Posted on 11/30/2004 10:18:30 AM PST by Hugenot
Now that President Bush has been re-elected to a second term, Republicans are already looking ahead to the midterm Senate races in 2006 and dreaming of a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority.
Some say it's a dream that could come true.
Five of the 17 Senate Democrats whose terms expire in 2006 are from states that voted for Bush. If they stay in the Republican column two years from now, the GOP could reach that magic 60 number.
For that to happen, however, Republicans have to shore up states where they may be vulnerable. Of the 33 Senate seats that will be elected in two years, 15 belong to Republicans. Three of these Republican senators are in states that went to Kerry on Election Day.
The Bush states with Democratic senators include Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, and West Virginia. The blue states with sitting Republicans are Maine, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Could the GOP pull it off?
If President Bush continues to succeed in the war on terror, democracy begins to take hold in Iraq and the economy keeps improving at home, it's possible.
And if Democrats fail to learn from their mistakes - and continue to turn off the electorate with their soft-on-national-security policies and overwrought anti-Bush rhetoric - that can only improve the chances for GOP success.
They proved it already, did they? They are still more than a month from even opening the first session of their majority Congress, and you have already written them off?
This is the first time conservatives have had a majority. Remember, the Democrats took 60 years and majorities as large as 77-19 to f*** things up so badly. But you've alrwady written off the Republicans.
Pathetic.
And I ain't referring to the GOP.
We won't have 77 Senators. Imagine what we could do with a two-thirds majority in Congress. LOL. But its still fun fantasizing about it.
PA is safe, isn't anyone on the political horizon at this point that's going to unseat Santorum in an off year election.
Well, none of them have at this point, so I don't see why they would start now.
I'll get a spine after you get a brain.
Let's hope Byrd does NOT retire. WV is only just starting to tilt to the GOP. If Byrd goes this year, there will be few good GOP candidates to replace him, and the Demonrats will probably lock a newcomer in place, like they did in AR and LA. If he waits six more years, there will probably WVn Republicans with the credibility, exposure and clout to take the seat.
Yahhhh, riiiggghhhhtt. There are a BUNCH of Senators that are just itching to put themselves in the minority...
Should this not be posted under breaking news?
Do you have confidence in Ben Nelson's ability to win re-election against the current governor?
David Pryor from Arkansas should be focused heavily on.
With retirements, 60 is possible but I will make the early prediciton of 58.
I think Byrd is going to hang on to his seat like grim death itself. He might well turn into the Democrats' Strom Thurmond.
"[T]he first session of their majority Congress"? Where have you been since '94?
But you've alrwady written off the Republicans. Pathetic. And I ain't referring to the GOP.
"Pathetic" describes what the GOP has even attempted -- much less done -- with a majority in both houses of Congress since 1994 (with the exception of the first two years without Jumpin' Jim Jeffords). We even got the White House in 2000, and still managed to pass only a token tax cut that piddles out after a few years. (Talk about adding insult to injury, Congress rarely ever puts sunset clauses on new taxes. Now, they put them on tax cuts?!)
The Contract With America was the beginning and the end of the conservative Congress. After 10 years of Republican rule, Bloated Big Government remains every bit as much the theme in DC today as it ever was. That's "pathetic."
Schafer is Conrad's ex-brother-in-law. Will never run against him.
Pryor's not up until '08.
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