I'm not the only one thinking of '08

Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) said he is mulling a '08 SEN bid against Sen. Jeff Sessions (R)

Press-Register:

In a state that has no black statewide officeholders, political handicappers offered varying odds on Davis' chances if he gets into the race. But his surprise announcement furnished quick evidence of a reshaped political landscape -- even in a Republican-leaning state like Alabama.

"It's a 180 degree change."

That is what we have to look forward to on the Senate EPW after Sen. Boxer takes over.

"As the new chair of the EPW Committee, I am already planning for vigorous oversight and legislation to make sure that the U.S. Senate is once again an environmental leader in protecting the health of our families and our children and addressing pressing concerns like global warming."

Good-bye Inhofe...enjoy your seat on the side. Being in the minority will allow you the time to actually read the data and maybe even arrive at a more logical conculsion.

WY: Thomas has Leukemia

Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), re-elected to his third term in the Senate on Tuesday, has been diagnosed with leukemia, his office announced today.

Thomas, chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee and a key Westerner on public lands and natural resources issues in the Senate, said in a statement he expects to perform his Senate duties during treatment. "I am joining all of the thousands and thousands of other cancer survivors in Wyoming," Thomas said. "I certainly didn't expect this diagnosis, but I will be back by the January session ready for full service in the new Congress."

Thomas was hospitalized Sunday for pneumonia, but further blood tests at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center led to a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, the most common form of the disease. Thomas will begin induction chemotherapy over the next four to six weeks.
Thomas has championed the expanded use of Wyoming's coal reserves and urged the state and Fish and Wildlife Service to reach an agreement on managing the endangered grey wolf. As Parks Subcommittee chairman, he has criticized the agency at times, most notably last fall when an Interior official promoted a draft handbook that would have dramatically altered the agency's mission. However, Thomas has also supported the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park.

VA: Update

Settle down George -- we'll find your football.

From Reuters:

Webb has claimed victory over Republican Sen. George Allen, and several media outlets including television networks NBC and CBS and The Associated Press also declared him the winner.

Allen has not conceded defeat, awaiting the outcome of a canvass of the state's voting tallies that could be completed by the end of the day.

If the numbers continue to favor Webb, Allen "has absolutely no intention of dragging this out," said a senior adviser to his campaign.

Slate for 2008

Woah -- already posting about 2008? Yep. I just want to lay it out who we are up against in '08 and who's seat we have to defend. We only have two years and a presidential campaign taking control of the media this election. As you can see the NRSC will have almost twice the amount of seats to defend.

Here they are:

REPUBLICANS

AL: Jeff Sessions
AK: Ted Stevens**
CO: Wayne Allard**
GA: Saxby Champbliss
ID: Larry Craig
KS: Pat Roberts**
KY: Mitch McConnell
ME: Susan Collins** (self-imposed term-limit)
MN: Norm Coleman
MS: Thad Cochran**
NE: Chuck Hagel**
NH: John Sununu
NM: Pete Domenici**
NC: Elizabeth Dole**
OK: Jim Inhofe**
OR: Gordon Smith
SC: Lindsay Graham
TN: Lamar Alexander
TX: John Cornyn
VA: John Warner**
WY: Michael Enzi

21 Seats

DEMOCRATS

AR: Mark Pryor
DE: Joe Biden** (running for president)
IL: Richard Durbin
IA: Tom Harkin
LA: Mary Landrieu
MA: John Kerry** (may run for president)
MI: Carl Levin**
MT: Max Baucus
NJ: Frank Lautenberg**
RI: John Reed
SD: Tim Johnson
WV: Jay Rockefeller**

12 Seats

** Rumors have circulated about possible retirements (more on this later)
NOTE: There is no way we will go into this election with fifteen open-seats as a result of retirement. So most of these 'rumors' are just that, rumors.

Senate Committee Assignments

Thanks to BooMan23 for this post of predictions... let the discussions begin:

Aging

Herbert Kohl- Chairman
Ron Wyden
Blanche Lincoln
Evan Bayh

Agriculture

Tom Harkin- Chairman
Patrick Leahy
Kent Conrad
Max Baucus

Appropriations

Robert Byrd- Chairman
Daniel Inouye
Patrick Leahy
Tom Harkin

Armed Services

Carl Levin- Chairman
Edward Kennedy
Robert Byrd
Joe Lieberman

Banking

Christopher Dodd- Chairman
Tim Johnson
Jack Reed
Charles Schumer

Budget

Kent Conrad- Chairman
Patty Murray
Ron Wyden
Russ Feingold

Commerce

Daniel Inouye- Chairman
Jay Rockefeller
John Kerry
Byron Dorgan

Energy

Jeff Bingaman- Chairman
Daniel Akaka
Byron Dorgan
Ron Wyden

Environment

Max Baucus (chair of Finance)
Joe Lieberman (chair of Homeland Security)
Barbara Boxer- Chairwoman
Tom Carper

Ethics

Tim Johnson- Co-Chairman
Mark Pryor
Ken Salazar

Finance

Max Baucus- Chairman
Jay Rockefeller
Kent Conrad
Jeff Bingaman

Foreign Relations

Joe Biden- Chairman
Christopher Dodd
John Kerry
Russ Feingold

Health, Education, Labor & Pensions

Edward Kennedy- Chairman
Christopher Dodd
Tom Harkin
Barbara Mikulski

Homeland Security & Government Affairs

Joe Lieberman- Chairman
Carl Levin
Daniel Akaka
Tom Carper

Indian Affairs

Byron Dorgan- Chairman
Daniel Inouye
Kent Conrad
Daniel Akaka

Intelligence

Jay Rockefeller- Chairman
Carl Levin
Diane Feinstein
Ron Wyden

Judiciary

Patrick Leahy- Chairman
Edward Kennedy
Joe Biden
Herbert Kohl

Rules

Christopher Dodd (chair of Banking)
Robert Byrd (chair of Appropriations)
Daniel Inouye (chair of Commerce)
Diane Feinstein- Chairwoman

Small Business

John Kerry- Chairman
Tom Harkin
Joe Lieberman
Mary Landrieu

Veteran's Affairs

Daniel Akaka- Chairman
Jay Rockefeller
Patty Murray
Barack Obama

Now, on Lieberman:

We don't really mind Lieberman chairing a committee on Homeland Security. The problem is that the committee is also in charge of Governmental Affairs. It's the equivalent of the Government Reform committee in the House and it should be investigating things like war profiteering. We really don't want Joe to be chairing that committee. Yet, we can't antagonize him too much or he might bolt the party and turn our 51-49 majority into a 50-50 split, with ties broken by the Vice-President. So, here is what I suggest doing.

Respect Joe's seniority. But offer him the chairmanship of the Environment committee. Joe is in line to chair that committee anyway because Max Baucus would much rather chair the Finance Committee. If Joe accepts this, who would be in line for the Homeland Security chair? Well, that would be Carl Levin, but he will want to chair Armed Services. Next in line is Daniel Akaka. He is in line to chair Veteran's Affairs, but he would much rather have Homeland Security.

Okay, you ask, but then who would be in line to chair Veteran's Affairs? The answer is Jay Rockefeller. But he would rather have Intelligence. That leaves it to Patty Murray. So, this is how I envision the committee chairs looking in the Senate:


Aging: Herbert Kohl- Chairman
Agriculture:Tom Harkin- Chairman
Appropriations: Robert Byrd- Chairman
Armed Services: Carl Levin- Chairman
Banking: Christopher Dodd- Chairman
Budget: Kent Conrad- Chairman
Commerce: Daniel Inouye- Chairman
Energy: Jeff Bingaman- Chairman
Environment: Joe Lieberman- Chairman
Ethics: Tim Johnson- Co-Chairman
Finance: Max Baucus- Chairman
Foreign Relations: Joe Biden- Chairman
Health, Education, Labor & Pensions: Edward Kennedy- Chairman
Homeland Security & Government Affairs: Daniel Akaka- Chairman
Indian Affairs: Byron Dorgan- Chairman
Intelligence: Jay Rockefeller- Chairman
Judiciary: Patrick Leahy- Chairman
Rules: Diane Feinstein- Chairwoman
Small Business: John Kerry- Chairman
Veteran's Affairs: Patty Murray- Chairwoman
We have a number of new Senators: Brown, Cardin, Casey, Klobuchar, McCaskill, Sanders, Tester, Webb, and Whitehouse. I'd like to see Klobuchar on Judiciary. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions on where other members should be assigned.

We did it!

Well here we are... ready to start another round of elections. This time we aren't fighting to win the Senate and turn it blue we are keeping control of it!

As of about 6:00pm tonight: Reuters and the AP have declared VA to be in the DEM column and with that the entire Senate. This is monumental. An end to the twelve year dominance by the fear-mongering republicans. This was an election not just against corruption and the Iraq war...but (pay attention Ken Mehlman) for a Democratic platform and issues. Issues like higher minimum wage, a cleaner environment, well funded schools, prescription drug benefits for all. Here we go... in the drivers seat. Doesn't it feel nice to not only have the keys but also the steering wheel?

Take a few moments to enjoy what democracy feels like -- this is it. :)