Will The Democrats Win A Filibuster-Proof Senate?

Key to a filibuster-proof Senate is in Oklahoma

Yesterday we used CQPolitics new tool to see which members of the House have clung most desperately to Bush's agenda. We exposed the worst Republican and Democratic rubber stamps-- and the handful of proud Democrats who have resisted most consistently. Today, let's do the same thing for the Senate.

First, the most pathetic senatorial Republican rubber stamps who are up for re-election in 2 weeks:

John Cornyn (TX)
Michael Enzi (WY)
James Inhofe (OK)
Mitch McConnell (KY)
Thad Cochran (MS)
Jeff Sessions (AL)
Saxby Chambliss (GA)
John McCain (AZ)

Now the worst of the Vichy Democrats, the traitors who have backed Bush up, betrayed working families and are as responsible for the nation's problems as are the Republicans:

Ben Nelson (NE)
Mary Landrieu (LA)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Mark Pryor (AR)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Max Baucus (MT)

Those are the worst of the Democrats, none of whom are worthy of being re-elected. There were damn few Democrats who really stood up to Bush in a consistently meaningful way. The best ones:

Bernie Sanders (VT)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Ben Cardin (MD)
Robert Menendez (NJ)
Jon Tester (MT)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Amy Klobuchar (MN)

Voters are in a pissed off mood-- and it isn't only McCain they're pissed off at. It looks like the target isn't going to be the Bush Democrats-- just rubber stamp Republicans. Today's Boston Globe predicts an electoral bloodbath in both houses. And in the Senate they've honed in on Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), while mentioning that Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), John Sununu (R-NH), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are all also in grave jeopardy of losing their seats.

Blue America's Senate Page only features 5 progressives that are the tough races that will make the difference between Democrats having an enhanced majority that will still be subject to systematic obstructionism from reactionaries and having a filibuster-proof majority-- and one that includes real live progressives who won't be joining the Ben Nelsons and Mary Landrieux as they cross the aisle to stab working families in the back. There is virtually no way to get to 60 Democrats (and that's 60 without Lieberman of course) without electing at least a couple of the great candidates in the difficult races:

Andrew Rice (OK)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Tom Allen (ME)
Rick Noriega (AK)
Mark Begich (AK)

Please consider donating today. In fact, anyone who spreads some contributions to all 5 of our candidates in the next 24 hours will get a present from Blue America.