Whenever I read posts like this by Jedmunds, I feel a need to say something about what a Senate majority means. Jedmunds is rooting against Sen. Maria Cantwell in her re-election race because she has dumb views on the Iraq War and voted against the Alito filibuster. I think Cantwell's views are dumb too, but it's important to keep the big picture in mind here. In some cases, a Senator contributes more to progressive causes as a mere matter of party affiliation than by her actual votes.
Control of the Senate, whether by one vote or a dozen, means a Democratic majority on every Senate committee, Democratic chairmanship of all committees, power to subpoena witnesses when investigating the executive branch, and a number of other procedural powers that must not be left in Republican hands. Winning either chamber of Congress in 2006 would allow us to conduct real investigations of the Bush Administration. The betting markets give us only a 19% chance of retaking the Senate this year, but I think we stand a pretty good chance of getting it in 2008, when many more Republicans than Democrats are up for re-election.
