Bad News for Republicans

One of my major concerns prior to the election was that Barak Obama would become the next President of the United States and the Democrats would gain a veto-proof majority in the United States Senate.   Under these circumstances, it is clear there would be no checks and balances on the power of the Democratic Party.    The Democrats would be able to pass anything they wanted with little opposition or debate.   Don’t forget we are talking about a Democratic Party that has moved sharply to the left and is controlled by liberals. 

The Democrats need 60 seats in the Senate to have a veto-proof majority.    They will have a minimum of 58 seats in January when the newly elected members of the Senate take office.   There are still two undecided Senate races.   A recount is underway in Minnesota, and there will be a run-off election in Georgia on December 2.    If the Democrats win in both Minnesota and Georgia, they will have their veto-proof majority, and there will be no way for the Republicans to block any legislation the Democrats want to pass.   Even if the Republicans win in Minnesota and Georgia, the Democrats will have 58 seats in the Senate and will be able to pass anything they want with the help of only two liberal Republicans.   There are several liberal Republicans in the Senate who would probably be more than happy to align themselves with the Democrats in order to win praise from the news media. 

NBC News distributes a daily e-mail called “First Read,” which generally reflects a liberal bias but also sometimes contains some valuable factual information.    Today’s version of First Read points out that even if the Democrats don’t reach 60 Senate seats this year, they will probably get there in 2010.   According to First Read, the Democrats will enter the 2010 elections for the Senate with a favorable hand.   In 2010, the Democrats will have to defend 16 Senate seats compared to 19 seats for the Republicans.   First Read believes the 16 seats the Democrats will have to defend in 2010 look reasonably safe at the present time.   On the other hand, First Read believes the Republicans will have to defend several seats where the Republican incumbent may retire or will face a serious risk of defeat.    The Republican seats identified by First Read as being challenging for Republicans or potentially left vacant by an incumbent who retires include those occupied by Mel Martinez of Florida, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, David Vitter of Louisiana, John McCain of Arizona, George Voinovich of Ohio, and Chuck Grassley of Iowa.  In short, First Read concludes that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to pick up Senate seats in 2010. 

The bottom line is that the near-term outlook for Republicans is grim.   I hate to admit it, but the Republicans deserve their fate.   The Democrats will be able to blame everything that is wrong with the country on George Bush and the Republicans for a year or so.   After that, they will have no excuses.    I hope the Democrats succeed because I want what is best for the country and for me personally.    In my opinion, however, the Democrats will not be successful if they actually implement the policies they are now proposing.    If they implement their agenda, they will push a country that is already on the verge of bankruptcy over the cliff.   The Republicans will then have an opportunity to regain some power, but they will inherit a situation that is even worse than the problems they have left for the Democrats to solve.