The Countertop Chronicles

What does 8 years of corruption and mismanagement, topped by a sorry excuse for a presidential campaign get you??

Prepare for our new overlords.

Its going to be bad people.

Based upon my conversation with the Republican Senate Campaign Committee this morning - they are predicting that Barack’s Coattails and Ted Steven’s corruption (my word, not theirs) is going to hand the Democrats 10 easy Senate pick ups.

Amongst those going down?? Well, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been in the news, and may be the biggest fish. But to my mind, the looming loss of Saxby Chambliss in Georgia is even more shocking.

Its a new world folks. Better get used to it.

Here’s the entire list of expected losses as of this morning (ranked in order of my shock, surprise, or expected impact).

• Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) will lose to Jim Martin (D). Huge black turnout associated with Obama coattails and a libertarian candidate polling 2% will give this to Martin. Georgia voting Democrat is huge folks. Just huge.
• Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will lose to Bruce Lunsford (D). Obama coattails and blame for Senate dabacle and Ted Stevens are going to push this to Democrats.
• Roger Wicker (R-MS) is going to lose to Ronnie Musgrove (D). This was a poorly executed move relating back to Trent Lott’s sudden retirement. Everything under the sun is trending wrong for Wicker including Obama coattails amongst huge black population in Mississippi and concern over Trent Lott and Ted Stevens (not to mention the Scruggs law firm).
• The Udalls (Mark in Colorado and Tom in New Mexico) are going to easily win the seats left behind by retiring Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Wayne Allard (R-CO).
• Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) is toast. She did shit for the state and its citizens, is a horrid campaigner, and has lost support of her base and is facing the onslaught of the Obama Coattails. She’s gonna lose by 6 or 7 points to Kay Hagen (who I am going to meet later this week).
• Ted Stevens is done (R-AK). Mark Begich will win that seat (its too bad they can’t replace Steven’s with Sarah Palin).
• Norm Coleman (R-MN), a good guy if a bit of a RINO is going to lose. I don’t know who will win - whether its Al Franken (likely) or Independent candidate and former Senator (and Jesse Ventura associated) Dean Barkley (who is clearly hurting Coleman more than Franken but who might just be able to eek out a victory in a close 3 way race).
• Six years ago John Sununu (R-NH) barely beat popular former Governor Jeanne Shaheen. She’s going to crush him.
• Mark Warner will cruise to victory in Virginia.

One additional point here, Mary Landrieu (D-LA) who was seen as the most likely Democrat for Republican’s to take out will have no problem holding on to her seat.

What is the end result of all this??

As of 10 am this morning, the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee is predicting in the wake of Ted Steven’s conviction that

1. Democrats will likely increase their numbers in the Senate from 49 to 58 or 59 votes.
2. Republicans will decrease their numbers from 49 to 39.

How the independents vote will make a huge difference on all matters going forward.
Bernie Sanders (I-VT), is the former Socialist Workers Party mayor of Burlington. He will caucus with the Democrats.

If Dean Barkley wins in Minnesota, its unclear how he will caucus. At this juncture, if I were a business lobby like the Chamber of Commerce I’d consider bailing on Coleman and trying to get the Republicans to move all their votes to Barkley in a last ditch attempt to prevent a filibuster proof card check from going through. That won’t happen, of course.

Joe Lieberman is unlikely to become a Republican . . . and will be quickly marginalized by the Democrats. Sadly, Joe’s glory days are over. He’s up for re-election in 2012 and if he wants to retain any power between now and then will probably need to vote a straight line Democrat ticket nearly 100% of the time. The curve ball here, is that he could always retire (which he may find preferable to the purgatory he will face in the Senate) and then his seat would be appointed by Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell, a Republican.

My readers, of course, want to know what this means for their guns. More on that later . . . but I’ve been keeping in close contact with Democrats on the issue and have some thoughts on what we will be facing.