Array
Regarding US Senate seats, “It’s obvious that 51 is better than 50,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on CNN. A 50-50 Senate “slows everything down,” he told the Associated Press. “So, it makes a big difference to us.”
It should make a big difference to the GOP, too.
Alas, after Nov. 8’s “Red Wave” fizzled, too many Republicans are ho-hum about next Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoff. “We’re down 9-3 atop the ninth inning,” the sentiment goes. “If those bums score another run, and we lose 10-3, so what?”
“So what?” Not so.
If Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock wins, Democrats would dominate the Senate, 51-49. But if GOP challenger Herschel Walker prevails, Democrats and Republicans will split 50-50, with major benefits for conservatives.
A 51-49 Senate means that Schumer can tell Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to suck moonshine. Democrats could bark orders and laugh at the GOP’s submissive position.
In contrast, 50-50 would force Schumer to respect Republicans. Nothing would happen until Schumer and McConnell renew or renegotiate their current power-sharing agreement.
In 2020, “Using the little leverage he had, McConnell threatened not to finalize a deal until Democrats promised that they wouldn’t try to kill the legislative filibuster that forces a 60-vote threshold,” the AP explained last week.
“It’s always better with 51, because we’re in a situation where you don’t have to have an even makeup of the committees,” President Joe Biden said.
