Because a senate term is six years and takes up three-quarters of a two-term president’s time in office, I’m of the opinion that no senate seats should go uncontested if at all possible. There are always seats that are obviously safe, but in our current political climate the Republicans can make that claim on only a small handful of seats.
It’s also true that at certain points in the political cycle it makes more sense to concentrate on holding on to what you already have than on expanding your numbers. Fortunately, the Democrats have not yet reached that point. It’s more likely that the Democrats will gain senate seats in 2010 than that they will lose them. Since the Democrats are sitting with a stronger hand, they should go all out to win every available seat. I think 2012 will be different. By 2012, the Democrats will be defending some vulnerable seats in a presidential election year. But, in 2010, the Democrats should push their advantage and try to get as close to seventy seats as possible. I think it’s possible to get to sixty-six seats. Anything higher would require excellent recruitment and a lot of good luck. But we should concede only three or four seats. With enough financing, we can win the vast majority of contested seats.
Real progressive change in this country has always been achieved in narrow windows. We need to create that window in 2011-12.
