Poll: (0.00 / 0)

If you had to sacrifice one Dem. Senator and it had to be Lincoln or Reid, which one would you prefer to lose?

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by: tremayne @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 21:16:50 PM UTC

oh man, Reid for sure (4.00 / 4)

At this point I pretty much hope Reid loses, period. I mean, would you rather have 60 Senators led by Reid, or 59 led by anyone else? I'd way rather go Reidless.

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by: Chachy @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 21:45:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Who would replace him as majority leader? (0.00 / 0)

I would guess that Durbin would be the top contender, being that he's second in line, but his performance has been pretty poor as the majority whip...

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!

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by: lord_mike @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 21:47:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Durbin would at least be trying (4.00 / 1)

New Jersey politics at Blue Jersey.

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by: Hopeful in NJ @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 23:21:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

No way in hell would the others elect Durbin. (0.00 / 0)

Especially after he accesed them all of being
"owned by the banks".  Which they are.  

Chris may underestimate who exactly thinks Dems are 'strong' right now.  With 59 seats the Moderates have taken over the Senate to the Left's chagrin.  

So hacks like Carper, Lieberman and Pryor - hangovers from the gang of 14, will likely install someone like Nelson of Nebraska as the next ML.  He's been sniffing around for a leadership role for a while now.  

Nationalism is not the same thing as terrorism, and an adversary is not the same thing as an enemy.

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by: worldlymother @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 01:42:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

is ml it based on seniority? (0.00 / 0)

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by: The Big Hurt @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 02:31:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I want us to start talking primary action. (4.00 / 2)

This is the year we start shooting for better Democrats rather than more Democrats right?  So let's start sorting out primaries.  Pennsylvania is an obvious one, but I think Ohio and Kentucky have clear examples of better Democrats running (Conway and Brunner).

Check out Blue Arkansas:
http://bluearkansas.blogspot.com/

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by: ARDem @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 21:52:30 PM UTC

Kentucky is bigger than Ohio... (4.00 / 1)

Both Brunner and Fisher are reliable liberals... Brunner gets the edge 'cos she's a known fighter, but both would be reliable votes in the Senate.

Kentucky's choices, however, are like night and day... We've got to get Conway in there, or the seat won't be worth fighting for...

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!

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by: lord_mike @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 23:22:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I agree with you on Kentucky but.... (0.00 / 0)

There's more to being a better Democrat then just what your issue positions have been in the past.  It's also in the kind of campaign a candidate runs, and right now Fisher has tied his campaign to big money interests over the grassroots:

http://www.buckeyestateblog.co...

On top of that, he apparently lacks a little judgement...

http://www.buckeyestateblog.co...

Check out Blue Arkansas:
http://bluearkansas.blogspot.com/

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by: ARDem @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 02:34:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fisher is a horrible candidate overall.... (0.00 / 0)

It's Strickland's machine that would have him win the race, not anything Fisher did himself... but, he'll be a reliable mainstream democrat if he makes it in.  He won't be Sherrod Brown... then again, he won't be Evan Bayh, either...  

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!

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by: lord_mike @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 06:01:09 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ohio 2010 is the opposite of Ohio 1994. (4.00 / 1)

During the 1994 Midterm Election in Ohio.

Then Republican Governor George Voinovich was strongly favored to win re-election to a second term.

Then Republican Lt Governor- Mike Dewine was strongly favored to win the US Senate Seat vacated by retiring Democratic US Senator Howard Metzenbaum.

Then Republican Secretary of State Bob Taft was strongly favored to win re-election to a Second Term.

The Democratic Incumbent State Auditor and Treasurer decided not to seek re-election. They were replaced by Republican Jim Petro and Kenneth Blackwell.

Then Democratic Attorney General Lee Fisher narrowly lost re-election for the AG post to Betty Montgomery.

When Sherrod Brown lost re-election to the Secretary of State position in 1990 to Bob Taft. Brown decided to run for US Congress in 1992 to a Democratic leaning Cleveland Suburban Congressional District. In 2006 during a pro Democratic Year. Brown decided to run for the US Senate and unseated an unpopular GOP incumbent.

When Lee Fisher lost re-election in 1994. He tried to make a political comeback by running for Governor in 1998 against Bob Taft. Bob Taft benefited from George Voinovich's popularity.

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by: nkpolitics @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 18:05:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Off topic... (1.33 / 3)

I noticed that my Quick Hit with the expressive title "Oblivion Nation (Gossip, Gas, and Afghanistan" was deleted, and I'm wondering if you deleted it, Chris Bowers.

As non-standard as the form of that thing may have been, it still included links to two mainstream news stories and also a "link" between them, together with a little more context than most Quick Hits, in significantly less than 500 words.

So now that even the titles of reader's diaries have been removed from the front page, is it your intention, Chris Bowers, to more or less totally disappear free-standing contributions from readers, except for straight-forward introductions to news items, and reserve almost all context and interpretation for the tiny elite of front-page posters?  

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by: Jacob Freeze @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 22:02:13 PM UTC

You might be having the same trouble as I am?? (4.00 / 1)

Every quick hit link since I've subscribed to Open Left comes back with an error message:
Sorry!
We were unable to locate that page. Please return to the front page.

??

Nationalism is not the same thing as terrorism, and an adversary is not the same thing as an enemy.

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by: worldlymother @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 02:37:41 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Dude... Would you stop acting like a douche! (0.00 / 1)

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by: yitbos96bb @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 03:39:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

democrats? (2.00 / 2)

I'm still mystified by those that believe the democrat party will be the salvation of the US. My hunch is that this article is supposed to make lefties feel good since, hallelujah, the dems are strong for 2010. Whoopee! Happy days are here again!

It boggles my mind that people can't see that the dems and republicans are two halves of the same coin. The same wealthy people that own the republicans own the democrats as well.

Single payer is off the table, impeachment of bush was off the table, trillions to the wealthy in a fucked up financial bailout, censorship of torture, no torture investigation, and on and on. The democrats are as corrupt as the republicans and people need to wake up to that fact.

No real change will come from these two corrupt organizations. They're both bought and paid for. They work for the wealthy and not the majority of the people in this country.

Anybody desirous of real change will have to gird themselves for a long fight and go third or fourth party.

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by: T Groan @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 03:00:11 AM UTC

Ain't happening. (4.00 / 3)

The Democratic party has the same rotting political culture within it that the Republican party does, that's for sure, though I'll contend with my last breath that the Democrats are the better of the two.  That said, if you think a third party is going to produce change, much less become viable, you're being naive.  We have a two party system, that's all we're ever going to have, at least for the forseeable future.  What we are trying to do is make the Democratic party the vessel for progressive movement and change, and that's going to be a long, hard process but it's worth the fight for those of us that have the intestinal fortitude.  We're out to elect BETTER Democrats, not necesarily the best Democrats but those that will push the country and their states/districts as far to the left as politically possible, improving the party and our whole government bit by bit, seat by seat, race by race.  I'd encourage you to read up on some of those candidates-Paul Hodes, for instance, is a great progressive champion who's been willing to stand up to corruption in his own party (Jack Murtha and his protectors).  Jennifer Brunner is another example, a courageous progressive who's not backing down to the machine and standing strong on her principles from marriage equality to universal healthcare.  And believe me, there are others.

That said, I understand your frustration with some of the things you mentioned-I share it myself.  But change isn't just going to happen, no matter who we elect, and abandoning the Democrats for a third party is an unrealistic measure that will do more harm than good in the long run (remember Florida and New Hampshire in 2000?).  Rather, we have to put the work in to change the party and we have to accept that there will always be room for improvement and reason to keep going.  It's a tough task, and not everyone has the stomach for it, but it's important that we press on.

Check out Blue Arkansas:
http://bluearkansas.blogspot.com/

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by: ARDem @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 04:06:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

work for change - reject complacency and reject despair (0.00 / 0)

T Groan,
  You may sincerely mean what you say. Or you may be a troll that wants to demoralize everyone here. Either way, your post above is not very helpful.
  I would love it if the Republican party would split into two pieces (for example, the Social Darwinist Libertarian Republicans and the Theocratic Christian Taliban Republicans). If they ever did such a thing, then the Democrats would win every election for decades afterwards. So if you urge us all to cast ballots for impossible candidates like Nader or Kucinich, then you urge us to abandon realism, split our party apart, and leave ourselves divided and easy prey for the Republicans.
  (That being said, you are correct about single payer, investigating torture and other war crimes, etc. Obama and the Senate Democrats are not fighting hard for the right things. But the solution is for us to pressure them to do so, and in the case of the Senate, for us to bring Better Democrats on board. The idea of us accomplishing anything through a third party is an unworkable fantasy.)

ARDem,
  I agree with both you and Darcy Burner. We need to elect "more and better Democrats". Basically, 90% of the Republicans and 50% of the Democrats are too far to the Right. So, replacing Republicans with Democrats is necessary, but it is not sufficient. We also have to pressure our party to do the right things, in spite of pressure from the lobbyists to continue the status quo.

Luke 12:48 "to whom much is given, of him shall much be required". Would Jesus want progressive taxation, or regressive taxation?

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by: Christian_Dem_NY @ Sat May 23, 2009 at 14:36:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Democratic Recruitment vs Republican Recruitment. (4.00 / 1)

Open Democratic Seats.
DE(OPEN-Kaufman-D)
Democratic Candidate- AG and VP Son Beau Biden.
Republican Candidate- If Mike Castle runs- Tossup. otherwise Safe Democratic.

IL(OPEN-Burris-D)- Loses the primary.
Democratic Candidate- Madigan,Giannoulias,Schakowsky,Kennedy.)
Republican Candidate- Competive but Democratic Favored if Mark Kirk Runs. otherwise Safe Democratic.

Open Republican Seats.
FL(OPEN-Martinez-R)
Republican Candidate- Governor Charlie Crist
Democratic Candidate- US Rep Kendrick Meek.
Safe Republican. Crist-R 60% Meek-D 40%

KS(OPEN-Brownback-R)
Republican Candidate- US Rep Jerry Moran or Todd Tiahrt.
Democratic Candidate- ????? Safe Republican.

MO(OPEN-Bond-R)
Republican Candidate- US Rep Roy Blunt-R
Democratic Candidate- Sec or State Robin Carnahan-D
Likely Democratic Takeover.

NH(OPEN-Gregg-R)
Republican Candidate- If Sununu or Bass runs- Tossup otherwise Likely Democratic Takeover.
Democratic Candidate- US Rep Paul Hodes.

OH(OPEN-Voinovich-R)
Republican Candidate- Robert Portman-R
Democratic Candidate- Lee Fisher-D or Jennifer Brunner-D
Likely Democratic Takeover.

Democrats will pick up MO,NH,and OH.

Vulnerable Democratic and Republican incumbents.

AR- (Lincoln-D)-
Republican- Kim Hendren- Safe Democratic.

CA-(Boxer-D)
Republican- Safe Democratic.

CO-(Bennett-D)
Republican- Likely Democratic.

CT-(Dodd-D)
Republican- ex US Rep Rob Simmons- Tossup

NV(Reid-D)
Republican- Brian Krolicki- Democratic Favored.

NY(Gillibrand-D)
Republican- Competive but Democratic Favored if Pataki or King runs otherwise Safe Democratic.

PA(Specter-D)
Republican- Pat Toomey- Safe Democratic.

WA(Murray-D)
Republican- Safe Democratic

WI(Feingold-D)
Republican -Safe Democratic.

Vulnerable Republican Incumbents
KY(Bunning-R)
Democrat- Mongiardo or Conway- Likely Democratic Takeover

NC(Burr-R)
Democrat- Cal Cunningham- ex State Senator and Iraq War Veteran. Tossup.

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by: nkpolitics @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 04:55:40 AM UTC

Color Coding for Progressives (0.00 / 0)

The tables are very good and handy.

I would personally like to see a color coding on the person's name (or where appropriate) to place him on the right/left spectrum.

That would make it easier to others who avail themselves of these tables to decide where to put their support; and indicating the political ideology tendency would be a plus.

A National Progressive Alliance, is the only viable solution.

http://www.openleft.com/diary/...

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by: boldhawk @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 05:14:19 AM UTC

All things are relative though. (4.00 / 1)

Take, for instance, Kendrick Meek.  For his district, Meek is not all that liberal.  He's generally a good vote and often a great voice on the house floor mind you, but his district his still way to his left.  However, he himself is probably well to the left of Florida as a whole.  I think it's best that we just start having some good articles on each of the candidates on the front page, an addition to the site I think is several months overdue.

Check out Blue Arkansas:
http://bluearkansas.blogspot.com/

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by: ARDem @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 05:35:20 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

What don't I know about Delaware? (0.00 / 0)

I've seen several projections that assume that Delaware is virtually a sure pick-up for the Rs.    This is the seat that Joe Biden has held forever.  

Bidin's son Beau is the likely D candidate.   Is there something wrong with him?  

Does anyone have some insight on Delaware they can share?  

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by: richgreer @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 12:25:19 PM UTC

The issue is whether Castle (0.00 / 0)

the GOP Congressman runs.  If he does, it almost certainly is a GOP seat.

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by: fladem @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 13:44:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Delaware (0.00 / 0)

Mike Castle is a 69 year old Congressman who served two terms as governor and two terms as lt. governor.  He wins elections easily in Delaware, but he has not had a real challenge in decades.  He has said that he will announce whether he will run for Senate in a few weeks.  My guess is that he will retire rather than face a strong opponent and be forced to run against the Obama-Biden administration.  

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by: truthatlast @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 18:39:27 PM UTC

Mike Castle is the Republican version of Winston Bryant(D-AR) and Joseph Brennan(D-ME). (0.00 / 0)

Winston Bryant-(D-AR) won every Statewide Election in Arkansas. Elected Secretary of State in 1978. Lt Governor in 1980,1982,and 1986. Attorney General in 1990 and 1994. Bryant ran for the US Senate in 1996 lost in the General election to Republican Tim Hutchinson. Ran for the other US Senate seat but lost in the Democratic Primary to Blanche Lincoln in 1998.
Joseph Brennan was Governor of ME from 1978-1986. In 1986 He was elected to the US House, re-elected in 1988. In 1990 he ran again for Governor but narrowly lost to Olympia Snowe's Husband. He ran for Governor again in 1994 but came in second place against Independent Angus King. In 1996 He ran for the US Senate but lost in the General Election to Susan Collins.

2010 is Mike Castle's only chance of becoming US Senator. US Senate Seats in Delaware are rarely open. or rarely competitive.
In 2000- Bill Roth lost re-election to Tom Carper a popular two term Governor who was term limited from office. Carper benifited from Roth's old age,poor health,and Al Gore's coattails.  

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by: nkpolitics @ Fri May 22, 2009 at 04:16:15 AM UTC

[ Parent ]