The Politico reports that Republican leaders in the Senate have essentially told members up for re-election this year to do whatever they need to in order to win:
Republican Senate leaders — terrified by the prospect of losing five or more seats in November — have freed their members to vote however they need to vote to get reelected, even if that means bucking the president or the party’s leadership.
On at least four votes over the past month — Medicare, housing, the GI Bill and the Farm Bill — Republican leaders haven’t even bothered whipping members to toe the party line or back President Bush’s veto threats. Instead, a GOP leadership aide says leaders have told vulnerable senators that it’s all right to “get well” with voters by siding with Democrats on anything but energy and national security.
It’s unusual for rank-and-file members to get a green light to blow off their party leaders. But these are unusual times for Republicans. They are genuinely worried they could get their clocks cleaned in November. The prevailing attitude: It is better to lose some big votes now than big races in November.
This helps explain why so many Senate Republicans are taking flight from President Bush and their own leaders — and doing it loudly and proudly.
We already saw some of this from the likes of Oregon’s Gordon Smith, who is running ads touting his ability to work together with Barack Obama.
Since Obama is likely to win Oregon by a wide margin, Smith needs every vote he can get to hold on to his seat and associating himself with Bush and McCain isn’t the way to do it.
Except to see more of it from Republican Senators in trouble in November.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:03 am
To say that Gordon Smith and other R candidates up for reelection in November should put space between themselves and Bush and McCain, and do whatever they need to do to win, is a joke, as the reason why Bush and McCain are so unpopular is because they have gotten into bed with the Democrats. Gordon Smith advertising that he can work with Obama isn’t Bushian/McCainian???