Murtha or Hoyer as majority leader

I'm pessimistic that many of these seats will turn back in '08. In the Senate, maybe, but I doubt it in the House.

 

Guy,

Historically, there is usually some blowback after a wave election. In the House, there are several seats that are traditionally Republican and will likely go back (Foley and DeLay's seats are two that come to mind right away). The outlook is very bleak in the Senate for the GOP. Of the 33 seats up for grabs, the GOP holds 21 of them - that's a pretty wide field to cover. There are no obvious Dem incumbents to pick off. The closest ones are Mark Pryor in Arkansas and Mary Landrieu in Louisiana. Both have done a good job portraying themselves as moderates and will be very tough to beat.

On the Republican side, I think Norm Coleman, Wayne Allard and John Sununu will be the top targets of the Dems. I think the Colorado seat is a goner. Allard has never been a particularly good campaigner (or Senator for that matter) and Mark Udall will win that seat no matter who he faces. Coleman is lucky that the DFL in Minnesota has an incredibly weak bench. Sununu will be in for a massive fight in a state that has taken a sharp left turn in recent elections. Even though he is a good campaigner, the demographics just aren't with him. I think the Dems will still control the Congress in January 2009...the Dems will have 52-54 seats in the Senate and will have 5-to-10 seat majority in the House.

 

Fair enough. I am a little less pessimistic about the Senate - alot will depend on how the big race goes. I'd love to see Allard & Sunnunu get real primary opponents, but I doubt they will. I think Coleman should be safe, but there's plenty of time to see.

On the House, I think there will be some recovery, but not enough to re-swing it.

 

True, some seats may go back to the GOP, but there were a lot of Republicans who managed to pull out close races and they might be in jeopardy next time. The biggest factor will probably be the 2008 presidential election and who can bring out voters.

 

Agreed. Hey, I'm a conservative and you'd be blind if you didn't see this "thumping" coming down the road. Some really good reps got thrown out because there was an "R" next to their names on Election Day. I guess I'm wondering how many of those former reps get their jobs back.

Too soon to speculate, I guess.

 

In other words, voting your conscience is a big no-no in the Democratic Party unless your conscience is extreme left. Good to know there's no room for moderates among Democrats.

 

As opposed to that vast glorious mosaic of ideology that is the GOP.

 

"I know we are but what are you"?

Not exactly a great argument, Fenian.

Now, because we've recently had a respectful exchange, I'd like to keep it that way, but I must ask if this is an admission on your part that the moderate Dems will not be allowed to vote their conscience. The point has nothing to do with whether or not Republicans have a vast glorious mosaic of ideology.

 

That's good, because they don't.
My answer is, of course, they will be "allowed to vote their consciences," whatever the hell that means. However, if they start voting like wingnut Republicans, it is unlikely that they wil be re-elected by the people who sent them.
And, yes, it does make a difference if the Republicans ran the House like the East German parliament for the past 12 years, because they did, which is why some of them are going to jail and a lot of them got beat.

 

You really have trouble sticking with the point again, don't you? This thread is about the newly empowered democrats and whether or not the moderates are going to be allowed to be moderates instead of hard-left extremists. And when that question was raised, you said something to the effect of not if they want their careers to go anywhere.

 

Really? I can name a bunch of pro-choice republicans. How many pro-lifers can you name on the other side?

 

Heath Shuler of North Carolina, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Brad Ellsworth of Indiana, Charlie Wilson of Ohio, Chris Carney and Jason Altmire both of Pennsylvania are just the new House Dems who happen to be pro-life. Tester, from Montana, is a definite pro-lifer in the Senate. There also are many more incumbents who are pro-life.

Satisfied?