PURE GOLD: 2010 Senate Races

An early look at the U.S. Senate races will surely send a cold chill down spines at the Democratic Headquarters. In all likelihood the GOP will win Senate seats, so much so that there is a real possibility that they could actually take control of the Upper House, wiping out the current Democratic control   of 59-4l, with the Democrats counting on the two independents to support their control.

First, the Democrats will certainly lose two seats, in North Dakota and Indiana, thanks to the retirements by Senators Byron Dorgan and Evan Bay in traditionally conservative states. And further, at the time of this writing, as many as eight more seats are in peril.

 

Joe Biden’s seat in Delaware will likely go Republican, as Biden’s temporary replacement, Ted   Kaufman, leaves the scene. The Democrats miscalculated, assuming the younger Biden would take his dad’s seat, but he decided he wanted to stay on as the state’s Attorney General.

 

In Illinois, a product of the ongoing party scandal, Roland Burris, has temporarily filled the old Obama seat while the GOP has come up with a scandal-free candidate in Rep. Mark Kirk.

 

Possibly the cruelest blow of all to Democratic prospects is the precarious candidacy of state Attorney General Dick Blumenthal, considered a sure bet to replace the retiring Chris Dodd. Blumenthal was considered Mr. Integrity until it turns out he lied about serving in Vietnam.

 

Another lost Senate seat might be in Arkansas where incumbent Blanche Lincoln has been forced into a runoff primary against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who has strong labor support. Both have spent a lot of money in the primary fight and it will be a problem in uniting the party in November.

 

Then we have the weak position of the Senate leader Harry Reid in Nevada who finds he trailing several Republicans in recent poling. Ironically, he might be helped if the Tea party candidate, Sharon Angel, should decide to run as an independent, splitting the Republican vote.

 

In Pennsylvania, the upset primary loss of Sen. Arlen Specter, who had held the Senate seat for four terms as a Republican before switching parties, created new problems for the Democrats? The upstart winner, Rep. Joe Sestak, a former admiral who ran to the left of Specter, will   now face Pat Toomey, who gave Specter a very tough race six years ago in the Republican primary. This contest belongs in the nail-biting column.

 

Another nail-biter awaits Democrats in Colorado where Michael Bennet, appointed to succeed Sen. Ken Salazar, now Secretary of Interior, runs for a full term but faces a primary threat from the left from Andrew Romanoff, who served in the Colorado legislature. However here the GOP has its own tough primary battle, including a Tea Party entree in Ken Buck, an attorney.

 

Finally, in New York, Kirsten Gillibrand, running for a full term for Hillary's seat, has avoided a primary but could be in a lot of trouble should former Gov. George Pataki decide to run against her.

 

On the brighter side, the Democrats do have a shot at open seats due to Republican retirements. Kit Bond in Missouri, Judd Greg in New Hampshire and George Voinovich in Ohio have abandoned seats that Democrats might take. Their best bets are Rep. Paul Hodes in New Hampshire and Lt. Gen. Lee Fisher in Ohio.

 

The early Senate scene would not be complete without a look at the Tea Party phenomenon. First sign of Tea Party strength occurred in Utah where solid conservative Bob Bennett could not even survive a party convention, demonstrating the anti-incumbent sentiment generated by the current heirs of No-Nothing government.

 

The major Tea Party win occurred in Kentucky where a Neanderthal libertarian, Rand Paul, soundly whipped a country club Republican, and declared an American revolution. Briefly, he is for unfettered capitalism and against government regulation. He finds that Social Security and Medicare violate the Constitution since they are not mentioned in the founding document! He claims he opposes discrimination but says barring blacks from sitting at lunch counters during the civil rights struggle was the prerogative of the restaurant owner, supported by free speech guaranteed in the First Amendment. He would shut down the federal departments on education and agriculture, as well as the IRS. He now calls Obama un-American for blaming BP for the catastrophic oil spill. He reflects many of the views held by his father, Rep. Ron Paul, whom up until now was the best-known libertarian.             

 

The Tea Party has also taken the maverick out of Sen. John McCain who is being accused of being too liberal by a primary opponent C. D. Hayworth, a Tea Party supporter. McCain, who once supported a balanced approach on immigration now talks only about building a giant fence on the Arizona-Mexican border. He is likely to prevail at the polls.

 

A final thought about control of the Senate. In Florida the Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio has won the Republican senatorial nomination, but Gov. Charlie Crist will challenge him as an independent. Crist has a good chance since he will likely siphon away votes from Rep. Kendrick Meek, the Democratic candidate who has no chance of winning.   Should Crist win, which party would he support in organizing the Senate? He won't say but it will probably be the party that maintains a majority, and we won’t know that until November.

 

As of now the upcoming Senate races offer a pretty bleak outlook for those who believe our government has a role in creating a fair society and should be willing to help those most in need.