With news that Senator Salazar of Colorado will become the Secretary of Interior, we now know that over a quarter of the Senate next year will be composed of people that are new to the body since 2005.
1. Sen. Barrasso, John (R-WY)
2. Sen. Begich, Mark (D-AK)
3. Sen. Brown, Sherrod (D-OH)
4. Sen. Cardin, Benjamin (D-MD)
5. Sen. Casey, Robert (D-PA)
6. Sen. Corker, Bob (R-TN)
7. Sen. Hagan, Kay (D-NC)
8. Sen. Johanns, Mike (R-NE)
9. Sen. Kaufman, Ed (D-DE)
10. Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
11. Sen. McCaskill, Claire (D-MO)
12. Sen. Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)
13. Sen. Merkley, Jeff (D-OR)
14. Sen. Risch, Jim (R-ID)
15. Sen. Sanders, Bernard (I-VT)
16. Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne (D-NH)
17. Sen. Tester, Jon (D-MT)
18. Sen. Udall, Mark (D-CO)
19. Sen. Udall, Tom (D-NM)
20. Sen. Warner, Mark (D-VA)
21. Sen. Webb, James (D-VA)
22. Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI)
23. Sen. Wicker, Roger (R-MS)
24. ILLINOIS
25. NEW YORK
26. COLORADO
27. Sen. Franken, Al (D-MN)???
That is a lot of turnover in a very short time. I think it is just one indication of how EPICALLY the political elites FAILED us over the first six years of the Bush administration. Who is still there in Congress that you would like to see back in civilian life…or jail?
ALL those who voted to legalize torture on Sept. 28, 2006:
Carper
Johnson
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Lieberman
Menendez
Nelson (Fla.)
Nelson (Neb.)
Pryor
Rockefeller
Salazar
Stabenow
My country died that day.
that’s not a bad list. I’d keep Stabenow. Menendez isn’t so bad for a NJ pol. The rest? They can take a hike.
Especially Nelson (Fl), DINO.
eh, he’s not terrible, but he’s limited by being somewhat dim.
casey
we will never get rid of him now
unless obama makes him a czar of something….hmmmm…..
Maybe the new Senators will want a Majority Leader who is not a doormat for Republicans.
More to the point, what should their fate be? My favorite is James Inhofe. I’d like to see him eaten by a dinosaur.
well, that’s a little harsh, Geov. How about being raptured by a raptor?
Is that in their 6 year term they get way too cozy with each other and with lobbyists and look at us, the voters, as intruders in their little love nest.
With 25% newbies, it is possible that some of the love fest between each other and the lobbyists get shook out a little and the newbies having been working to get voters to like them might be a little more sensitive to the voter’s views. So this might be one of those tipping points. It might be one of those times when new things can get done.
An easier question to answer is which Senators would I actually like to see retain their seat:
The remaining Senators who had enough common sense to vote against authorizing the invasion of Iraq: Feingold, Kennedy, Boxer, Bingaman, Durbin, Byrd, Conrad, Leahy, Levin, Mikulski, Murray, Reed, Stabenow, Wyden, & Akaka.
And of course I’d keep Bernie Sanders and the Democratic newcomers (with the exception of Casey). But I’d be happy to see ALL of the Senators who voted for the war out on their ass. Sorry, but even a heartfelt apology doesn’t cut it with that one.