If Harry Reid goes down, does anyone have a plan?

[hijinx87]

the anti-reid stuff is beyond belief. if he loses, does anyone have a legislative plan?

[neverforget]

1. Somebody else will take charge. It's up to the voters of Nevada not

DU'ers.

[hijinx87]

3. only if we keep the senate

on the up side, it would be charles schumer. on the downside, it will be some freaking republican. every seat counts, including his. if we want to replace him, and I do, let's do it our way.

[karynnj]

28. or Durbin

It is very obvious that Schumer wants it, but Durbin might be more able to work with others. Even as the public face of the Senate, Durbin's low key, Midwesterner niceness and his always articulate answers minght be better than either Reid or the more aggressive sounding Schumer. Schumer also was long seen as Wall Street's senator. Durbin is the more consistent liberal. (In one of his less mainstream comments,Durbin spoke of the banks having too much influence on Senators. The Republicans now want to label the Democrats as the party connected to the banks and Wall Street. It will be much harder to do with Durbin, who introduced anti- predatory legislation MANY times in the early 2000s than with Schumer.

[golfguru]

51. I agree, Durbin is more likeable than Schumer

and speaks more coherently.

[newspeak]

54. "it's up to the voters of Nevada"

Well, I'm a Nevadan who's still shaking her head in disgust of those who voted for Gibbons. After the alleged assault on a cocktail waitress (by the way his alleged mistress has some of the same looks as the woman assaulted), stories about conflict of business interests--but the "intelligent people" of Nevada still decided to make him governor, because ya know that Titus has an "ACCENT." No lie, that was one of the reasons for not voting for Titus.

And up North in CHENEY country, you can forget about some people having any form of common sense. As a matter of fact, I believe they voted in Gibbons. Now they got signs stating "ANYONE BUTT REID." I am a progressive, and I'd vote for a progressive--but if Reid is the choice, then I'm voting for him over someone like, Tarkanian (I hear he's a land developer repuke). Of course, some would probably vote for him just because of his daddy-popular coach at UNLV--but he ain't his daddy.

Also, we've got one of the most neo-con repukiest papers in the states. It has always been repuke (at least since I was in HS). We once had competition with two papers (the better one being the Las Vegas Sun), but now the repuke paper just carries a small section of the former Las Vegas Sun. It's quite sad really--having to look at the editorial page and see complete nuttiness like Ann Coulter articles and other neo-con knuckledraggers.

My whole family votes--we don't miss, even if we're unexcited--we'll just see what happens.

[tammywammy]

2. Especially if Reid going down and we lose the majority.

If people think the republicans are slowing things up now, it'll only get worse if we lose the Senate. Or if we maintain the majority who will be the next majority leader?

[mr715]

4. The Whip or the Chair

The Majority Whip (Dick Durbin) is the next in line. I DOUBT he will become majority leader because he is from Illinois and the President is from Illinois.

Charles Schumer, the Chairman of the Democratic Conference, would likely become leader of the party. He is a senior party official and, more importantly, has helped elect a large number of the Democratic caucus. He'd be running the show.

The the Democrats are in the minority but Reid wins, I bet the same story pans out.


Majority Leader will be Schumer
Whip will be someone like Patty Murray

[ChicagoSuz219]

5. Sen. Durbin is less divisive than Chuck Schumer...

...I think.

[mr715]

6. Ehhhhh

Dick Durbin is pretty hard line liberal.

Chuck Schumer is harder line liberal.

I think the bigger controversy is if the majority leader of the Senate and the President both come from the same state. It would be a little bit different if Durbin was in the minority, but I think if the Democrats lose the majority, they'd probably dump both their leaders (Reid and Durbin).

Schumer will be majority leader is Harry Reid loses but the democrats keep the majority (80%).

Schumer will likely be minority leader if Reid loses and the democrats lose the majority (60%)



I remember when he first ran. Helluva nice guy.

[sandnsea]

7. Durbin is a for the people liberal

Schumer is a pro-business New York liberal, that means he's out of step with most of the rest of the country. He gives me the creeps. It would be a huge mistake for him to ever be Senate Majority Leader. Only a handful of blue dogs would be worse.

[mr715]

9. No way

Schumer is a New York liberal.

Durbin is a Illinois liberal.

Different flavors of liberal. Schumer likes is liberal thin, foldable, and served on paper plates. Durbin likes deep dish liberal.


Pro-business is not necessarily a bad thing. But so is Durbin. They're very comparable.

New York Liberals are the best kind of liberals. We ain't guilty about it.

[karynnj]

32. None of your definitions have any meaning

Now, I think Schumer is a liberal on social issues, but he, more than any other Democrat, was for the excesses allowed on Wall Street. The problem is that, as a NY Senator, the "businesses" he was pro, were the banks, hedge funds etc

I do think he is the most likely winner, but I really do not like it.

[mr715]

42. NY vs. Chicago Style Pizza Reference

[karynnj]

46. True, but as someone who lived in the Chicago surburbs and now live in teh NY

suburbs, I don't think that there is the difference in the type of liberal you suggest. (By the way, Northern NJ has far better pizza than the Chicago area. )

[mr715]

48. There very much is.

a NY liberal is not a Texas liberal is not a Maine liberal is not a New Hampshire liberal.

Liberals in Illinois have lots more party discipline, are less aggressive, and have ideas on farm policy (see? I'm a New Yorker - everywhere else in the country is a farm).

Geography shapes personality, and a NY liberal like Schumer has a different take than a midwestern liberal like Dick Durbin. Same GENERAL philosophy, but different notes.

[karynnj]

49. I did not say ALL areas are the same

But I did say I have lived in both the Chicago area and the NY area - decades in each. As a whole NYC is more liberal than Chicago, which makes it more remarkable that Durbin is more liberal than Schumer.

As to farm policy, NY has huge rural areas. I don't recall Mayor Daley Sr being all that passive - he was pretty aggressive - and not liberal.

[mr715]

50. NY is not NYC

Schumer is a NYC liberal, not a NY liberal.

But even the NYC/Chicago liberal thing - the tone of the politician is very different. Take Clinton and Obama - Senators with a very similar voting record but a vastly different tone.

Its just interesting to me. How the Senate leadership will pan out in the sad event that Reid loses his seat.


MR

[karynnj]

52. I know Schumer is a NYC liberal - but for a NYC liberal, he's not very liberal

He is not Ruth Messinger - or Bella Abzug - or even Jacob Javits.

I think the difference is more their personalities. For Schumer and Durbin as well as Obama and Clinton.

[mr715]

10. I stand (slightly) corrected

Durbin is more liberal than Schumer according to ontheissues.com

They are comparable - 90% liberal for Durbin, 80% liberal for Schumer (skewed towards populism).

But Schumer is awesome. Love the guy.

[ChicagoSuz219]

11. I like Schumer, too...

...I meant divisive re: working w/republicans. I think Durbin may have better working relationships with them... if anyone can now.

He also has the President's ear... and vice-versa.

[mr715]

12. I think working with the GOP is secondary

This is a political decision for the Democratic caucus, and I think the calculus of how a "one state government" would look would inform their decision.

The President and the Congress will tend not to be from the same state.

Most democrats owe Schumer personally for their positions...

[karynnj]

35. The majority leader also becomes the "face" of the Democrats in the Senate

It is completely untrue to say that "most" Democrats "owe" Schumer their positions. First of all "most" of the Democrats did not gain election in 2006 and 2008. Second, their wins were not due to Schumer heading the DSCC. ANY Democrat heading the DSCC would have done well - Bush was in the 20s and 30s.

[mr715]

39. No -

Whether or not a strict majority, my point is the same. A large chunk of the Democratic caucus are closely tied with Schumer. I'm alleging they would favor him over Durbin for two reasons: the Illinois-Illinois thing and that they have had more contact with Schumer through their campaigns.

The DSCC RECRUITED candidates and helped fund them. Yeah, Democrats would do well, the but the DSCC endorsement, funding, and mobilization apparatus would vastly favor Schumer's picks. Some would undoubtably had not been Senators had he not selected them.

Schumer is a master, Menendez is not.


But I'm not saying Durbin wouldnt be great, but I don't expect it to happen.

[depakid]

20. Schumer is -and has been a Wall Street lackey

More of what the Democratic party needs to reconnect with Main Street & ordinary Americans, don't you think?

[karynnj]

33. "skewed towards populism"

More spinning. It is not clear where those % are on the website.

However, 90 and 80 are not comparable in many indices - 90 might be among the top, while 80 near the bottom of Democrats.

There is no agreed upon definition of populism, but from most definitions, Schumer is more a liberal than he is a populist.

[mr715]

40. Very bottom

2 axis grid.

[Mass]

45. I dislike Schumer. He is too careful and not ready to take a risk.

A centrist at heart. During the period before 2006,, Schumer was among those who were refusing any action because it would frighten the center. We dont need this.

[karynnj]

31. I think you hit it on the head, Schumer was the "Senator from Wall Street"

In a time when the big banks and Wall Street are the most hated American institutions, it is not the time for us to have Schumer as the face of our party in the Senate.

[karynnj]

30. There is no way that Schumer is more liberal than Durbin

In addition, there are MANY people responsible for electing Democrats in 2006 and 2008. The main factor was that by 2006, Bush was in the 30 somethings percent popularity. Beyond that, you had Dean strengthening all the state parties, which would have made the biggest difference in close races. You also had all the others Democrats who were out there. John Kerry, more than anyone other than the candidate, likely was responsible for Webb getting the nomination and winning. Kerry's endorsement, after Webb wrote a swiftboat like editorial in 2004, moved many people who were against him for that or other reasons. In addition, Webb had run out of money and Kerry's appeal gave him most of his get out the vote money. It is likely that Allen would have coasted to victory against the less colorful Miller - there would not likely have been a Macaca moment.

That is NOT to say that Schumer did not do a good job, he did.

As to nice guy, everyone appears to be a nice guy when running for office. There are enough stories that show Schumer's rough elbows to suggest that "nice" might not be the first word that comes to mind for his peers when his name comes up. (just consider his PUBLIC support for Clinton, while he was privately with Reid pushing Obama to win. Now, I was for Obama - but that suggests Machiavellian and dishonesty rather than "nice".)

I see no problem that both Obama and Durbin are from Illinois.

[Mass]

47. That is because he is not. On ontheissues.org, here are their ratings.

Remembering that Schumer is the type of opportunistic populist (yelling as long as he does not need to lead on the issues or that the issue is easy, like making sure an arab country does not have stake in the port of New York (who would disagree), you can see that there is no photo.

[Raine1967]

8. Durbin!

or Schumer.

I like both, and both are positioning themselves for the position.

BTW--- Chuck was my senator before I left the state, I still like him-- I like Durbin better for the lead gig.

[TexasObserver]

13. Democrats could pick a leader at random and do better than Reid.

Reid has been worse than useless. I don't want to lose his seat, but losing him in the primary would be preferable. He's terrible. I don't know who he works for, but it's not Democrats.

[damonm]

14. One word:

Baucus.

Thre's that theory shot to hell.

[TexasObserver]

18. I said DEMOCRATS.

[damonm]

38. oooohhhhhhh....

you mean "actual Democrats" as opposed to DINOs - OK, gotcha.

[kenny blankenship]

55. They could but won't. They picked him BECAUSE they wanted a weak leader. Nothing has changed there.

So expect them to continue to promote weakness in order to retain their maximum, individual opportunities for hostage taking and vote selling.

This dynamic has been explained many times. Why people can't accept the plain truth in front of their faces, even AFTER the causes behind it have been spelled out is the only remaining mystery here.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

15. Don't worry it will send a message that liberals must be heard and will

usher in a whole new era of progressive accomplishment.

[mkultra]

56. or will give conservatives the footing they need to obstruct us

and make us look even more useless to the middle thereby solidifying the next election cycle. If progressives want a voice, they need to elect progressives, not conservatives.

[Kablooie]

16. The Senate Dems are so scattered that without a strong, hard leader they will remain feckless.

The problem with Democrats in both the House and Senate is not the makeup of the members but the lack of strong leaders.
I don't know much about Schumer or Durbin but without strong leadership we might as well hang up our rackets and go home.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

17. To me, the House is doing ok. The Senate is a POS and Harry has more then dropped the ball.

However, losing a seat is losing a seat. I'll take Milquetoast Harry over any puke that anyone here can name.

[karynnj]

53. Reid's job is harder. Pelosi can completely control what hits the floor in the House

and only needs a 50% majority to pass things.

[grantcart]

19. Harry Reid going down

Does anybody have a formula that will get vomit out of a keyboard?

[hayu_lol]

21. Reid going down...

time for a huge party. More so if he were to take Nelson down with him.

[Jennicut]

22. Durbin and Schumer HAVE to be better then spineless Harry.

Anyone has to be better then him.

[freddie mertz]

23. We aren't the ones who should be planning for this.

The Senate Dems and the WH are the ones who will have to deal with this.

I'm not confident, though.

They seem to have anticipated not a single one of the many other setbacks we have faced this year.

[Jennicut]

25. The WH is probably closer to Durbin then Reid.

Obama and Durbin are both from Illinois.

[salguine]

24. Pop some champagne.

[The Wizard]

26. Dig up LBJ

attach some wires and play audio of him talking to senators when he was majority leader and president.

[Arkana]

44. "Senator Johnson, do you think you can whip the votes for the PO?"

Johnson: BRRAAAAAAIIINNNNSSSSS

[LiberalFighter]

27. The best scenario is for Reid to win his seat in Nevada.

And the Senators elect a different Majority Leader.

For the Democrats to kick Lieberman out of their caucus and remove him from any chair positions.

For them to ignore Nelson, Landreiu, Lincoln, Conrad, and Baucus.

Make sure they have enough Senators elected to prevent minority status without that above.

[cadmium]

29. Mitch McConnell will be majority leader. nt

[ProgressOnTheMove]

34. It is a catch 22 with Reid he votes the right way he sometimes organized the Dem's to act ..

co-ordinatedly. It's just when Nancy can pass bills with ease and it's going wrong in the Senate, it's only natural Reid would face some scrutiny. I think we campaign hard enough we can have a +60 majority with Reid or potentially without him. THings will look brighter by November and the potential to retain and gain seats greter.

[cmd]

36. Sherrod Brown

enough said

[IndianaGreen]

37. How about Durbin for Majority Leader?

:shrug:

[craigmatic]

41. If Reid loses either Schumer or Durbin will step up

I personally hope it's Durbin because he seems more forceful when dealing with repigs than Schumer who is just in it for the spotlight

[Arkana]

43. Put Durbin in charge, profit.

[Vidar]

57. Celebration.