Romney Has Lost. The Senate Battle Is What Really Matters. [View all]

[Liberal_in_LA]

Nobody in the media wants to say it—because we have too much fun calling the play-by-play—but the presidential race is over. After more than a year of watching Mitt Romney, very few undecided voters remain. Despite the significant dissatisfaction with where we are and where we are heading, Romney simply cannot sell the public that he is the guy to move us forward. His missteps and awkward moments are too many to catalog here, but suffice to say that an empty vessel cannot be elected president of the United States.

It is equally certain that the Democrats will not retake the House. Despite massive public dissatisfaction with Congress and the failure of the Republican Party to articulate a coherent program, there are simply not enough districts in play to argue that the House could flip back. Credit gerrymandering and the latent power of incumbency for the probability that John Boehner returns as speaker.

So the Senate is the real game in town. The odds are that the Democrats retain control, since Massachusetts, Missouri, and Virginia are now pretty strongly trending toward Elizabeth Warren, Claire McCaskill, and Tim Kaine, respectively, and Bill Nelson is looking comfortable in Florida. It’s hard to envision the Republicans winning the magic four pickups they need.


http://www.slate.com/blogs/spitzer/2012/09/20/filibuster_reform_romney_has_lost_the_battle_turns_to_the_senate_.html