Re #26:
Hey I would love to be wrong. But those who support Tea Party efforts to replace liberal Repubicans with conservative ones must know there are inherent risk. The end result could well be that you have a state like Delaware that simply refuses to send a conservative to the senate. In the case of Maine if the hypothetical conservative lost the new senator seated would be to the left of Snowe. That’s a risk I for one am willing to take and I believe is good for conservatism in the long run. But Tea Party folks must know, damn well better know, that from time to time their efforts won’t produce the results they want.
Hopefully, the Maine candidate wouldn’t be undercut by the GOP establishment (at least after the primary) and would be able to withstand the brickbats of the media.
It would be tough, I agree, but our state ousted Feingold for a very conservative candidate. I never thought I would live to see Feingold voted out of office, let alone for a conservative. In Wisconsin, once elected, the job is yours until you retire or die.
It’s preferable to have 50% or 75% of the enchilada than to have 0%. A Democrat Senator from Maine will have the luxury of being as far left as Kerry and Sanders.
If the GOP loses the seat in Maine, a state that turns deeper blue with each election cycle, it will be difficult to win it back the way Maine is trending.
But it’s not a sure bet that Snowe, if she survives a primary challenge, would win against a top notch Democrat candidate who will undoubtably be very well funded.
In 2012, Democrats will have a lot of seats to defend in red or swing states and their money will be spread thin. Maine is one of the few GOP seats they have a shot at flipping.