Tex, the Democrats are lockstep right now ... they don't have a "maverick" contingent like Lott and Hastert have had to manage the last 6 years. Lott has had 4-6 Senators who would cross party lines with no hesitation if their social liberal ideology was not accounted for. The Senate has 43 solid Conservatives in their caucus. The House has approximately 170 (out of 220) solid Conservatives. These are guys who would vote for 95% of everything "conservative" malcontents here on FR desire. These are the "Contract With America bunch". The Democrats have 0 in the Senate. They have about 3 in the House. Yet, it is not the Dems or the GOP 15%ers that are the problem, it's Bush, the GOP ... "THERE's NO DIFFERENCE". How do you craft a honest debate with folks who are that myopic about the world as it exists, and in which Bush and the GOP are fated to govern?
The guy I can't figure is Zell Miller. How can this guy, in good conscience, abide the tactics and malfeasance that the Senate Majority is conducting right now? He's an untouchable, he's a former Governor and multi millionaire and an Old southern Democrat ... how can he sit and watch Daschele and Leahy shirk their duty to get Federal Judgeships filled in Districts that are drowning in backlog?
Bush needs to sit down with Zell and hold a reality check pow-wow. Miller doesn't belong in the Democrat Party. Nor does Breaux, but he can't fight that Moriel Mafia and keep his job. Miller needs to switch parties, and get the process moving for the American people. Zell isn't there to sit on his ass for six years - he's got everything he needs in life already.
I can't figure Zell Miller out. He would fit very well in the GOP. I have no answer other than he looks at his voters and sees political suicide in going republican. There are still a lot more yellow dog democrats that are quite conservative in the south than you may imagine they just cannot break old ties to the dems. My dad was like that. He was as “right wing” as any republican on earth and he could NEVER bring himself to vote for anyone but a democrat.