Life After Election Day

[Enjolras]

With all of the focus on the Democratic presidential candidates, has anyone given thought to how a Democratic president, assuming one can actually get elected, would govern? The new president, whomever it is, will have to deal with a very hostile legislature.

The House of Representatives is firmly in GOP hands, and that won't change soon. The Senate leans, ever so slightly (by a mere 1 1/2 votes), to the right. But with 4 of 5 southern senators retiring or leaving office at the end of current terms and another (W. Va.'s Robert Byrd, 86) a stroke or coronary waiting to happen being Democrats, the Republicans stand an excellent chance to solidify their hold on the upper house. I don't see them acheiving the magic (fillibuster-proof) number of seats next fall, but 56 seats instead of the current 51 would make things a heck of a lot less complicated for them. And you can bet that factors heavily in Karl Rove's daily search for ways to turn America into a one party state.

So what do we do about it? Has anyone (besides, presumably, Tom Daschle) been able to tear their thoughts away from the compelling, yet narrowly focused, race for the Democratic presidential nomination long enough to give serious thought to a Senate strategy?

Here are a few of my thoughts. Of the southern Democratic Senators who will be leaving, Edwards, Hollings, Graham, and Miller, only Graham stands a serious chance of being replaced by a fellow Democrat, and even that race will be a dogfight. Winning the other 3 would require Zell Miller-type, blue-dog centrists who would be of little benefit to the Democrats once in office.


So where can Dems pick up seats? Taking a long-term approach, over the next 5 years, every senate seat will be up for grabs at some point, and I don't think it's too soo to start looking for weaknesses on the GOP team. One state whose opportunities intrigue me is Pennsylvania. It has a Repug governor and 2 Repug senators, including the vitriolic extremist Rick Santorum, yet it's not an overly conservative commonwealth. Gore won it fairly solidly in 2000, and it has a lot of union members who have lost, or are about to lose, their jobs.

Wisconsin, once a bastion of liberalism, is now a moderate state. But that's better than a solidly red state. At least it's in play. So when is Herb Kohl up for re-election? What's true of Wisconsin is true of Minnesota, but Norm Coleman has a good 5 years to go. Still, good organization and planning takes time.

Arizona, typical of the southwest, leans toward a libertarian brand of conservatism. It has 2 GOP Senators, one of whom (McCain) knowingly irritates Bush & co., and does so with political impunity. It seems that Arizonans value independence. Is it not possible to find libertarian-leaning Democrats to compete in the Grand Canyon state?

I've also heard that Missouri is politically mixed, though that's a little hard to believe in the state that elected John Ashcroft several times. But if true, when is Kit Bond up for re-election?

[La_Serpiente]

1. Ahhh

Feingold is up for re-election next year as well. Although Feingold is an awesome Senator, he always wins by the smallest of margins. Feingold beat a Republican who was getting TONS of money. Feingold doesn't even take PAC contributions, so you could imagine how difficult his campaign was.

However, this time around, HE IS GOING UP AGAINST A MILLIONAIRE PROBABLY!!! I love Feingold, but he always wins close elections.

We also have a chance of picking Pennsylvania. If Toomey beats Spectre in the Republican primary, the Democratic nominee could be seen as a more appealing choice to the uber-conservative Toomey.

[AndyTiedye]

2. Take The Train, Dems!

> but 56 seats instead of the current 51 would make things a heck of a lot less complicated for them.

Add a couple more of the BFEE's patented small airplane crashes and they
have it all, with a filibuster-proof majority.

Plesae, NO MORE SMALL AIRPLANES! We're going to lose too many Democratic seats in the Senate as it is, we can't afford to lose
any more!

[Enjolras]

3. I love Feingold, too

Feingold illustrates why it takes courage to be not just a Democrat, but a liberal Democrat. Wellstone had the same problem, his elections were always close. But,like Feingold, Wellstone had cojones as well as compassion. I sincerely hope Russ gets to keep his job.

Yo, Wisconsin! You already got ONE right-wing extremist representing you in Washington, and another in the Governor's mansion. Why make it a clean sweep?

[Racenut20]

4. I will be heavily involved in electing Democrats

Florida Governor will be a hot campaign. They are already lining up for it.

Goooooooooo Former Senator Smith. Lost to the Jr.Wingnut and now moved to Sarasota. Perhaps he won't give in to the RNC who will sponsor their Cuban candidate and try to get McCullum/ Byrd/ and Golden Girl out of the Primary so they won't have a fight. He is looking to run and won't give into BuschCo. Best thing can happen for Democrats in Florida is for Repubs to have to spend all that money in their own primary this summer.