Party Like It's 1994 1980?

The New York Times discusses the 12-seat Republican Senate pickup in 1980 (link to Hot Air.)

In 1980, shocked Senate Democrats lost 12 seats in a rout that ended the Congressional careers of such notable lawmakers as George McGovern of South Dakota, Birch Bayh of Indiana, Frank Church of Idaho, Warren Magnuson of Washington and Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.

...

“It was a very weird time,” recalled Senator Patrick J. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who narrowly won a second term that year. “A lot of those people had no idea what they were doing.”

While party strategists and analysts say Republicans still face a steep climb to gain the 10 seats needed to flip control of the Senate, polls and circumstances in contests around the country suggest it is not inconceivable that Republicans could seize the majority if crucial races uniformly break their way on Nov. 2.

If they do, it is a certainty that the new membership of the Senate would include sharply conservative Republicans with a deep skepticism of government and a determination to change Washington.

...

Given the prospect of a marked ideological shift in the Senate, some are already asking what the institution would be like upon the arrival of a cadre of fire-breathing conservatives.

Fire-breathing. Okay.

posted by Ace at 12:41 PM

| Access Comments