To the "Democrats" supporting Kean

[Nym90]

Democrats who support Lieberman should be asked a similar question since he is already flirting with the idea of switching sides.

If he's considering switching, I'd be 100% for Lamont, and I think Lamont would then win as well, as Connecticut doesn't want a Republican Senator.

Has he actually announced he is considering a switch, or is this just a rumor?

[Nym90]

Democrats who support Lieberman should be asked a similar question since he is already flirting with the idea of switching sides.

If he's considering switching, I'd be 100% for Lamont, and I think Lamont would then win as well, as Connecticut doesn't want a Republican Senator.

Has he actually announced he is considering a switch, or is this just a rumor?

Yeah he actually said he would consider it if he couldn't keep his seniority.

In that case I wouldn't necessarily blame him for at least thinking about it, as stripping him of seniority would be a pretty big move for the Democrats to take. They'd essentially be kicking him out of the party.

Of course, I'd still oppose him strongly and be disgusted if he'd switch, though I'd also be upset at the Dems for considering stripping his seniority as well.

[Nym90]

The problem in the House is that no legislation can even be brought up for a vote now unless it has a majority support of the majority party. That pretty much kills any chance for bipartisan cooperation on most legislation. And it's a rule, I might add, that's been added under Republican leadership. When Democrats had the majority, legislation was proposed and passed despite being opposed by a majority of the Democrats.

So saying that both sides are equally to blame for a failure to be bipartisan is completely false, at least in the House. The minority truly is nearly powerless under the current rules.

[Nym90]

The problem in the House is that no legislation can even be brought up for a vote now unless it has a majority support of the majority party. That pretty much kills any chance for bipartisan cooperation on most legislation. And it's a rule, I might add, that's been added under Republican leadership. When Democrats had the majority, legislation was proposed and passed despite being opposed by a majority of the Democrats.

So saying that both sides are equally to blame for a failure to be bipartisan is completely false, at least in the House. The minority truly is nearly powerless under the current rules.

Which is why they should be proposing co-sponsored, realistic legislation.  I could put together a piece of legislation and get it approved by the majority if I wanted to, but that doesn't mean it's reasonable legislation if all it did was add pork to their states and/or greases their wheels.  There are a lot more moderates on both sides of the aisle than one thinks.  You structure your legislation around that moderate axis, and you'll get your majority support.

But currently the Democrats would have to propose legislation which is supported by the majority of Republicans. The median Republican member of Congress, especially in the House, is quite conservative and not at all moderate.

And yes, the same is true for the Democrats, which is why basically any chance of bipartisan moderate legislation is zero until and unless that rule is lifted.

[Nym90]

I can't get that some of you are so blindly partisan that you actually think Democratic primary voters rather than the electorate as a whole should decide who gets a senate seat. It's complete bull and nonsense. If Lieberman actually wins (which right now seems very likely) he obviously wouldn't be a "sore loser". He would be the winner, with popular support. He is trying to represent the entire state, and not just the Democratic state party. There is nothing wrong with that.

Agreed. If Lieberman loses I'll have no problem at all supporting Lamont and I think he'll be a fine Senator. I honestly don't care who wins the race all that much, but I do think Lieberman is a good Senator and the party and the nation are both better off with him in office than out of office.