Moderates in the next Senate

[smoltchanov]

Manchin and Collins correspondingly. Though when i look back (to the time. when my interest in Americam politics began to show itself initially) and see such Senators as Eastland and McClellan among Democrats and Javits and Case among Republicans - i understand how much more interesting politics was then. Now in 95% of cases i can predict voting patterns and numbers without any need to think, political polarization is beyond imaginable, much less compromise and generally - politics became much more boring: simply count number of "D"'s and "R"'s in chamber and you got fair idea of what will happen. Present day "moderates" among Democrats are much more liberal then in the past, and vice versa - for Republicans...

[smoltchanov]

There are no Republican moderates in the Senate.

Yes. If we're already calling people like outgoing Lugar "moderate", something is wrong.

Lugar is pragmatic conservative, but Collins and Snowe are moderates...

[smoltchanov]

All Senate Democrats are moderates, guys, lets be realistic.  The only 'left leaning' Democrats in elected office at the national level might be a few in the House from the Black caucus or something like that.

Disagree strongly. Franken and Boxer, for example, are far-left-wingers for me, and nothing less.