Friday, November 08, 2002 :::
There have been a few smug suggestions lately -- letters to the editor and the like -- that since Governor-elect Romney successfully made the argument that the state government shouldn't be controlled by a single party, he should call for the same on the national level.
My first response is that if the Democratic candidate for President in 2004 wants to make that argument, it's his (hers?) to make, though Republican control of Congress beyond 2004 is far from assured. There's no reason Romney has to make that argument for him. If the argument is made, though, and Romney is asked to rebut it for the party, though, that's not hard.
See, the federal Senate has 100 seats. 51, maybe 52 will be held by Republicans. The state Senate has 40 seats. Six are held by Republicans. Republican measures on the federal level are subject to filibuster. Vetos on the state level can be overridden without a single Republican vote, even with quite a few Democratic defections. Denny Hastert, Trent Lott, and George Bush are all Republicans, but that doesn't mean they can act with impunity -- as I've pointed out, if Lincoln Chafee and Susan Collins dislike a measure, it loses, even without a filibuster.
::: posted by Steven at 11:01 AM
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