The Republican Party must really have offended the political gods. Now six-term U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico, is expected to announce today that he will not seek a seventh term. Health reasons.
Domenici was already in some political trouble (involvement in the scandal over the firing of New Mexico U.S. attorney David C. Iglesias) but would have been favored to win. Now it’s another open seat in another swing state.
The L.A. Times piece quotes Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report:
“So, yet another seat that Republicans have to defend that’s going to be tough.”
A quick recap: The Dem’s now have a one-seat margin in the Senate.
Of the 34 seats up in 2008, the Republicans have to defend 22.
There are now five retirements, all Republican, in Colorado, Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho and now New Mexico. Democrats have a good to decent shot to pick up any of those except in Idaho.
Scandal has tightened its icy fingers around the political throat of the Republicans most senior senator, Ted Stevens in Alaska.
Then there are four incumbent Republicans seeking reelection in blue-trending states: Susan Collins of Maine, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Gordon Smith of Oregon and our own Norm Coleman in Minnesota. All are rated as vulnerable.
On the Dem. side, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu in Louisiana and Sen. Tim Johnson in South Dakota are rated as somewhat vulnerable.
Over at Smart Politics, a blog of the Humphrey Institute’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, raised the possibility that the Dems could conceivably end up with a 60- vote, filibuster-proof majority. It’s a stretch, but each new development seems to increase the likelihood that the Dems will have a big margin.
“The Republican Party must really have offended the political gods,” plural?
Could be that offending just one (1) US Constitution god would be enough.
Playing out this scenario it seems to me that America’s Republican endorsed, elected leaders [and their appointees], have “rattled” the USA Constitution god.
One of GW Bush’s and Cheney’s solutions to smother that rattle may have been adding Harriet M. [lifetime appointment] to the US Supreme Court.
However, having a President and Commander-in-Chief that states, “Bring it on” one never knows how many, and what different type of gods [political, military, common sense, etc.] he may have offended.
I heard on the broadcast tv news tonight that Dominici has a degenerative brain disease.
In the dog-eat-dog, truth is no object, winning is everything, grind your opposing party in the dust whenever you can, never speak to your fellow legislators unless they sing your song, money speaks louder than truth or principle or the good of the country world of Washington (and, to a certain extent Minnesota since Quie infected us with Washingtonitis), it’s no fun at all being in the minority.
Both sides have had their turn at amply proving this premise.
What amazes me is that any of the minority members at all are willing to run again.