Looking good for Al in our neighbor to the west.

Check out StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead at MyDD!

Norm Coleman is going to have to be a little more dishonest to successfully steal this race.

Political writers who in February ridiculed the notion that Obama, flush with a 17-point primary victory here, could in November win substantial blocks of voters among the 'white working class' (WWC), appeal to white voters in Republican strongholds such as Waukesha County, and who crowed that their reading of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) federal election law was spot-on correct, are in a word: Wrong.

Typical among today's brand of Republican commentators, such admissions have not been forthcoming.
 
White Working Class

Democrats still have a shot at taking 60 seats in the Senate.

538.com reports that Democrat Mark Begich has taken the lead over Republican Ted Stevens, and that many "remaining votes come from Begich-friendly districts. Mark Begich is now an overwhelming favorite to win the Alaska Senate seat."

What happened to all the voter fraud nonsense from which our intrepid Attorney General was going to protect us?

With the great number of people casting votes that saw Wisconsin at number two in voter turnout in the nation, the GAB reports that the elections were "virtually problem-free."

Now, another rightwinger, Wigderson from Waukesha, plays the fool on the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board's (GAB) maintenance of its statewide registered voter list (SVRS) and the Van Hollen v. Government Accountability Board case meant to stop the spectre of voting fraud.

The GAB, as it said it would, will ask for checks of SVRS against other existing databases, and it is now doing so, per its authority and responsibility and discretion.

The rightwing was right all along, say the know nothings. 

Is this ignorance deliberate? It must be, no one can be that dumb.

Those who follow this space closely will know that we, from time to time, scout around and see what the other members of my blogging community are up to.

The "Blogpower" bloggers are primarily based in the UK, but others are located in the US, Canada, Australia, Italy...and even the Sudan.

We’ll see how they reacted to the US elections—and we’ll discover that while many are happy, it’s not all strawberries and cream out there.

We’ll meet the happy, we’ll meet the silly—and we’ll meet the not-so-very-happy as well.

So with that said, let’s head over to the UK, shall we?

"When as the rye reach to the chin,
And chopcherry, chopcherry, ripe within,
Strawberties swimming in the cream,
And schoolboys playing in the stream..."

--George Peele, “The Old Wives Tale”

Not quite 100 miles north of London, and roughly 100 miles west of Amsterdam lies a whole bunch of lovely farm country, which includes Norfolk, where the "Norfolk Blogger" is one of the happy.

Here's what a mandate looks like from the global community, courtesy The Newseum.

Too bad they don't go back to the front pages of newspapers November 2, 2004, but I did find this. Most state "Kerry Concedes," or show the electoral map results. What a contrast.

Amplifying a point made by others, since the Feb. 17 primary that catapulted Obama as the frontrunner in the Democratic Primary with solid appeal to the white working class, Wisconsin has reclaimed its maverick status demonstrating a propensity to support political progressives.

As Paul Maslin writes in Salon today, "In my home state of Wisconsin, Obama's margin mushroomed to an extraordinary 13 points. Just look at any of the electoral maps of the Badger State and realize that all that blue was produced by nearly all-white rural counties and small towns that many thought would never support an African-American candidate."

Stunning. Astounding. Beautiful. People around the world agree.

Dog tired from canvassing. Still, perhaps tipsy from last night's revelry. 

A healing email from my aunt, incredibly:

"I am no longer depressed about the election because I trust your judgment on Obama's background.  It makes me very hopeful for our country's future." 

And love, peace, and prosperity to all the children who will get to grow up in a world that's a little better.

Keep up the heat till closing time.

Working at Fire Station #2, 5415 King James Way (Fitchburg, WI), the words of a black man in his 20s this morning stand out as poll workers worked with his voting identity and residence.

"I will be voting today," he said calmly but with determination.

Black folks who were newly registering at the polls had a determined look in their eyes; I mean it. And there was a steady stream of black families coming from the newly-registered room.

I lived in the ward for some eight years and I know the high and low-turnout areas. Many voting today were from low turn-out areas.

Inspiring. These are just the people that J.B. Van Hollen and the Republicans want to disenfranchise. And they would not be stopped today.

- via mal contends

The polling place in Middleton was closed around 3 PM due to a bomb threat.  Voters were asked to vote at an alternative polling place, and we have heard that poll workers are seeking an extension of voting time for the poll.

Meanwhile, up here in Downsville, WI, my voting was totally straightforward, with short lines and no problems.