So, the Senate Democrats have never been more united over the last decade, and Senate Republicans never more fractured.  It's so bad that a small band of Republicans are considering airing their grievances against their Leadership publicly.  Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has yet to come up with a single top-tier challenger to a Democratic Senate incumbent.  But that is no reason to get cocky.

With trends all apparently working against Republicans at the moment, several Republicans are taking it upon themselves to hurt their chances further by politically shooting themselves in the foot.  This week, that phenomenon was on display nowhere more clearly than in Maine.

Maine: Susan Collins would do anything to remove from the public discourse discussion of the difference between the Susan Collins-George W. Bush "stay the course" position on Iraq versus the Tom Allen-Olympia Snowe "bring the troops home safely" position on Iraq.  And what she did was implode over the otherwise-universally agreed upon role of video and internet in political campaigns.  Collins' nightmare of a week began when the Maine Democratic Party dispatched a staffer to record Collins' comments at public events.  Well, heaven forbid Collins actually be held accountable for her public comments.  That led Collins' taxpayer-funded Chief of Staff to write a letter (for political purposes - indeed a no-no according to Senate ethic policy) to the Senate campaign of Congressman Tom Allen (I don't know why, as it was the Maine Democratic Party, not the Allen campaign, who dispatched the video recorder) pleading to have the recording stopped.  Collins' Chief of Staff argued that such tactics "demean the political process," even though, as Turn Maine Blue and CNN remind us, Collins' own Party's campaign leadership at the National Republican Senatorial Committee advocate for those very same tactics!  Then, some overreacted about the physical closeness of the video recorder - but, when the video of the recorded event hit the web, it was clear that the recorder was remarkably respectful and polite and that it was Collins who approached the recorder, introducing herself and having a very pleasant exchange.  So, no dice there.  The Maine Democratic Party even raised the very salient point that it was hypocritical for the Collins camp to complain about privacy issues and recording at public events when Susan Collins supports George W. Bush's policy of invading the privacy of law-abiding Americans through warrantless wiretapping.  (It is perhaps a coincidence that Collins' meta-macaca meltdown occurred at just about the one-year anniversary of George Allen's historic slur.)

But that didn't stop Susan Collins' assault on technology (or Senate ethics policy) this week.  The Collins camp had attacked Daily Kos as a hate site, that is, until hate posts calling for a terrorist attack on U.S. soil were uncovered on Collins' own blog!  And then Collins' camp was caught red-handed lying about the source of the hate posts!  Also, in Collins' camp's attack on blogs, they let slip an awfully sexist remark against female bloggers.  Heckuva role model, Susan.  This all led Collins to limit access to her blog, conceding that it was poorly trafficked anyway.  But it doesn't stop there.  In another abuse of Senate ethics policy using Senate resources for political purposes, it appears that Susan Collins' Senate staff has been editing her Wikipedia entry to appear more moderate and politically palatable.  So there ya go.  Collins' foot must be riddled with metaphorical bullet holes.  Firedoglake offers a comprehensive rundown of events.  Perhaps Collins would be better off if she took the unthinkable step of actually keeping her oft-repeated promise to Maine voters and announced her Senate retirement after two terms.

Oregon: Over in the Beaver State, Gordon Smith did what he could to shoot himself in the foot a couple times, including stumbling over his own lies regarding SalmonGate and effectively saying that he'd be willing to prolong a policy that has led to the deaths of over 3,700 American soldiers because he doesn't want to hurt his friend's feelings.  The Eugene Register-Guard added that Smith is "willing to bend and selectively omit the facts to justify ideologically driven political positions."  That doesn't exactly sound like an endorsement.  Forget about the press - even Smith's allies are laying it on him over his lame excuses in SalmonGate.  On the Democratic side, however, Governor Ted Kulongoski and former Governor Barbara Roberts have gotten behind Speaker Jeff Merkley's Senate campaign, while radio personality Jeff Golden has withdrawn from consideration.

Alaska: Wanting to expedite the shooting-himself-in-the-foot process, Ted "Tubes" Stevens lost it at an editorial board with the Anchorage Daily News.  A thorough hit-by-hit can be found here, but, to summarize: Stevens doesn't necessarily think al Qaeda is a Sunni organization; Stevens both does and doesn't think that we have the volunteer military capacity to continue in Iraq; Stevens said we had to take out Saddam because he was bad but that we have to stay in Iraq because we made it worse; and, finally, Stevens accused the Anchorage Daily News editors of trying to "assassinate" him.  Yeah, it's that ridiculous.  It doesn't help Stevens that the FBI is further scrutinizing Stevens' earmarks, including $170 million in federal contracts to the corrupt VECO Corporation to provide a service in which the company had zero experience in the field.  This has all led to very visible protests of Stevens.  Stevens even made his first appearance on WaPo's Cillizza's monthly Senate Line of the ten most competitive Senate races, due to his numerous scandals but despite not having an announced top-tier opponent yet.

Nebraska: Though still just a Senate candidate, Republican Jon Bruning didn't want to miss out on what the cool Republican kids were doing.  It turns out that Bruning has had some shady dealings with Nelnet, a student lending company that got into some hot water, only to have Bruning work out a pretty nice settlement and then actually forgive the settlement (only to later reinstate the settlement):

...the original settlement came only weeks after Bruning's campaign got a $16,000 boost from Nelnet execs. In fact, the settlement was announced without Bruning's office ever launching an investigation...

That doesn't look good.  I believe the term is "appearance of impropriety."

Colorado: In the case of another wannabe Senator, Republican "Backwards" Bob Schaffer's self-inflicted wounds, taking contributions from the financial beneficiaries of his votes, got worse this week as the donor was revealed to have a history of trading campaign contributions for votes.

New Hampshire: In the case of Sprintin' John Sununu, he has already shot himself in the foot and dug his hole and made his bed (and any other metaphor you can come up with).  His votes put him far out-of-step with mainstream New Hampshire, but any deviation would easily be decried as an election cycle conversion, so reports The Hill:

Democrats are hammering Sununu on his votes in an effort to alienate him from independent voters, who make up a whopping 43 percent of the electorate in his state.

"Sununu has just been in a very difficult position," said Linda Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College. "If he breaks too publicly ... it will look like political opportunism, but he has got to get some air between himself and the Republican Party."

CQPolitics even says that Sununu is hanging his hopes on "the mantra that 2008 can't possibly be as bad for them as 2006."  Tough break for Sununu since all indications point to 2008 being as bad as or worse than 2006 for the NH-GOP, noted by the Associated Press already declaring popular former Governor though currently-unannounced Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen as the favorite to win the 2008 Senate race.  What can Sununu do but continue touring New Hampshire touting George W. Bush's failed policies.

Kentucky: Mitch McConnell is grasping at straws.  Perhaps Kentucky's most popular Democrat, Congressman Ben Chandler, as well as possible primary opponent 1995 KY-GOP gubernatorial nominee Larry Forgy both refuse to rule out a 2008 Senate campaign.  While a Chandler campaign probably won't happen (as he'll wait out a safer challenge to Jim Bunning in 2010 - or an open seat if Bunning retires), Forgy continues to be a thorn in McConnell's side.  Meanwhile, corrupt Governor Ernie Fletcher does everything he can to duck out of an endorsement of McConnell's re-election bid.  And while McConnell demonstrates that he is either dishonest or ignorant when it comes to the Bush Administration's planning on Iraq, his lame attacks on Democrats are getting weaker and weaker.  To top it off, state Attorney General Greg Stumbo has his Senate campaign's exploratory committee website up and running.

North Carolina: The latest Public Policy Polling results (in PDF) find that: Elizabeth Dole's approve-disapprove stands at a shabby 48-41; and that Dole is held to under 50% by two ostensibly unknown-to-the-general-electorate names: NC-Dems Chair Jerry Meek and Forsyth County Commissioner Ted Kaplan. Dole is vulnerable; she can't break 50% against anybody lately.  Perhaps that's why she's so happy to take contributions (and apparently unwilling to return them) from donors indicted on 23 counts fraud, money laundering, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Minnesota: The press is taking note that Norm Coleman will be playing host to the wildly unpopular George W. Bush.  Coleman's going to really need the money since he is not the "clear favorite" in his Senate race, according to CQPolitics.  That sounds right with a new DSCC poll showing that Smilin' Norm Coleman's "approval rating has sunk to 41 percent, with only 37 percent of Minnesotans saying they would vote to re-elect him while 49% would vote for someone else."  Those numbers are very close to the non-partisan SurveyUSA poll results showing Coleman at a dismal 43-48.  How long before Smilin' Norm is Frownin' Norm?  I don't know, but I do know that Fox News was caught red-handed editing Senate candidate Al Franken's Wikipedia entry.  Fox News: Fair and balanced propaganda.

Mississippi: With GOP Rep. Chip Pickering's announcement that he is retiring from the House for a K Street job, Republican Thad Cochran's staff is letting it out that Cochran is preparing for a re-election bid.

Tennessee: It's good to hear more rumblings out of the Volunteer State as businessman Mike McWherter, son of the popular former Governor Ned McWherter, and Bob Tuke, an ex-marine and former Chair of the state Democratic Party, both confirmed that they are considering challenges to Lamar Alexander, citing Alexander's serving as a George W. Bush rubber stamp.

South Dakota: In other good news, Senator Tim Johnson is scheduled to make his first public appearance since his brain hemorrhage on August 28 in Sioux Falls to thank South Dakotans for their ongoing support.

Texas: State Representative and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega has another powerfully compelling internet ad up while the Texas Latino community's support for John Cornyn and the TX-GOP continues to erode.

New Mexico: Pajamas Pete Domenici's report card includes atrocious ratings from numerous issues groups including an F from the National Education Association, a D from Citizens for Global Solutions, and a D from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, as well as bad marks on energy, children's issues, seniors' issues, and the environment.

Georgia: I really, really, really, really, really loathe Shameless, Spineless Saxby Chambliss.

For daily news and updates on the U.S. Senate races around the country in 2008, check out Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.