I can count to 100

[pootrootbeer]

Can someone explain to me why the charts and tables at CNN.com all show zero seats held by independents in the Senate, even though Tarrant Sanders in Vermont and Lieberman in Connecticut both won their races sans party affiliation?

I mean, the maps show the corresponding shades of brown and yellow for them. So where are they?

Comments

[cricketnyc]

They're basing it on which party they'll be caucasing with, I believe. And yeah, I ended that clause with a preposition. Don't like it? Kiss my ass.

[cheryln]

The table on the CNN.com homepage does have a tiny-print footnote that the Democrat total includes two independents. But they also could have noted that there were two independents with a tint footnote that they'd caucus with the Democrats and trust us to do the math.

(Also: Sanders is the Senator, Tarrant is his House replacement.)

[mmcirvin]

To put it another way, the thing that everyone's looking for is majority party status, and these particular independents have chosen to form a coalition with the Democrats for that purpose (though in Lieberman's case I wouldn't bet the farm on that lasting forever).

[stacebass]

Because America MUST be a two-party system. It's important in order to preserve The Order™.

[anonymous]

http://www.ivygateblog.com/blog/2006/11/risley_hall_cornells_raging_id.html

Scroll down.

[pootrootbeer]

Yep, that's me.

And who might you be?