Many diarists have commented that we need to be able to complete cloture votes so that Republicans won't be able to stop Obama's agenda by filibustering in the Senate.
Assuming Joe Lieberman leaves the Democratic party completely, or is kicked out, we would need to gain 10 Senate seats. Most handicappers agree that Virginia, Alaska, Colorado, New Hampshire and New Mexico are at least pretty likely to flip. The senate seats from Minnesota, Mississippi (the special election), Oregon, Maine, and North Carolina, look like they COULD flip, and if they all do, or if most of those do and there are some upsets, we're good.
But if that doesn't happen, there is another path to a filibuster-proof Democratic majority for us: convincing liberal Republicans to flee the sinking ship. It may have escaped the attention of some on this site, but the Republican party does contain some mavericks (not McCain, but there ARE some).
This table lists some moderate Republicans (labelled "RINOs" by Club for Growth and other haters).
Name | State | Re-election Date | Notes |
Arlen Specter | Pennsylvania | 2010 | Is hated by conservatives for (relatively) liberal positions and for being critical of Bush BARELY won re-election last time, and Pennsylvania's 2006 paddling of Rick Santorum may have him petrified |
John McCain | Arizona | 2010 | One of the "Gang of 14". If he gets trounced in his presidential run, during which he basically sacrificed his values and identity and ran with a VP not of his choosing, he may be completely disillusioned with the Republican party. |
Chuck Lugar | Indiana | 2012 | Supports alternative fuels and criticized the Iraq war. |
Lindsey Graham | South Carolina | 2012 | One of the "Gang of 14". Though generally conservative, he often criticizes fellow Republicans. |
(I admit that these are all long-shots, except maybe Specter, but it may be that the bribe offers can start.)
Finally, I just had to link to this image I found on Michelle Malkin's web site (I didn't add the misspelling; these are real wizards we're talking about here). DailyKos (wisely) won't allow me to post images from most sites, so click on this link:
No Moar Rinos