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posted by martyb on Wednesday December 13 2017, @08:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the It's-Fake-News-until-the-Fat-Man-Sings dept.

Democrat Doug Jones won a remarkable upset victory over controversial rival Roy Moore in the diehard Republican state of Alabama on Tuesday to win election to the US Senate.

By a margin of 49.5 to 48.9 with 91% of precincts reporting, Jones dealt a major blow to Donald Trump and his efforts to pass tax reform on Capitol Hill. Jones was able to become the first Democrat in a decade to win any statewide office in Alabama by beating Moore, who had faced multiple allegations of sexual assault during a campaign which exposed Republican party faultlines.

The Democratic victory will reduce the Republican majority in the Senate to 51-49 once Jones takes his seat on Capitol Hill. This significantly reduces the margin for error as Republicans attempt to push through a major corporate tax cut.

takyon: The final count is:

Doug Jones - 671,151 votes (49.9%)
Roy Moore - 650,436 votes (48.4%)
Write-ins (total) - 22,819 votes (1.7%)

The margin for an automatic recount in Alabama is 0.5%. Roy Moore has yet to concede.


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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 13 2017, @11:33PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 13 2017, @11:33PM (#609480)

    From the summary:

    By a margin of 49.5 to 48.9 with 91% of precincts reporting, Jones dealt a major blow to Donald Trump and his efforts to pass tax reform on Capitol Hill... The Democratic victory will reduce the Republican majority in the Senate to 51-49 once Jones takes his seat on Capitol Hill. This significantly reduces the margin for error as Republicans attempt to push through a major corporate tax cut.

    How is this at all true? First, the tax bill is in process now and they are trying to get it passed before January, so Doug Jones won't be seated in time to have any impact on the vote. Of course, I could be wrong about the timing, but it doesn't matter because...

    Second, this doesn't affect the math of the voting in any way. As of 12/11/2017 (before the election), the Republicans had 51 senators, the Democrats had 48. In order to pass this Reconcilation, they'd need 50 votes, so if two Republicans voted no, it would end the bill.

    As of 1/30/2018 (after Jones is seated), the Republicans will have 51 senators and the Democrats have 49. In order to pass this Reconcilation, they'd need 50 votes, so if two Republicans voted no, it would end the bill.

    If anything, Jones being seated very slightly improves the bill's chances as it is one more Democrat who could be swayed to vote "yes"... The best argument you could make, though, is that Jones being elected means that the Tax bill isn't easier to pass, not that it is harder.

    (Changing topics, I find it interesting now that the Republicans have control of the whole government how filibusterers are bad and they should be able to pass legislation with simple majorities. I wonder quick people will forget this once Democrats get some/all of the government, and the Republicans start spouting more talk of the sanctity of the deliberative Senate and the rights of the minority to not be steamrolled.)

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:33AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:33AM (#609511)

    Original poster here...

    Apologies, I hadn't realized there was an interim Senator in Alabama posted. As such, Luthar Strange (Republican, acting Senator since February 9) will be replaced by Doug Jones.

    As such, this will change the Senate makeup from 52-49 to now be 51-49. I think my first point still stands, though. Doug Jones shouldn't take office until January 2017, and last I heard the Republicans wanted to get the tax bill passed by the end of the year. I guess it does put something of a clock on their efforts...

    We'll see if the adage that nothing spurs action more than a deadline holds true.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:42AM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:42AM (#609512) Journal

      Democrats’ demands to delay tax-bill action rejected [marketwatch.com]

      Republican Tax Bill in Final Sprint Across Finish Line [nytimes.com]

      Party leaders in the House and Senate agreed in principle to bridge the yawning gaps between their competing versions of the $1.5 trillion tax bill, keeping Republicans on track for final votes next week with the aim of delivering a bill to President Trump’s desk by Christmas. The House and Senate versions of the tax bill started from the same core principles — sharply cutting taxes on businesses, while reducing rates and eliminating some breaks for individuals — but diverged on several crucial details.

      In the end, more of the Senate bill appeared to be included in the final version, though lawmakers continued to make significant changes from the legislation that passed either the House or Senate.

      The changes included a slightly higher corporate tax rate of 21 percent, rather than the 20 percent in the legislation that passed both chambers and a lower top individual tax rate of 37 percent for the wealthiest Americans, who currently pay 39.6 percent. But the bill will still scale back some popular tax breaks, including the state and local tax deduction and the deductibility of mortgage interest.

      Republicans have agreed to pass the tax bill. Very swiftly. They didn't want to wait for 51-49 Senate.

      Going forward, centrist Republican Senators will have more leverage to get what they want in bills, since their votes will be needed more than ever.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @04:28AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @04:28AM (#609586)

      Maybe you should research and proofread before you post. It's not 52-49. That equals 101.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @03:23AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @03:23AM (#609570)

    I'm assuming it has to do more with the republicans thinking "if dems are gonna override our filibusters so are we gonna override theirs."

    I don't blame them on that.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @05:53AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14 2017, @05:53AM (#609605)

    All Dem senators opposed the senate version, so that's 48 votes against. Corker was against it because of the impact on the deficit and the committee has done nothing to affect that. All it would take is 2 GOP senators to band together and demand X, Y, and Z or we don't vote for it, and the bill is toast. In response to that the GOP has two options - quick and rapid capitulation before Jones is seated and any single GOP defector tanks the bill or don't capitulate and then when Jones is seated, each and every GOP senator can hold the bill hostage. If Moore won, Mitch and friends would have had the luxury of playing a waiting game to see how long before the anti-coalition had a defector. Now, they no longer have that luxury and Senators like Collins and Rubio know it.