Rothenberg: Democrats could get to 60 Senate seats by 2010

[Rob]

Tell me again, why did Tester only win by about a point?

Because he's a leftie who doesn't fit the state at all. And that makes his victory all the sweeter.

[Rob]

So you're admitting that if Burns didn't make totally outrageous comments and wasn't one of the most recognizably corrupt members of Congress tied to one of the most recognizably corrupt men in the country, Tester would have been owned?

Yes, obviously (although I doubt Tester would have run in that case). But who cares? Now we have a Senator who wants to repeal the PATRIOT Act and immediately withdraw from Iraq. I'm glad we had a narrow victory with a liberal instead of a solid victory with DLCer Morrison.

Burns has been pounding the state with the TV ad message that "Tax-hike Tester is too liberal for Montana" and would have voted differently from Montana's other senator, Democrat Max Baucus, on the Bush tax cuts, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the energy bill, Patriot Acts I and II, the flag amendment and the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts.

He's also pro-choice and opposes ANWR drilling. It must irritate you to no end knowing that he was elected in a state that voted 59 percent for Bush... it would be like Jim Talent winning in Rhode Island.

[Rob]

Fair enough. Liberals really did luck out, though- Burns should have retired and allowed Rehberg to run for Senate.

[Rob]

Not quite.  Montana is not an evangelical Conservative state like states in the deep south.  It is more of a libertarian state and is majority pro-choice.  Notice how Tester is strongly against gun control?  That plays well in Montana.

It's not a religious right state, but that doesn't make it socially liberal. Montanans tend to be economically conservative, too.

Tester is hardly a liberal.  He is against gun control and a lot of other things that liberals support.

I'm a liberal, and I oppose gun control. Tester is left-wing on almost every issue...

... although nobody would consider Tester an anti-globalization activist, his position on international trade is more in line with the protesters who shut down Seattle in 1999 than with the Democratic Leadership Council.

In addition to the examples I gave above.