. i didn't like it when KErry endorsed him either. but the way he conducted himself in the General Election against Allen was admirable.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

39. Webb for me. Because I'm from around DC, this race was personal to me.

All those Northern Virginians who came out so huge for Webb are my geographical blood brothers.

Because this race was the most epic, with the twists and turns of the vote count, the nailbiting waiting for the heavy Webb bloc from NoVa and Richmond to come in... with the opposite outcome of waiting for the OH and FL results in 04...

Because I gave money to Webb. Twice.

Because when this decision came it ultimately swung the Senate...

Because it may have ended the presidential aspirations of "Macaca-Lips Now". Not just because he lost, but because video documentation of his redneck bullying nature is on file and online for all time. When you consider what he allowed his goons to do to Mike Stark, consider what he might do with Bush-like presidential power.

[LibDemAlways]

41. Allen is done. Even if he

manages to get himself elected to another office in Virginia, he's damaged goods as far as the Presidency goes. Those who came forward with tales of the real George Allen did so because of those Presidential aspirations, now shot to hell.

[Catchawave]

42. I was thrilled for all those victories!

Webb for my Virginia! :toast:

[rep the dems]

43. Tough choice, great poll, and I went with Tester because he

seems very unique,intelligent,and friendly. He has said that he's never even been in the Senate before, and he's a farmer. I really think he's going to be a great senator. I'm happy to have all of them in the senate though!

[gulliver]

44. McCaskill. She's my Senator!

We needed some blue in Missouri. She is going to make us proud.