Republicans' hopes for recapturing control of Senate dim

[ellisonz]

Meanwhile, the exit of Sen. Olympia Snowe has dampened the mood of both parties. The era of moderates in the Senate appears over.
By Lisa Mascaro and Michael A. Memoli, Washington Bureau

February 29, 2012, 7:18 p.m.
Reporting from Washington—
Even before Republican Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine blindsided her party by announcing she would not seek reelection, GOP hopes for winning four seats and recapturing the Senate this year were beginning to dim.

Democratic seats that Republicans had thought they could scoop up — in Montana, Missouri and Ohio, for example — were not looking like such sure bets. Holding on to vulnerable Republican seats in Massachusetts and Nevada was becoming more daunting. Now, with Maine suddenly up for grabs, the GOP goal of taking over the Senate is in question.

"Clearly this is a bump in the road," Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican Senate campaign chief, acknowledged Wednesday.

But something else about Snowe's exit has dampened the mood among both Republicans and Democrats: Whichever party holds control next January, the era of moderates in the Senate is over. That will make the polarization that the Maine moderate blamed for her departure even deeper, and the prospects of passing significant legislation even harder.

More: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-senate-battle-control-20120301,0,7097545.story

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!

[Tx4obama]

1. I am surprised that the article ...

didn't mention Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). She's in the same 'moderate' category nowadays with Snowe, Collins, and Brown.

Ever since Murkowski won her re-election in 2010 she has voted quite often with the Democrats especially on women's issues.

The Republicans really pissed her off when they backed that Teabagger instead of her and she had to run that write-in campaign.

[ellisonz]

2. That is an omission.

Joe Miller (R-Militia Movement)

[Old and In the Way]

3. I've noticed a lot lamenting going on about how both parties are becoming polarizing.

Baloney. Only one Party is going off the extreme end - Republicans. Democrats, if anything, have moved to the Right to fill the vacuum. Things like cap and trade and Obamacare are Republican policy ideas that they once claimed to support. Not now. There was a time when both parties had liberals/moderates/conservatives. Now only a single party can claim to have all 3 positions represented in their caucus. Snowe's leaving is another significant waypoint that Republicanism is on the road to a political and ideolological dead end - it's so rigid and unbending, one could consider it in a state of rigor mortis.

[mazzarro]

4. +100 % -- n/t

[Cosmocat]

6. BINGO

More BS spreading the scorched earth republican BS to the Ds to make it an "all of them" issue.

There IS still a "middle" in DC - it is half the democratic party.

You can count on one or two hands, the number of Rs who are not automatic, set in stone, R votes on anything the party dictates.

[Bake]

8. Rachel Maddow had a piece of hard evidence last night.

The Dems have stayed pretty much where they have always been. The Thugs have RUN TO THE HARD RIGHT.

Not both parties. Just the Thugs. Thanks for the polarization, Thugs.

Bake

[DFW]

5. We need to rumble hard

I am nowhere near as optimistic about our chances to retake the House as some are.

I think the Republicans--the real movers and shakers--have secretly already given up
on taking the White House. Otherwise, they would have put up a serious candidate
long before now. I think their real money will be concentrated on the many House
races that we think we can take back, and they think enough money can keep in
their camp.

[KharmaTrain]

7. Democrats Need To Up Their Game...

Firstly...just because a large segment of the rushpublicans may be demoralized or pissed off at their choices at the top of the ticket, it doesn't mean they'll stay at home. There will be plenty of high profile Senate, House and other downticket races that will draw out the vote and thus the work of recapturing the House and holding the Senate will be a tall order. It's good to hear of Bob Kerrey jumping in in Nebraska and Snowe bailing on Maine but there are other races that will be close and it will be won by organization...getting out the vote.

Here's hoping the DSCC and DCCC are ready to gear up big time and make adequate funding available to all candidates...and that there will be enough SuperPac money on our side to counteract the miles of bile sure to come from the Kochs and their proxies. It also means Democrats of all stripes energizing and working on the local level to making sure as many Democrats are elected as possible.

[sofa king]

9. I gotta call bullshit.

Snowe's moderate ways have long since evaporated in practice. She toed the far-right line every single time they needed her.

She facilitated the radical whims of her criminally-minded party perfectly for at least twelve years, all the time riding on the "moderate" record she carefully generated in her first term.

There must have been 200 articles written since 2000 which lamely speculated about some "moderate cabal," of whom Snowe was an imaginary part, which would restore some sort of nicety to Republican rampaging in the Senate.

But it never materialized in practice. Instead, Snowe repeatedly and dependably backed the most incompetent, deceitful, ill-intended, malicious legislation that could be vomited forth from the damaged id of the Republican Party. Every single time when it counted.

So the hell with Olympia Snowe's moderate legacy. Olympia Snowe ended the era of moderates in the Senate herself, after she was reelected in 2000 and completely left her conscience behind.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. This article is such bullshit! There are moderates in the Democratic Party. Too many for my taste.

But the Beltway Media story about how we lost the middle with Snowe is ludicrous! First, Olympia Snowe was not a reliable moderate. She voted with her party on major issues and went along with that party; hence, why Democrats burst a spleen trying to get 60 votes. If Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins were reliable moderates, we wouldn't need 60 votes!

Second, to suggest that there are no more moderates is ridiculous. The Right has moved "the middle" so far to the right that Democrats in the Senate have become so cowardly that they have moved with them.

I submit that we should be lamenting the fact that there are far fewer liberals than there are moderates and conservatives!