Phew! If you have been watching these state's Senate races, you know that the Senate's filibuster proof Democratic majority  hung in the balance. But Senator Saxby Chamblis easily won reelection yesterday in that Georgia runoff, 57% to 43%. So the Democrats won't get their 60 seat majority.

The Minnesota Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken "now remains the only unresolved Senate contest in the country."

Unfortunately, the Franken race has turned into a Frankenstein monster of voter fraud on steroids:*

“The Franken campaign has made it clear that the recounted votes and will of Minnesotans matter little to them, and that they intend to take their campaign to change the outcome of this election on to the United States Senate,” said Coleman campaign spokesman Mark Drake. “Al Franken should personally reject this strategy outright, and honor the right of Minnesotans to choose who their senator should be — and not allow lawsuits and the strong-arm tactics of the majority leader of the United States Senate to intervene in this process." 

Who knows how the Franken race will ultimately resolve. If Franken pulls off a victory, it will be a victory for voter fraud in my opinion.

What caught my attention in the Georgia race was WHO campaigned with the Georgian candidates. The democrats brought in Al Gore and former President Bill Clinton to promote their candidate Martin.

On Chambliss' behalf, the Republicans brought in John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and closed with SARAH PALIN! "She headlined four rallies for Chambliss across the state Monday that drew thousands of party faithful."

There are many in the media and mushy middle of the Republican party that want to declare her dead in the water. However, the Conservative base in Georgia isn't buying it. The proof was that Palin Rallies Georgia's Base: (My emphasis) 

“We all have Georgia on our mind,” declared governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as she kicked off an early morning Dec. 1 rally...

It was the first of four rallies yesterday, each featuring thousands of cheering crowds brandishing “Palin 2012” shirts and buttons -- along with, of course, Chambliss signs. (My favorite anti-Barack Obama sign read: “Keep the change.”)

The Alaska governor was firing up the faithful to hold a critical GOP seat... Palin was also countering earlier appearances on behalf of Democratic candidate Jim Martin by several liberal “big guns” led by former President Bill Clinton and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.

...Democrats are worrying, too, that the Palin appearances are attracting more blue collar votes to their opponents. The final Pain rally at the Gwinnett County Arena drew some 3,000 people -- well over half of them blue collar workers and young people under the age of 30. A large truck parked outside the arena sported a “Mechanic for Chambliss and Palin” sign, and dozens of construction workers – some of them wearing their hard hats-- had obviously come straight from their worksites.

...Palin concluded every appearance by calling for a “rebuilding of the Republican Party starting in Georgia” with the re-election of Chambliss. She reminded Republican candidates that they must appeal to “the working class” -- which elicited another big round of applause from those hard hats and mechanics.

Sarah Palin isn't gone with the wind in Georgia:

 At a time when Republican Governors across the nation are trying to smear Palin in anticipation of 2012, she is proving that, contrary to media reports, she is the current bright star of the GOP.

Looking ahead 4 years to 2012, I will be asking the same question the Chambliss campaign just heard, " 'Is Sarah Palin coming?' No one has cared about Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, or McCain. Palin is all anyone wanted." 

*Franken race reminds us voter fraud still going strong  

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On election eve, I quickly made this campaign button to illustrate my hopes for the 2012 ticket. I wore it to the Waukesha Republican Victory Party.

Barely there 2 minutes, a few women from the Waukesha Republican Party and I started talking. Are you part of the Republican Women's group, they asked? No, I said, although I did work a little on the last 2 campaigns. Why not? I explained it was because Republicans didn't support conservative candidates. Citing Republican State Senator Tom Reynold's 2006 race and the lack of support from the party, I said I now put my efforts into individual races instead of the GOP as a whole. They did not disagree. 

Then they spotted my button, and their eyes lit up. Where did you get that? I said I made it. They definitely liked the idea. These ladies were not alone. In the course of the evening, my humble button received enthusiastic support.

I know many blame Governor Sarah Palin for McCain's loss on Tuesday. But that sentiment shows how little those naysayers understand conservatives. It was very clear to me that fellow volunteers at the phone bank were there only because of Sarah, not McCain. Same with rally attendees.

As Senator John McCain gave his concession speech that night, he took the full blame for his failure to win. Amongst the Waukesha Republican faithful watching on the big screen, there was no murmur in the audience to the contrary.

When McCain thanked Governor Palin, the audience cheered. You would think BBC reporter Ali Reed was there in the room with us. In his What next for Sarah Palin? he reported the same reaction:

The sombre air at Senator John McCain's concession speech was momentarily pierced by cheer as Mr McCain spoke about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

The Wall Street Journal would like to see Congressman Paul Ryan become the House Minority Leader. (Ryan is not interested.) But they see Paul Ryan as many of us do, a rising star on the Republican horizon. Ryan for the Republicans, The party needs an economic spokesman:

... the Republican Party faces a choice. It can put the loss down to the country's fatigue with the Bush Administration and the bad luck of running amid a financial panic and shrug it off. Or it can choose a new direction, with new leadership, and retake the high ground it once occupied, especially on the economy.

...Mr. Ryan's economic knowledge and youthful energy make him the best choice [for Minority Leader] to pull his party in a more promising direction.

Sad to say, persona matters in politics. Obama's youth and charisma made him more attractive than McCain's old, tired warhorse manner. It has been said that if radio were around in 1800, Thomas Jefferson would never have won the presidency. Jefferson was brilliant on paper but not a great orator.

Conservatives, imagine a Palin/Ryan or Ryan/Palin ticket in 2012? With Ryan's grasp of economics and practical solutions and Palin being governor of the only state not in or headed toward recession, it could be a winning combination: A ticket with real conservative solutions AND articulate, attractive candidates. 

Sign me up! TeamSarah.org

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