This image represents the current political composition of the Senate in the 113th US Congress. There are 53 Democrats and two independents (Sanders, a socialist, and King, a centrist) who typically vote with the Dems. This awards a slim numerical majority to the Democrats, if not a filibuster-proof one. It also gives them the position of Majority Leader.
As happens every two years, about one-third of the Senate is up for re-election this coming November. Seven of these Senators are Democrats who hold seats in Republican states–Begich of Alaska, Pryor of Arkansas, Landrieu of Louisiana, Walsh of Montana, Hagan of North Carolina, Johnson of South Dakota, and Rockefeller of West Virginia (this information derived from Wikipedia‘s great page on the 2014 Senate election, which has useful charts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2014#Competitive_seats).
These folks stayed on or were carried into office thanks to the Obama landslide of 2008, even though all of them reside in states that Obama lost. Now that the president’s poll numbers are in a typical fifth-year slump, Rethugs are celebrating, I hope prematurely, their potential takeover of the Senate this fall. Ranch Preebus, the nominal leader of the party, is telling everyone that his polls show a “tsunami” of support for their candidates. Preebus’ squeaking was enough to put Chris Matthews and his ilk into a funk all day yesterday.
Me too.
Mathematically, the Thugs need six more seats to win Senate votes. Five won’t do it because Joe Biden is still the veep, and he can be counted on to cast the deciding Dem vote on any urgent legislation. If the Thugs net more than five, though, it’s Nelly bar the door. Given that the House will remain full of crazies, thanks to Thug gerrymandering, in that scenario all that stands between the country and full-on devastation is Obama’s veto.
Think of the damage a Rethug-led House and Senate can do: cut or eliminate medicaid, food stamps, unemployment insurance and other forms of welfare; lift regulations on Wall Street and remove environmental protections; allow drilling and fracking wherever oil barons want to do it; cut corporate taxes and lower the tax rate paid by the wealthy. They can continue to block judicial appointments–I shudder to think what will happen if a Supreme Court justice dies or retires while they are in charge. They will accelerate the takeover of schools and prisons by corporate entities. They will investigate everything the White House has said or done (BEN-GA-ZEE!), and the crazies in the house will probably agitate for impeachment proceedings against Obama and Eric Holder.
I don’t think they will have the nerve to cut medicare and/or social security because their supporters are mostly olds, but then you never know. Their supporters are also so blinded by hatred and rage–or so dense–that they might not even notice until their benefits are cut in half, or worse. Remember the tea partier whose sign said “Keep government out of my medicare”?
SO, Democrats and independents: we must ALL vote this fall. We must also make sure that all of us are still registered, especially if we live in a Thug-controlled state where the legislature might have sneaked through some provisions that will disenfranchise us. But we all must do even more, if we want to avoid a two-year period that will be even worse than the early years of the Bush administration.
People of color are already organizing all over the country–especially in the south–but they can’t stave off this threat by themselves. All of us who are not in the grip of Thug craziness need to join up with the local Democratic party in order to get out the vote. We need to talk to neighbors and friends if we know anyone who is persuadable–the potential threat to social security will work to persuade some folks, I’m sure, even in Joe Arpaio country. We have to make sure that women understand what is at stake for them and their children if the Thugs win the Senate.
I realize I’m preaching to the choir here. But sometimes one, or two, or three voices speaking up in the right place at the right time can work miracles.
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