Looks like the GOP will have two more holes to plug in its leaky ship in '08. Larry Craig's resignation seems imminent, as pressure mounts from within his party. And now longtime Virgina senator John Warner has announced he won't be seeking reelection next year.
``I'm quietly going to step aside and clear the way for others,'' Warner, 80, said at a press conference in Charlottesville. ``I've done my best.'' ...Among the names already being bandied about to run for Warner's seat are former governor James Gilmore and Representative Tom Davis on the Republican side. The Dems may run former governor Mark Warner.
Replacing Warner next year will set off a heated battle as Republicans seek to overcome the Democrats' 51-49 majority control of the Senate.
Virginia was a battleground in '06, with underdog Dem. Jim Webb coming from behind to beat the increasingly clueless George Allen, and now it's shaping up to be just as crucial next November.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. John Warner was just on CNN speaking to Wolf Blitzer. Warner always seemed like such a gentleman. He told Blitzer that maybe when Senators/house members get to be 80 or so it is time to go.
I agree Virginia is a state that now seems to be in play for Democrats as well.
I think Mark Warner would be a good choice. Any Democrat Governor that leaves office with a 70% approval rating in a traditionally Republican state has a future in politics.
David S. at 5:06PM on Aug 31st 2007
2. For my blog on this issue and others, visit:
http://www.politidose.com/
Patrick at 11:17PM on Aug 31st 2007
3. Another seat in the Senate for the Democrats -- another nail in the coffin of wingnuttery. The Democrats are clearly poised to take the White House in 2008, meaning that until at least 2017, the executive and legislative branches will be controled by progrsssives (rendering the robed traitors on the judiciary largely irrelevant). Of course the Republicans will be back someday -- but during their time in the wilderness, they will have to choose between ridding themselves of the fundies and winguts or becoming a permanent minority party. I've no doubt they will wisely choose the former -- so when the GOP returns to the power some 10, 15 or 20 years from now, the Limbaughs, the Robertsons, the Coulters, the D'Souza's and the whole managerie of anti-American extremists who hijacked the party of Lincoln will be a distant memory.
Richter at 9:48AM on Sep 1st 2007