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"We cannot continue down this catastrophic path. And so, we say to the President, 'Mr. President, we need a new direction in Iraq,'" said Pelosi. (Reuters) |
WASHINGTON — As widely expected Democrats wrestled control of the House of Representatives from President George Bush's Republicans for the first time since 1994 and seemed on Wednesday, November 8, to be on the brink of capturing the Senate as well.
"Tonight is a great victory for the American people," Rep. Nancy Pelosi, now set to be the new House speaker, told jubilant supporters on Capitol Hill, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Today the American people voted for change, and they voted for Democrats to take our country in a new direction," added Pelosi, the first female speaker of any of the Congress two houses in American history.
While they only needed 15 seats to win back control of the House, Democrats picked up 23 seats and were still fighting for more than a dozen other Republican seats in the 435-member chamber.
Democrat Keith Ellison from Minnesota became the first Muslim elected to Congress after defeating his two rivals.
The Democratic sweep in the House reached deep into Republican bastions like Indiana, where three incumbents lost, and Kansas, where incumbent Rep. Jim Ryun was defeated.
Republican incumbents also crashed to defeat in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas, according to television projections.
Democrats also won big in governors' races, taking six governorships from Republicans, including the state of New York for he first time in 12 years.
The Democrats were on the brink of taking the Senate, picking up so far four of the six Senate seats they needed for a majority.
They also led in the race for the other two Senate seats in Montana and Virginia, threatening to take control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 12 years.
All 435 House seats, 33 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 of the 50 governorships were up for grabs in Tuesday's midterm elections.
The Democrats rode to the sweeping victory over the public discontent with the Iraq war, corruption and Bush's leadership.
Possibly Senate
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| While they only needed 15 seats, Democrats picked up 23 House seats and are fighting for more than a dozen others. (Reuters) |
Bush, who watched from the White House as his Republican Party's monopoly on power was shattered, called for a White House news conference later Wednesday.
"We believe Democrats will have control of the House, and look forward to working with Democratic leaders on the issues that remain foremost on the agenda, including winning the war in Iraq and the broader war on terror and keeping the economy on a growth path," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
But Pelosi had already sent Bush an early warning message on the crucial election issue of Iraq.
"We cannot continue down this catastrophic path. And so, we say to the President, 'Mr. President, we need a new direction in Iraq,'" she told celebrating supporters.
Her House colleague Rahm Emmanuel, who masterminded the win, agreed.
"What we're doing in Iraq isn't working and we desperately need to change course."
The Democrats have said they are eager to investigate the use of flawed intelligence to make the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the slow federal response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
They are championing calls for a phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq as opposed to Bush's "stay the course" strategy.
The party in control of the House or the Senate has the authority to hold hearings and investigations and to issue subpoenas compelling witnesses to testify.
A Democratic takeover of the US Congress would put two of the most outspoken critics of the Iraq war in charge of dispensing the money Bush will seek for combat.
Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, who believes Iraq is the "dumbest war since the War of 1812," would assume the Appropriations Committee chair if Democrats win this week.
Across Capitol Hill, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who had accused Bush of flaunting American superpower status with arrogance, would head the Senate Appropriations panel.
With either Obey or Byrd in charge of the committees that pay the $8-billion-a-month Iraq war tab, the administration would have to do far more explaining of how the money was being spent.
Democrats say they would quickly introduce long-stalled bills to raise the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, put new homeland security measures in place and control a runaway US budget deficit.
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