GOP Leader Defines Electoral Success As 'Only Lose Eight Senate Seats'

GOP Leader Defines Electoral Success As 'Only Lose Eight Senate Seats'

News of the pending GOPocalypse comes to us via TalkingPointsMemo today, where we learn that the Senate Republicans have rejiggered their definition of a successful election year: only losing eight seats.

TPM cites this story from the Savannah Morning News, in which NRSC chair John Ensign lays out the GOP's sad little scenario:

Why would the number of seats matter if it's anything less than 51 and taking the majority, a circumstance Ensign describes as unlikely? By holding at least 41, the GOP would prevent the majority party from the 60 votes required to end filibusters and to push an unpopular bill to a vote on the floor through the cloture procedure.

"With 41 votes in the U.S. Senate, you can (1) block bad legislation, and (2) you can make the majority respect the minority's rights. And you can help craft good legislation," Ensign said. "If the Democrats were able to get to 60 votes - literally even if they get to 57-58 votes because they always seem to pick off a couple or three Republicans on a lot of votes - and if they win the White House ... they will be able to do pretty much whatever they want."

So, basically, if the level of GOP participation in the Senate drops from 49 to 41, everything is going to fine, except for the fact that there are always a handful of Republicans who annoyingly demonstrate that they have a lick of common sense, so it's doom, doom, doom. Meanwhile, one wonders if Ensign might find some time to reflect on whether or not the GOP finds itself in these straits because of their own bad legislation and disrespect for the minority's rights.

Oh, well! At least we know that no matter what happens, the Senate GOP will be able to borrow some anti-depressants from their House brethren.

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