Frist hopes for 55 Republicans in Senate

[Rose Siding]

snip>
...with 55 GOP senators, Frist said, most filibusters could be stopped.

With centrists such as Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Neb.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) crossing the aisle every so often, Frist said, if the party balance tipped a few seats in the GOP’s favor, pressuring five Democrats to jump across the aisle would be viable.

“There are enough Democrats who don’t want to take these party-line votes that the flow would come,” Frist said earlier this year in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
...
“We don’t need 60 votes,” he added. “We need 55, really. The momentum would be with us.”

But GOP strategist Grover Norquist, who has said Republicans could have 60 Republicans in the Senate after the 2006 elections, has a different view.

He said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has changed the traditional rules in the Senate and made it clear that the minority can filibuster judges and delay appointing conference committee members on key legislation.

“ has changed the rules to where it takes 60 votes to own the Senate,” Norquist said. “You need 60 Republicans to control the floor.”

http://www.thehill.com/news/072004/55.aspx

[qanda]

1. Keep hoping Frist

Hope is about you'll have when you're in the minority come January 2005.

[Beetwasher]

2. At This Point, Repubs Will Be Lucky To Hold Onto A Their Slim Majority

Frist needs to stop smoking crack...

[arlib]

27. Exactly....

...I was gonna say "What's he smoking??? Obviously I need to get a new connection...".

[SayitAintSo]

3. Dream on Cat Killer .....n/t

[Birthmark]

4. He should probably be more worried about...

...keeping 50 seats. I think that it's more likely that they'll he'll be Minority Leader than it is the Republicans picking up seats this year.

[ixion]

7. repugs have shown that they're incapable of being in the majority

because when they are, they refuse to work with the other guys.

[wryter2000]

9. I'm no John McCain lover, but...

He was right when he said, "We had better hope that if they ever come to power they treat us better than we've been treating them."

Go Cheney yourself, Frist.

[Richardo]

14. We always have, John

We don't hate America, your guys do.

[Raster]

22. "If they ever come to power...." The backlash cometh...

[calico1]

15. Aside from NC

what other possbilities do we have that look good?

[JohnKleeb]

19. Illinois, Alaska, Oklahoma for pick ups.

we gotta maintain the seats we already have though.

[Birthmark]

28. Any in which the margin is less than 8%, imo.

There are going to be a LOT of first time voters this time around. They are coming out to vote AGAINST Chimpy. It is unlikely that they will vote for Chimpy's enablers.

[ixion]

5. "don’t want to take these party-line votes "

so we'll just do away with the other parties.... I think this is what Frist is driving at. And for doing so, he should be removed from Congress altogether, IMHO.

[livetohike]

6. They are looking ahead to 2006 and discounting

Kerry's "coat tails"! Maybe I'm optimistic, but I think the Kerry-Edwards ticket win will extend to those Congressional seats that are opening up in the South.

[TrogL]

12. Is coat-tails good enough?

I think there's some heavy slogging to be done.

[benburch]

8. He'll be lucky to have 48

[hyphenate]

10. Norquist is a dangerous man

and I wish the press would show the world more of that. The Dems will hopefully win the Senate posts they're up for, but the fact remains--it's not going to be the Repukes getting the advantage if we have the presidency. They can try all they want to pass their radical agenda, but Kerry will veto any thing that smells whacko. And if the tide turns, hopefully the radicals will quake in their boots knowing that the people aren't just going to vote with them if they're fucking up.

[sidpleasant]

25. "dangerous" isn't a strong enough adjective for Norquist

A trip to the thesaurus turned up "viperous", "treacherous", and "malignant", any of which seem to be more accurate. A few months ago the Boston Phoenix ran a scary article on him. Norquist freely admits that his goal is a one - party state. He brags about his schemes to not just beat Democrats fairly at the ballot box but to literally destroy the party. And this plot isn't some good ol' GOP boys fantasizing over drinks at the country club; he's putting it in motion now. For example, one element of the plan is to cut off funding for the Democratic Party by destroying businesses aligned with the Party. Norquist's GOP allies in Congress have bluntly told corporations to replace their Democratic lobbying firms with GOP lobbyists if they want any hearing on Capital Hill for their interests.

In a just world a guy like Norquist who opposes the very foundations of democracy would be put on a rubber raft and dropped off in the ocean just outside the three mile border of the United States.

[onehandle]

11. Frist adopts kittens and kills them.

There's your headline.

[AndyTiedye]

13. Got a Story to go With It?

a link would be a good thing.

[enki23]

23. don't be lazy. this story is admitted to by frist himself

way back when he was first being considered for majority leader. early in his medical career, he illegally adopted shelter cats and used them for experiments. do a google search.

don't assume that your ignorance means a story isn't already widely understood. we don't have to reference *everything* we say, or we'd never get anything said. it gets really annoying to see the nth iteration of "there was a voter purge in florida? got a link?" we aren't writing academic papers here, we're having a discussion. anyone can do a simple web search.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021231-071056

[shadu]

24. No only does he not deny it, he gloats about it!

He is number one POS in my book

[Barrett808]

16. Sounds like contract-with-America-era Newt Gingrich

We all know how well that worked out for Newt.

[Jane Austin]

17. Yeah, if he had more Republicans

it wouldn't matter that he hasn't been able to lead his side out of a paper bag.

[gasperc]

18. well, Grover, you keep ramming extremist, unpopular, minority laws

down our fucking throat and we'll tell our reps to filibuster the shit out of them

[Mr_Charlie]

20. ...and I hope for monkeys to fly out of his ass!

Someone better tell Frist that the e-voting machines are being rejected state-by-state. It's going to make the theft a bit harder than they expected.

[kwolf68]

21. Georgia is gone

That state has flown so far off the deep right end, forget it. Miller's seat will go to a Rep.

They are arguing in the Rep primary about who is the Most Conservative. Meanwhile, the Dems have no one who has distinguished him/her self yet.

Alaska is a possibility, albeit slight which would be a pickup. Oklahoma as well. Both Alaska and Okie are highly Conservative states. It will be a good break to win either.

NC looks great right now as the Rep party is floundering there, but that is a seat we are looking to hold.

I predict

NC-Stays Dem
GA-Goes Rep
Ill-Goes Dem
Alaska-Goes Dem
SC-Goes Rep

At the end of the day the Democrats will not have picked up the Senate, but 55 Reps is a delusional joke.

[Tippy]

26. Frist better start worring about his seat

I am from TN and he and Bush are about as popular as two snakes in a bed...Yesterday I recieved 2 calls...both got my # from the ad we were running about a Democratic Party meeting....

A lady who at one time was very active in the party but due to health problms had to give it up....

She is 84, has had 5 strokes and suffers from panic attacks...she is mad as all get out and wants to do something to help get the republicans out...She hates Bush and Frist if noting else she will make calls from her home..

The second call came from a lady who was calling from her hospital bed, she has never been active before but wants to help this time she too said she hated Bush...

These two are ready to open a can of woop-ass on republicans..But that is not all, after Bush's last trip down here we learned he has at least 5 more tirps to TN planned between now and Nov. so he knows TN has seen the light and we are ready to turn his out along with Frist and Alexander's...

[PROGRESSIVE1]

29. We could get the senate back so I do not...

see even 52 Rethugs!

[progressivebydesign]

30. Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow.. n/t