Via Digby:

[Andrea] Mitchell: Let's talk about the State department and foreign policy. John Kerry, widely anticipated to be at least one of the people considered, really wants the job, although with joe Biden leaving the foreign relations committee,if he doesn't get the job, he would be the foreign relations chairman because he has the seniority. . .

Feldman: What I saw the other day is the domino effect of Kerry as Secretary of State might put the Democratic caucus in a position where Senator Feingold would be the next up to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and of course that poses a whole series of problems . . .

Mitchell: Why does it pose a series of problems?

Feldman: Well, because of Senator Feingold's opposition to the war . . . I think that would immediately then raise some issues for the caucus and for leader Reid . . .

Mitchell: But the president [elect] of the United States is opposed to the war. . .

Feldman: This is true, but I think they'll want in foreign relations is maybe a more even handed person. Ben (sic) Nelson's name has been floated there as a potential consensus pick...

By Big Tent Democrat

Democratic senators will be playing musical committee chairs as they prepare to begin the next legislative term. The venerable Robert Byrd, 91 and in less than perfect health, announced today that he's stepping down as chair of the Appropriations Committee. Next in line for that position is the venerable Daniel Inouye, 84. Inouye recently showed that he is no judge of character by testifying to Ted Stevens' good character during Stevens' trial, and by later predicting that Stevens' conviction will be overturned on appeal and that Stevens will win reelection. Let's hope Inouye is a better judge of government spending than he is of character.

Inouye will give up his Commerce Committee chair, which will go to John Rockefeller IV unless Rockefeller continues to chair Intelligence, when it would instead go to John Kerry unless Kerry takes Joe Biden's place as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. Harry Ried would like to stick Joe Lieberman with the Small Business Committee chair that Kerry now holds, but Lieberman, the current chair of Homeland Security and Government Affairs, apparently thinks he still has enough clout to reject that offer.

Tracey Chapman told us what to do in this 1995 song: start all over and make a new beginning. On November 4, 2008, we did. This is an open thread.

The jury in John Connolly's latest trial heard a "sordid story about how people looking to give information to the FBI in Boston had this funny habit of turning up dead.” As early as 1965, FBI agents in Boston were protecting serious criminals from prosecution -- effectively enabling them to continue victimizing the innocent -- in exchange for the information they provided about other criminals.

FBI Agent John Connolly was at the heart of the corrupt alliance between Boston's FBI office and criminal informants who were given a virtual license to conduct crimes of their own. In 1982, Connolly tipped off his informant, gun and drug runner James Bulger, that gambling executive John Callahan might implicate him in a killing. Callahan was soon shot to death. On Thursday, Connolly was convicted of second degree murder for the role he played in Callahan's death.

Long-time TalkLeft readers might remember Connolly's name and the scandal in which he was involved. [more ...]

Apparently, some people are blaming African-American voters in California (instead of the obvious culprit, the radical right fundamentalists) for the passing of Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. The progressive group People for the American Way (PFAW),which has done great work evaluating judicial nominees, says it's not true. From their Memorandum today:

Republicans and white churchgoers, among many other groups, voted for Prop. 8 at higher rates than African Americans. There are few African Americans in the inland counties that all voted overwhelmingly to strip marriage equality out of the California constitution. So why single out African Americans? Who’s really to blame? The Religious Right. Let’s start here:

• Conservative evangelical leaders who are unremittingly hostile to the rights of gay people and who put Prop. 8 on the ballot and bombarded pastors, churchgoers, and the public with lies about gay people wanting to destroy their religious liberty and come for their children – even suggesting that Christians would be thrown in jail if Prop 8 passed.
  
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Not since 1964 has Nebraska given an electoral vote to a Democrat. It was announced today that Barack Obama got one of Nebraska's 5 electoral votes, from the congressional district that includes Omaha. where Democrats outnumber Republicans.

Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the nation that split its electoral votes based on congressional district. All the other states award their electoral votes on a winner-take-all system.

Only Missouri is still out with its 11 electoral votes. The electoral count now stands: Obama, 365, McCain, 162.

The transcript is here. Did any of you watch it? I just saw a clip on the local news and his face was so shiny. I guess the first thing he discontinued after the election is his makeup artist. He needs powder.

As for content, he proposed a new economic stimulus plan. A new report is out that the U.S. lost 240,000 jobs in October and unemployment is at 6.5%, its highest since 1994.

More than 10 million people are now jobless, actively seeking work but unable to find it, a number that has spiked by 2.8 million over the past year.

President Bush also had a statement today, telling people to be patient, relief will take time.

Arianna Huffington analyzes who voted on election day, positing that "democracy was a big winner," with 11 million more voting in 2008 than voted in 2004 -- the highest turnout rate in 44 years. Among the trends she notes:

• "Hispanic voters made the difference in Colorado, Florida, and New Mexico. In Colorado, Obama's Hispanic support accounted for 12 percent of the electorate; he won the state by 7 percent. In Florida, Obama's Hispanic support accounted for nearly 8 percent of the electorate; he won the state by 2 percent. In New Mexico, Obama's Hispanic support accounted for 28 percent of the electorate; he won the state by 15 percent."

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The ABA Journal today has an article on how (and which) lawyers will benefit from an Obama Adminstration.

What are we? Chopped Liver? (Not a mention of criminal defense lawyers.)

Only people who have ingested serious hallucinogens could come to the conclusion that Republicans have been swept out of office in the last two elections because they were insufficiently conservative. Tony Perkins says:

"What Tuesday was, was a fact that people wanted change, and it's a rejection of a moderate view."

So in state after state, voters who elected the more progressive Democrat over the more conservative Republican were actually dumping the Republicans because they were too moderate? Tony's evidence for this insane view is the wedge issue of gay marriage, which didn't do well in the polls. Nice try, Tony, but conservative success on a single wedge issue does not prove that voters elected Democrats over Republicans because they thought the Republicans were too moderate.

Dick Armey is equally clueless in his contention that voters rejected the Bush administration's policy of "compassionate conservatism." [more ...]

I can not say I actually understand why, but Norm Coleman's infintesimal lead in the Minnesota Senate race has been dwindling - from nearly 700 votes to 239 votes out of nearly 3 million cast.

No, the recount has not even started. This thing is totally up in the air. I assume Franken is ready to fight to make sure every vote is counted.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only.

Colorado is now the first state in the country where voters rejected a ban on affirmative action programs.

The only votes still uncounted are about 55,000 in Boulder (dust got on the paper ballots, another first) but the remaining Boulder votes are 70% against the ban so the papers have called the it.

Amendment 46 would have barred state officials from considering race or gender in decisions on hiring, contracting and admissions to public colleges and universities.

...In Colorado, the proposal would have amended the state constitution to declare that the state may not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, individuals or groups based on race, color, sex, ethnicity or national origin.

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