Wednesday, November 17, 2004

The Specter of Things to Come

On NPR this morning I heard a story about a minister who was holding a prayer vigil outside a Senate building to ask God not to put Arlen Specter in as Chaiman of the Judiciary Committee. He essentially told Bill Frist that if he allows Specter to become chairman, don't expect any support from evangelicals when Frist wants to run for Pres. in 2008. According to the story, it looks as though Specter will survive, but it got me thinking about the state of politics in the Senate and also the perceived clout of evangelicals on the GOP.

The House, due to years of redistricting, is essentially no longer competitive. This has allowed people like Tom DeLay to rise to power, as the center is gone. Congress is largely a polarized institution.

The Senate, however, is more collegial. I would imagine most Senators (I would NOT include Frist in this group as he is just a lap dog for Bush) don't want outsiders (even ministers) blackmailing them into doing their bidding. The election of 2 fringe right Senators, Coburn of OK, and DeMint of SC are signs that this way of doing business is slowly coming to an end, and we will be treated to the same kind of politics that the House employs.

If the Senate GOP becomes beholden to the religious right, then one of two things will happen. My favorite option is that they will overreach, and will be punished by the voters, hopefully beginning in 2006. However, after this election I am less optimistic. Option two is that they will cement their hold on power and we are in for a very long time in the wilderness.

But as I said I am an optimist and I feel reasonably certain that they will overreach.

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