I hope Harry Reid is still not Majority Leader, he has been quite Ineffective.

If we don't get 60 (not including Lieberman), I don't want Reid anywhere near the Majority Leader position.

His speak-softly-but-don't-carry-any-stick-a t-all tactics have gravely hurt public perception of the Senate.  He needs to force the Republicans to actually filibuster and be shown as the obstructionists they are.

Further, I think we'll pick up 5-7 seats, but not all 11.

When can the senate dems stip Lieberman of his chairmanship? When the next congress starts in '09?

I like Reid. Reid realizes that Senate politics is like a boxing match, not a steel cage fight-to-the-death. That's how Daschle ran things, and we see how that ended up for him. It's interesting that our last two Senate majority/minority leaders were red state Democrats.

Red state Democrats have conservative constituencies, and they have to be attentive to their constituents' needs first and the Senate second. So as a majority leader in a centrist (maybe even center-right) nation like America has to be attentive to the electorate at large not just the progressive movement.

Reid is the Majority Leader, not the Speaker, right?

It's not going to help us get there to predict outrageous things like 11 seat pick-ups. That's only going to get the Repub funders off their collective asses, out of fear if nothing else. And there's little basis for it.

Really, we look very good only in three states, VA, NH, and NM. Hard to imagine losing any of those, although NM will be a less than 10 point race in the end. CO is MUCH closer than most in the blogosphere seem to think and Udall is not the greatest campaigner in the world. Still, I'd say that looks good. After that, we're not favored anywhere. I can't imagine getting up to 11 seat turnover (and that's assuming Landrieu hangs on in LA)>

60 Seats is a beautiful thing.  It lets you know that the American People are sick of the Lies and B.S that this administration has stood for.  

Getting to 60 is just so important, and each individual race is crucial.

Here in Oregon, we really need to get rid of Gordon Smith. He's been a roadblock to progressive legislation, hindering Ron Wyden and our progressive team from getting much of anything accomplished. And he pretends to be a moderate when he's here at home! It's just so frustrating.

Luckily, we have a great candidate running against him: Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley. Jeff's probably the most progressive candidate running against an incumbent Republican across the nation, and we're working hard to elect him.

He's got a great record as Speaker. First, he flipped the chamber from red to blue in the 2006 wave; then, holding his caucus together, he passed some great legislation: environmental protections, cracking down on payday lenders, full domestic partnership legislation, and a ton of stuff for working families. We hope we can send him to the Senate so he can be a champion for ending the war (he endorsed the Responsible Plan), fighting global warming, standing up for civil rights (FISA, anyone?), and supporting full marriage equality.

Go Jeff! And go for 60! Head on over to his Actblue page if you can and give him some help.

There is a real and legitimate shot here in Oregon with Jeff Merkley. Merkley is polling very tight with Smith--and Smith's negative ads that were run during the primary have caused his approval ratings to plumment.

Merkley is traveling the state on a 100-towns tour of Oregon. He's using that person-to-person touch with voters.  

Jeff is the most progressive Senate candidate in the U.S.  We NEED him in the Senate.

Oklahoma also may be in play because of Andrew Rice. People who hear Rice talk like him--he's articulate and reasonable. Republican Jim Inhofe says global warming is the "second largest hoax after separation of church and state," which makes Oklahoma sound very backwards and is downright embarrassing.

According to a poll quoted in DKos, Oklahomans, when asked, "If the election for US Senate were held today, would you to reelect Jim Inhofe, would you consider voting for another candidate or would you vote to replace Inhofe? Oklahomans responded: Reelect 39, Consider someone else 23, Replace 28. It will take a lot of work, though.

Jeff Merkley has a real solid shot at unseating Republican Gordon Smith--Smith's numbers are slipping rapidly. His ads may help sink him faster and faster, instead of giving himself camouflage. Oregonians need they need 60 seats to really make a difference.

Rasmussen shows MN within 3% (48-45).  Impact of the negative press on Franken is minimal.

One of the key races to improving the Democrats (and progressives) position in the Senate is the race here in Oregon. We had a wealth of riches in the primary with both Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley as being rock-solid progressives. Oregon Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley won the primary battle, and is exactly the sort of progressive we need in the Senate.

Here in the Oregon legislature last session, with a razor thin one seat majority, Jeff Merkley was able to get things done and lead the most productive session in decades, passing anti-predator lending laws, giving equal rights to gay couples under Oregon law as straight married couples, creating a rainy-day fund to stabilize school funding, strengthening conservation laws and regulations to protect the environment, the list goes on and on.

Jeff Merkley can take out Bush rubber-stamper Gordon Smith, who is polling under 50% (47% in the latest polling IIRC) and Jeff is in a statistical tie with him in that polling as well.

The only thing that makes the pick-up of a GOP held Senate seat is money. Smith has a sizable war-chest (some $10 million) and Jeff Merkley needs the help of the grassroots to be competitive. So everyone here who gripes about not having a solid majority in the Senate, or that we don't have progressive or strong enough Democrats in the Senate, it is time to put your money where your mouth is. So help replace Bush/McCain lackey Gordon Smith with a true progressive Democrat by donating now. For the cost of a night out at the movies on a weekly basis, we together can get Jeff Merkley the resources to win this seat. We have a great candidate, a weak and very vulnerable GOP incumbent, a change election, but it is up to us to make change happen because it won't happen without us doing our part, and will happen if we donate.

to overcome the DINOs. And things are so bad for the GOP that they may get it.

talk about a dream come true.  Wouldn't be fond of Reid remaining but with that many in the Senate not sure it would really matter.

And thanks for the heads up on Jeff Merkley

He didn't say they would win 11 just that there are 11 realistic targets. And Begich leads in AK. Dems are behind elsewhere but so were McCaskill, Tester, Whitehouse, Menendez and Webb at various points in 2006.

Scott Kleeb took 45% in the most Republican district in the state last year.  He gets that again, he'll pull off the upset in the Nebraska Senate race.

Ok, great.  How can I help, and how can I get paid for it?