Posted on 05/09/2005 1:13:30 PM PDT by CHARLITE
The departures of Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) will result in competitive US Senate elections in 2006 in two states where Republicans are not historically strong, though the special circumstances that apply to those seats make them within reach of the GOP.
The former will have special meaning for Republicans since its occupant unilaterally handed control of the US Senate to the opposing party from 2001 to 2003. Because the Republicans enjoyed a historic victory in the 2002 midterms, the actions of the Benedict Arnold from the home of Ethan Allen had limited implications, aside from giving the politically late Tom Daschle quasi-justification for penning his ridiculously titled tome, Like No Other Time, available at a Dollar Store near you!
If anything the Quisling of the Green Mountain State did more harm than good to his new allies' cause by firing up Republicans incensed by a change in government without a vote of the people.
I am actually disappointed that Jeffords is stepping down thus depriving his constituents of having a chance to render their collective opinion on his defection. At a minimum Jeffords should have followed in the honorable steps of Texan Phil Gramm, who when caught in a similar philosophical situation though from a different angle, resigned his seat and let the electorate pass judgment on his change of affiliation.
Perhaps what annoyed me the most about Jeffords was/is his continued pretense of being an "Independent" and not a Democrat, the group he caucused with for control of the Senate. If Jeffords was really an "Independent" then why was he so prominent on the Democratic fundraising circuit?
Jeffords' actions brought shame to him, his office, the Republicans who have held their noses and supported him over the years, and to his self-declared moniker of convenience. His perfidy has done little aside earn him the contempt of his peers and a possible line in a future Politics edition of Trivial Pursuit.
His name will be remembered alongside that of the already forgotten Wayne Morse of Oregon, who pulled a similar stunt during the Eisenhower Administration.
Prospects for a Republican pick up in Vermont could be better than expected if there is a split in the liberal vote assuming a Democratic candidate and Socialist At-Large Congressman Bernie Sanders both make the ballot.
Further south on the Chesapeake, the opening up of the Paul Sarbanes seat could lead to the election of a black conservative Republican.
Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, the more conservative half of the surprisingly successful GOP tandem for Maryland's state leadership during the 2002 midterms, is the hoped for nominee by many Republicans around the country who want to see increased diversity in party leadership without sacrificing principle.
Legions of Republican activists and leaders are under the impression that promenading non-whites in front of the camera is the ticket to increasing the GOP's pitiful share of the black vote. Despite this tactic having failed time and time again, the miserable track record has not deterred the zeal of party window-dressers.
To his credit, Lt. Governor Steele would be more than an "extra" on the national stage. A forceful speaker who knows why he is a Republican, Steele would be a welcome addition to the pro-life bloc in a Republican Senate with a significant "social progressive" wing.
Steele's candidacy would draw as much attention from GOP donors as Hillary's opponent "to be named later", which would put added pressure on the Democrats' campaign coffers, which is assured as the opposition party is as obsessed with defeating minority Republican candidates as the GOP is driven to elect them.
One of the constant patterns of conduct by the Democrats during confirmation hearings is that they go into overdrive at beating down minority nominees. In the special interest quilt that is the Democratic Party, the "minority patch" is its most important due to the tendency of non-whites to vote Democrat by large margins.
Whenever a self-assured minority is tapped by a Republican for an important post, there is screaming at the DNC...even more so under the Howard Dean chairmanship. The rough treatment afforded by Democrats towards minority GOP nominees for both elective and appointive positions is intended to send a message, though many of these non-stereotypical Republicans have been toughened up already by earlier, more personal confrontations over his or her unorthodox party choice.
Going into 2007 when the new Senate class takes office, Bill Frist, who is also stepping down, will not be the Majority Leader in the US Senate. With three Democrat retirements (add Minnesota) in "not as secure as they should be" states, it's a safe bet Harry Reid won't be Majority Leader either.
"Legions of Republican activists and leaders are under the impression that promenading non-whites in front of the camera is the ticket to increasing the GOP's pitiful share of the black vote. Despite this tactic having failed time and time again, the miserable track record has not deterred the zeal of party window-dressers."
I'm from Maryland. I hope that Steele becomes our Senator. I that Democrat Kweisi Mfume, former President of the NAACP is going to run. I really hope that Mfume doesn't become our Senator. Mfume is like Jesse Jackson.
Steele would make an excellent Senator.
Yeah, who the hell writes these things, and is there really much chance of winning a seat in MD or VT? I doubt it.
Steele will have a difficult job in winning Sarbanes' seat. Who else on the Dem side will be running in addition to Queasy?
If the GOP keeps putting up middle of the road RINO's who are sometimes indistinguishable from liberals, than it'd be no surprise for them to lose elections.
"Prospects for a Republican pick up in Vermont could be better than expected if there is a split in the liberal vote assuming a Democratic candidate and Socialist At-Large Congressman Bernie Sanders both make the ballot."
From what I have read, the Democratic party in Vermont is planning to endorse Sanders. So the liberal vote won't split.
Besides Mfume, there would also be Representatives Elijah Cummings and Chris Van Hollen---both liberal Democrats.
It's funny how our 'window dressing' (Colin Powell, Condi Rice, Clerance Thomas) all reached higher levels than prominant black Democrats. The three most powerful African-Americans in the last several years are all GOPers. That is shocking considering when about 35% of the Democratic votes come from African-Americans. How are these 35% represented in Democratic Party????
There is an element of truth in that, but it overstates the truth - which is that, other things being equal, Republicans would like to nominate a conservative black. In that sense, Republican voters are true affirmative action voters.The "miserable track record" of which he speaks is, I would say, essentially that of one man - Alan Keyes. A man of undoubted talent who has managed to put off as many voters as he attracts, leaving him with only the base Republican vote, or something like it.
I was amazed at Keyes' defensive tone on the "carpet bagger" issue last year. It was entirely defensible that the Illinois GOP go out of state to get a candidate on short notice after the Democrats had violated the legitimate privacy rights of the GOP incumbent by prying divorce records out from their sealed status. The Democrats behaved dishonorably, and that should have been the only issue in the campaign, not whether Keyes was a legitimate candidate for the Illinois seat.
The comparison should have been with the NJ Supreme Court inserting Frank Lousenberg as a new candidate for the Democrats in the '02 Senate race, for no other reason than that the legitimate Democratic candidate was tanking in the polls (and resigned under pressure, without any admission that he was - and was known by his party as - a crook). The difference in Illinois was that invidious "information" was leaked about the incumbent of illegitimate provenance - information which the Republican Party of Illinois should not have been ashamed to admit that it had not known. And that, if my information is correct, the Republican Party of Illinois had not had to bend any Illinois law in order to put Mr. Keyes' name on the ballot.
You're "always right" with this. What a super comment. Thanks! What is obviously needed is more focused education by prominent black GOPers in traditionally DNC voting communities, nationwide. The problem with this idea is that those whom you mention (Rice, Powell, Thomas) have reached such a high professional level that they legitimately don't have time to "make the rounds" of black constituencies. More's the pity. (JC Watts can't be everywhere 24/7.)
Based on recent news and reports regarding his behavior, I no longer think he switched out of convenience.
He seems to be losing his mental health and mental faculties, his behavior is now quite odd and strange. He should resign and seek help.
Alan "I'm From Illinois" Keyes could move back to Maryland and run and see if he can best his showing in Illinois. Then after he loses he can move back to Illinois and run against Osama Bin Laden and lose again.
You can't beat somebody with nobody, which is the case in Vermont. Maryland is not much better.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.