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Democrats go wild at Biltmore as Obama wins it |
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Wednesday, 05 November 2008 |
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By JIM BARON PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island Democrats had a lot to cheer about Tuesday night -- the election of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, a sweep of state congressional candidates and the pickup of several General Assembly seats – and they did so loudly, lustily and often at their victory party atop the Biltmore Hotel.
First District Congressman Patrick Kennedy took the stage to give a victory speech just 18 minutes after the polls closed.Accompanied by his mother, Joan, and brother, Teddy, along with other family members, Kennedy said, “Tonight, America is embarking on a new journey – ready to move forward with a new agenda and a new president, ready to send a message that we have had enough of the politics of the past and are ready to take back the government. People in this state and this country have suffered too long under Republican leadership and they have responded that they want a change.”Kennedy, Rep. James Langevin and Sen. Jack Reed all sailed to re-election Tuesday.In a state that went heavily for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, Kennedy was one of the few big-name Democrats in the state to support Obama early in the process.“People were wary about whether I should have been with Barack early or not, but they can be very secure in knowing that right now I have a great relationship with the incoming President of the United States and that’s going to stand very well for Rhode Island and my ability to deliver for Rhode Island. Being the only member of the delegation who stood with Barack early on, I think that will stand me very well with the Obama administration.”Democratic Party Chairman William Lynch called his party’s showing “phenomenal. Not only for president, but across the country in congressional races. People have said that after eight years of Republican leadership the country is in worse shape – two wars, an economy that is an absolute disaster. This isn’t just a great night for Democrats, it’s a great night for the country.”Enthralled by the results from around the country that were being broadcast on two big screen TVs on one side of the Biltmore ballroom, the crowd would, as one, scurry across the room to stand in front of the lectern to hear speeches from the winners and other key Democrats such as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, then rush back to the other side to catch up with the televised returns. Whitehouse told the group that when he visited Obama’s Rhode Island headquarters, all the volunteers could not fit at the table containing the bank of telephones, but continued to make calls sitting on the floor.“It has been an exciting day,” Whitehouse said early in the evening, “and in a few hours we will see today not just as a moment in time but a moment in history.” With returns still coming in from around the country, Whitehouse said he guessed the Democrats may have picked up seven Senate seats to bring them to 58, just two short of the 60 they would need to stop Republican filibusters of Democratic legislation.“That puts us very much in the range of allowing us to govern and it moves the Republicans in the Senate from a position of being able to sort of blockade at will to a position where they can work with us in a rational way as opposed to sound bites and wedge issues and obstruction. As long as they are working with us and working toward a solution, I think it is a very promising environment for very good things to happen.” |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 November 2008 )
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