A Filibuster proof Senate, by other means

by: hellenica

Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 00:22

Going by Chris's senate predictions we should gain 7 seats, which will bring us to 57 seats (with Bernie Sanders). If we extend hope just a tad to include Georgia and Minnesota, we will have 59, with Joe Lieberman holding the filibustery balance.

How else can we make this man irrelevant?

By pulling a Jim Jeffords, that's how!

hellenica :: A Filibuster proof Senate, by other means

If the Democrats can inch their way within site of the magic number (whether the 60-seat benchmark does matter or not would be a discussion for another time and thread), who could the leadership hope to poach from the GOP caucus?

Off the top of my head, two names come to mind; Arlen Specter and Olympia Snowe.

Specter won re-election with less than 53% of the vote, and he's up again in 2010, the 3rd in a series of realigning elections. He represents a state that has gone Democratic in the last 4 (5 counting tomorrow, knock on wood) presidential elections, ejected the ever-odious Rick Santorum, has a Democratic governor, and a battle for control of the state legislature. I've always been under the impression that some in his party dislike him more than in ours. I remember having a Republican friend of mine telling me back in 04, that he'd rather Specter lose his seat, even if it meant losing control of the chamber. Regardless, I'm sure Chris, our resident Pennsylvanian, would be better apt to speak to this possibility, and/or his electoral chances in 2010 (if he choose to run, he will be 80 by then, and also has some health problems).

As for Snowe, she is one of the few remaining New England Republicans left in Congress (with us hopefully knocking off Shays and Sununu this cycle). Extremely popular in Maine, her defection would be a huge coup. Aside from her involvement with the Gang of 14, I don't know too much about her positions. Looking at her Wikipedia article, it would seem I'm not the first to suggest the possibility of the Dems wooing both Snowe and Specter.

If someone has already broached this possibility here, my apologies.

Otherwise, comments welcome. Especially any other suggestions for possible Republican opportunists.

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A Filibuster proof Senate, by other means | 2 comments

Spector (0.00 / 0)

Spector was challenged from the right in a bloody primary last time. He is very popular among indies and non-progressive D's. So if he can survive another inevitable Club For Growth challenge, he'll walk in his reelection try. (Although there's a rumor floating around the intertubes that Chuck Todd of NBC might take a whack at the seat as a D, and he's wildly popular in our household. Fwiw.)

The point, though, of this comment is to say that we don't need Spector to change parties. He'll vote with D's on a lot of stuff and vote for cloture on things that wingnuts might be trying to block. He's a different senator in the minority than he is when he's got the pressure of being a majority party elder. You can be sure he held his nose when voted for Alito and Roberts. Yeah, he did it. That's because he IS a Republican.

But if he has options, he votes much more liberally than that. In the minority, he is much more likely to be a part of a coalition that's moving legislation forward. When the R's had 45 people to sustain a filibuster, it didn't matter that Spector would vote one way or another. With only 41 or 42 in the R caucus, Spector may very well break with the party to pass progressive legislation.

And if he doesn't, he could easily be toast in 2010.

Karl in Drexel Hill, PA

by: KB @ Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 14:58:09 PM UTC