I think folk are making a mistake in considering 60 seats as some sort of binary thing. The fact is that a party that controls the White House can pretty much get by with a simple majority in the Senate and win most of what it wants. The Democrats could in theory have filibustered plenty in 2004-2006, but the GOP would have simply rolled all their bills into one and sat the filibuster out if it came to that. Applying the same tactics with control of the Senate but not the WH ends in a veto and if you don’t have the votes to rise a filibuster you certainly can’t get an override.

In practice it is highly unlikely that the GOP will return with 41 movement conservative types committed to obstructionism for its own sake and at all costs. If the Democrats win 45-48 seats it will probably be enough to do pretty much everything.

More Democrats in the Senate is still better of course. But only if they are Democrats. Party discipline matters much more than getting to a numerical 60. What this means is that it is much more important to strip Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship than keep him on just to get to 60. Lieberman needs to be made an example of – kick him out of the caucus, strip him of his committee seats and administer the order of the pineapple.

I thought the correct appellations were now “Real Virginia” or “Non-Marxist Virginia,” SC.

8^)

That’s a good defensive position, and one which they exploited quite successfully in 1993-4. In a time of econmic pain, please note.