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Republicans Looking At A Senate Beat Down
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17 2007 9:00 AM
Submitted by FearTheReaper. Edited By erin_broadley.
TAGS: Republicans, Democrats, Senate
Next year’s elections are looking to be a mighty ugly experience for Republicans. Historically, incumbents usually win elections and that has been especially true lately because incumbents have a much easier time raising cash than their opponents. And cash is the name of the game. But Bush’s devastating policies led to a brutal Democratic sweep of both houses last year and ’08 is looking like it may be another massacre.
Overall, the G.O.P. has 22 seats up in 2008, while the Democrats must defend just 12.
That means Democrats can spend their money in fewer races, while Republicans have to spread it out. And Democrats have been heavily out fundraising Republicans, which is very troubling for the GOP.
"There's no question that the money is a concern," said Senator John Ensign, a Nevada Republican who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "Republican Senators need to realize that we're in a different political environment out there than before and that money is much harder to raise and that means they have to get off their lazy rear ends."
But Republicans are starting to bail, instead of putting up a fight. So far, several Republican Senators have decided to retire. They are taking polls and listening to their constituents and it does not look good. As of today the retirement list looks like this:
Colorado Senator Wayne Allard is retiring.
New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici is retiring.
Virginia Senator John Warner is retiring.
Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel is retiring.
Idaho Senator Larry Craig is retiring. (To spend more time fucking dudes)
That makes five seats where there will be no incumbent and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly told insiders to expect more. Many of the open seats are in states that lean right, but New Mexico, Colorado and Virginia could all be easy pickups for Democrats.
Other Senators who are in deep shit are the rare New England Republicans. John Sununu of New Hampshire and Susan Collins are pretty much fucked. They have been voting with Republicans and the Bush White House for years, basically shoving the stake into their own hearts. Consider them done.
In Minnesota, Norm Coleman will have a tough race on his hands against Al Franken, who has been using his Hollywood connections to raise money. Gordon Smith of Oregon is also on shaky ground and Alaska is shaping up to be a complete disaster.
Alaska, where seven-term Senator Ted Stevens is battling a federal corruption probe, could prove more challenging. Stevens is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for taking bribes from Bill Allen, the former CEO of VECO, an oil field services company. Allen and another former VECO employee have pled guilty to bribing state legislators and are cooperating with the investigation into Stevens, who has maintained his innocence.
On the Democratic side, only one seat is in danger: Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Katrina changed the political make up of the state and the GOP now has a much greater chance of winning. Experts give her only a 50% chance of winning.
Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to spotlight Republicans who always vote to support Bush’s policies.
Democrats on Capitol Hill are doing their best to lay the groundwork for a few upsets. In order to try and push legislation past the G.O.P.'s frequent filibusters, they have laid on the pressure, particularly on the four Republican incumbents from states trending Blue. The four — Maine's Susan Collins, New Hampshire's John Sununu, Gordon Smith of Oregon and Norm Coleman of Minnesota — are constantly on the spot, whether it's because of near-weekly votes on President Bush's strategy in Iraq or popular legislation to expand stem cell research and children's health care.
The Democrats are hoping for a 60-seat margin, which would make them filibuster proof. It is a very remote possibility, but nothing can be counted out as long as Bush remains in office, running the country like a drunken frat boy. Taking control of the Senate in ’06 was considered just as remote of a possibility and they pulled it off.
Either way, it looks like Democrats will pick up seats in the Senate. Right now the only question is how many. The good news is we will probably see douche bag Joe Lieberman lose his position as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee. The only sad thing would be to watch Senate Republicans still manage to out maneuver Democrats and pass their legislation with only 40 Senators.
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