Today's Funniest News Story Comes From Virginia-- How Twitter In The Hands Of Imbecile Jeff Frederick Foiled The Idiotic Repugs

That whacky Ralph Northam beat incumbent loon Nick Rerras and then almost tossed the state Senate back to the Repugs

Virginia has gotten bluer and bluer in the last few years, accelerating as the consequences of the Bush Republican Economic Miracle has unfolded. In 2006 Jim Webb ousted incumbent wingnut Senator George "Macaca" Allen 1,172,671 to 1,165,440. This past November, though, Virginia delivered beautifully for the Democrats, with Obama winning the state's 13 electoral votes-- 1,958,370 to 1,726,053 (a six percent spread)-- and Virginians electing a second Democratic senator-- this one, ex-Governor Mark Warner by a landslide over Republican ex-Governor James Gillmore, 2,367,716 to 1,232,480. At the same time, Virginians dumped two far right lunatic fringe incumbents, Virgil Goode and Thelma Drake, for Tom Perriello and Glenn Nye and replaced retiring Republican Tom Davis with Gerry Connolly.

But even with a Democratic governor, Virginia is by no means a safe blue bastion-- not by a long shot. The Republicans control the House of Delegates 53-44 and the 2007 Democratic win in the state Senate, which replaced the GOP 23-17 advantage with a 21-19 advantage for the Democrats, nearly got overturned today. Overturned? Well, sort of. Here's what happened-- and what didn't.

Keep in mind there's a Republican Lt. Governor who would be the tiebreaker. The Minority Leader Tommy Norment persuaded an iffy Democrat, Ralph Northam to vote with the GOP and allow them to take over the chamber. Fortunately pyscho wingnut, eager beaver techofile Republican Party chairman Jeff Frederick ran to Twitter and tweeted away before it happened. Seeing what was coming thanks to Frederick, the Democratic Majority Leader, Dick Saslaw, adjourned the Senate. Democrats then sat down and worked out their differences with Northam and he changed his mind, costing the Republicans control of the state Senate. Hard to believe the GOP kept Frederick after his bizarre antics and extremist rhetoric lost Virginia for McCain. Now people are wondering if his caricature of a bumbling lunatic fringe Republican is just a put-on and he's really a Democratic plant! Shaun Kenney has a great roundup on this story.

This just proves you've got to watch Republicans closely when they're playing with new technologies that they don't understand. At least Frederick's boo-boo actually benefitted Americans. Michigan wingnut Pete Hoekstra's run in with Twitter last week could have had catastrophic consequences.