While I agree with his comment, it's still interesting that Virginia is being written off, and that has implications, doesn't it, for the Presidential election?

Wouldn't it be better for McCain for the Republicans to strongly contest Virginia?

No complacency... Every time I hear something like this from Ensign I think "Hey maybe if we work a little harder we can pick up Dole's seat in NC, or..."

Cool. So we're looking at a 51+1 - 47+1 Senate for 2009.

New Mexico is in the envious position of having a shot at sending an all Democratic delegation to represent us in Washington in 2009.

But then, we'd no longer be considered a "swing state", and nobody would pay any attention to us anymore; and we already have enough trouble convincing some people that we really are a part of the US.

I hope the picture of a dead elephant is gone when I return later.

It's not "giving up" when no matter what you do you're going to be ousted. It's called "losing". Giving up implies you have a choice, but losing isn't a choice, it's consequence of failing the people. The Republicans are going to lose the eight Senate seats they can't afford to lose because the voters are throwing out the corrupt and incompetent cronies and enablers that have earned rejection. The Republicans had the power to do the "right" things for the American people. Instead, they exploited them. The Republican brand has been bastardized to the point that only a completley new Republican party can have any hope of regaining the trust of Americans. For all intents and purposes, today's Republican Party is dead thanks to its support of George W. Bush. A generational change is taking place spurred by the disdainful values and methods of Bush Republicans. Americans are saying no more. Americans are revolting against the tyrants.

Wow, the Repubs writing off Virginia? ("Hey there Cousin Edgar, wasn't that a pig that just flew past the window?")

A friend and fellow gay, waaaay liberal Democrat, and who loves sports analogies, offers that this is a "rebuilding" year for the Republicans. Wrong - the analogy is to a "draft pick" year, when you have the worst record of all.

Yippee, boys and girls, the rout is on! Our time really has come, and for some of us it's been a long freakin' wait (like 40 years). Let's go make the most of it!

I don't think you'll ever see republicans change. They may rebrand the party over the next couple of years but the makeover will only be superficial. The difficulty is they have nowhere to go. They've been the party of big business and high finance forever. The relationships from that association have been major contributing factors in the republican slide into the political abyss of voter anger. What makes this somewhat worse than it might otherwise be is all the attention to the misdeeds of Bush and other republicans and the probable election of Obama. These two things have drawn the attention of a lot of young voters who are having their political mindset established for their entire lives.

a 60-vote Democratic majority in the Senate will lead to overreaching and overconfidence, as day leads to night, and will hasten the come-back of the other side. Defeat of Snow could have unpleasant unintended consequences, among those, further weakening the sane branch of the GOP when a solid spanking of the party without a rout will strengthen them.

It's unlikely that the Dems will get 60 seats this year -- they would have to win eleven of the most competetive seats: Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, Alaska, North Carolina, Minnesota and Oregon. Not impossible, but unlikely.

But if not in 2008, certainly in 2010 when the Republicans will be defending 19 seats to the Democrat's 16. And we will definitely see more open Republican seats due to the retirements (or potential retirements) of Brownback in Kansas (a Sebelius gimme of she's not already VP), Bunning in KY, Specter in PA, Voinovich in Ohio, Grassley in Iowa, and McCain in Arizona -- all old guys who don't like being in the minority party.

If the GOP isn't extinct after 2010, they will almost certainly retool and rebrand and start making some headway in 2012 when the Dems will be defending.