The stakes couldn't be higher for Democrats this year.

[Miss J]

This scenario could happen:

2020- Joe Biden narrowly defeats Donald Trump, but Senate remains Republican, House stays Democratic, Amy Coney Barrett joins Supreme Court, establishing a powerful 6-3 conservative majority.

2022- BECAUSE of Senate, Joe can't do practically anything and has bad first term in office, Stephen Breyer retires (or wants to retire) but Republicans refuse to confirm anyone to the seat.

2024- Widespread unhappiness, Joe is beaten by the Republican candidate, quite a few vulnerable Dem senators re-elected in 2018 lose in 2024.  McConnell quickly fill Breyer's seat with 7-2 Conservative majority...and we're back at January 2017 with Republican trifecta and a more effective Republican President than Donald Trump.

This shouldn't be unrealistic.  Joe might not be that popular in office, most Democrats like him but are not in love and they just want Trump gone.  He's also really old and people are going to want a younger, more exciting leader.  The Senate favors Republicans anyway and it's not assured Democrats can get rid of the filibuster even if they win control.  The House I predict will swing back and forth, but the House is meaningless without the Senate and Presidency.  The Supreme Court is lost for liberals for a long time.  Stephen Breyer is 82 and if there is no Democratic Senate + Presidency, I really doubt that he will be replaced by anyone liberal.

Trump may leave office in January, but the damage is done.  With no major, landmark legislation being able to pass (and Democrats are the only party that has plans for that) everything goes to the courts.

There is only way out of this for Democrats and that is to absolutely take control of the Senate.  They must oust Mitch McConnell and stick together as a caucus and eliminate the filibuster.  The more Senate seats they have the more likely they can get rid of it.  After the filibuster gone, the Democrats can quickly pass a huge agenda and fight to save it in the courts.  Joe may not be a very exciting President but as long as he signs the bills, that will keep Democrats happy.  Democrats will probably lose the House in 2022, but the Senate map is a little bit better.

The SC game is lost - there's not going to be any liberal rulings coming from that court.

Sorry for rambling but the stakes for this election are very very high for Democrats.

[NHI]

I agree, The Senate is a must-win. 

[For Trump, everything. For immigrants, the law]

Not just this year. If Democrats can’t do something with a trifecta even if they win it, and try to play nice in the name of being “bipartisan” or “moderate”, Republicans will just continue to walk all over us and force their agenda, no matter how unpopular it is, on the voters and never face any real consequences for it.

[NHI]

Not just this year. If Democrats can’t do something with a trifecta even if they win it, and try to play nice in the name of being “bipartisan” or “moderate”, Republicans will just continue to walk all over us and force their agenda, no matter how unpopular it is, on the voters and never face any real consequences for it.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I agree.  That's why I'll be spending every free moment trolling social media to let NC voters know about Cal Cunningham's cringeworthy sexting and extramarital affair.  Watching a 6 point lead dissolve like an Alka Seltzer will be AWESOME. 

(Just kidding.  I have a real job to go to.  The professional trolls will have to while away their Neckbeard hours doing things like this.)

I will say this  The Democrats did a better job than they often do in recruiting top-tier challengers.  While I still think Susan Collins and Cory Gardner will somehow pull out victories (although I'm fast losing confidence in Gardner), the Democrats finally found a top-tier challenger to Collins and they found their BEST challenger to Gardiner in Hickenlooper.  Cunningham is a top-tier challenger as well, although his affair coming to light as an "October Surprise" is the kind of stupidity that hurts candidates, and he was certainly stupid to do the most he could do to remind people of John Edwards.

[Calthrina950]

I agree.  That's why I'll be spending every free moment trolling social media to let NC voters know about Cal Cunningham's cringeworthy sexting and extramarital affair.  Watching a 6 point lead dissolve like an Alka Seltzer will be AWESOME. 

(Just kidding.  I have a real job to go to.  The professional trolls will have to while away their Neckbeard hours doing things like this.)

I will say this  The Democrats did a better job than they often do in recruiting top-tier challengers.  While I still think Susan Collins and Cory Gardner will somehow pull out victories (although I'm fast losing confidence in Gardner), the Democrats finally found a top-tier challenger to Collins and they found their BEST challenger to Gardiner in Hickenlooper.  Cunningham is a top-tier challenger as well, although his affair coming to light as an "October Surprise" is the kind of stupidity that hurts candidates, and he was certainly stupid to do the most he could do to remind people of John Edwards.

As I've remarked elsewhere, I'm not sure why you think Cory Gardner still has a chance. He'll be lucky to come as close as George Brauchler or Darryl Glenn at this point. And I think Collins is the clear underdog at this point as well; her chances at winning another term seem to be diminishing with each passing day. She certainly has a better chance at winning reelection than Gardner, but that's not saying much.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I agree.  That's why I'll be spending every free moment trolling social media to let NC voters know about Cal Cunningham's cringeworthy sexting and extramarital affair.  Watching a 6 point lead dissolve like an Alka Seltzer will be AWESOME.  

(Just kidding.  I have a real job to go to.  The professional trolls will have to while away their Neckbeard hours doing things like this.)

I will say this  The Democrats did a better job than they often do in recruiting top-tier challengers.  While I still think Susan Collins and Cory Gardner will somehow pull out victories (although I'm fast losing confidence in Gardner), the Democrats finally found a top-tier challenger to Collins and they found their BEST challenger to Gardiner in Hickenlooper.  Cunningham is a top-tier challenger as well, although his affair coming to light as an "October Surprise" is the kind of stupidity that hurts candidates, and he was certainly stupid to do the most he could do to remind people of John Edwards.

As I've remarked elsewhere, I'm not sure why you think Cory Gardner still has a chance. He'll be lucky to come as close as George Brauchler or Darryl Glenn at this point. And I think Collins is the clear underdog at this point as well; her chances at winning another term seem to be diminishing with each passing day. She certainly has a better chance at winning reelection than Gardner, but that's not saying much.

Again:  Maine hasn't elected a Democratic Senator since 1988.  Angus King is an (I) who caucuses with Democrats but has hinted at switching parties at a few junctures.

I do agree, after looking at the race after I posted the above, that Gardner needs a Hail Mary pass to win.

[WD]

I agree.  That's why I'll be spending every free moment trolling social media to let NC voters know about Cal Cunningham's cringeworthy sexting and extramarital affair.  Watching a 6 point lead dissolve like an Alka Seltzer will be AWESOME.  

(Just kidding.  I have a real job to go to.  The professional trolls will have to while away their Neckbeard hours doing things like this.)

I will say this  The Democrats did a better job than they often do in recruiting top-tier challengers.  While I still think Susan Collins and Cory Gardner will somehow pull out victories (although I'm fast losing confidence in Gardner), the Democrats finally found a top-tier challenger to Collins and they found their BEST challenger to Gardiner in Hickenlooper.  Cunningham is a top-tier challenger as well, although his affair coming to light as an "October Surprise" is the kind of stupidity that hurts candidates, and he was certainly stupid to do the most he could do to remind people of John Edwards.

As I've remarked elsewhere, I'm not sure why you think Cory Gardner still has a chance. He'll be lucky to come as close as George Brauchler or Darryl Glenn at this point. And I think Collins is the clear underdog at this point as well; her chances at winning another term seem to be diminishing with each passing day. She certainly has a better chance at winning reelection than Gardner, but that's not saying much.

Again:  Maine hasn't elected a Democratic Senator since 1988.  Angus King is an (I) who caucuses with Democrats but has hinted at switching parties at a few junctures.

I do agree, after looking at the race after I posted the above, that Gardner needs a Hail Mary pass to win.

Well, Collins has been down in nearly every poll over the past few months, and her approvals are pretty bad. She won’t survive Biden winning ME by 10-12.

[emailking]

Do voters care about affairs anymore? Trump had at least 1 voters knew of when he was elected. Now we know of at least 3 and they didn't tank his numbers.

[Calthrina950]

I agree.  That's why I'll be spending every free moment trolling social media to let NC voters know about Cal Cunningham's cringeworthy sexting and extramarital affair.  Watching a 6 point lead dissolve like an Alka Seltzer will be AWESOME.  

(Just kidding.  I have a real job to go to.  The professional trolls will have to while away their Neckbeard hours doing things like this.)

I will say this  The Democrats did a better job than they often do in recruiting top-tier challengers.  While I still think Susan Collins and Cory Gardner will somehow pull out victories (although I'm fast losing confidence in Gardner), the Democrats finally found a top-tier challenger to Collins and they found their BEST challenger to Gardiner in Hickenlooper.  Cunningham is a top-tier challenger as well, although his affair coming to light as an "October Surprise" is the kind of stupidity that hurts candidates, and he was certainly stupid to do the most he could do to remind people of John Edwards.

As I've remarked elsewhere, I'm not sure why you think Cory Gardner still has a chance. He'll be lucky to come as close as George Brauchler or Darryl Glenn at this point. And I think Collins is the clear underdog at this point as well; her chances at winning another term seem to be diminishing with each passing day. She certainly has a better chance at winning reelection than Gardner, but that's not saying much.

Again:  Maine hasn't elected a Democratic Senator since 1988.  Angus King is an (I) who caucuses with Democrats but has hinted at switching parties at a few junctures.

I do agree, after looking at the race after I posted the above, that Gardner needs a Hail Mary pass to win.

I'm aware of this, but Maine also hasn't gone Republican at the presidential level since that same year, and the polls indicate that Biden could carry the state by low to mid double digits, which would be a significantly better performance than what Hillary Clinton garnered in 2016. It is not 2008 anymore, when Collins won reelection with more than 60% of the vote while Barack Obama was carrying the state by 18% at the same time; the country is far more polarized and her approvals are poor.

Moreover, a state not voting for a party in "x" years doesn't mean that party cannot win it. Lindsay Graham (who I think is still the favorite) could potentially lose his race in South Carolina, and Democrats haven't won a Senate race there since 1998. Kyrsten Sinema's victory in Arizona, back in 2018, was the first time in thirty years that a Democrat won a Senate race there, and Martha McSally looks poised to cost Republicans the state's other Senate seat, giving Arizona two Democratic Senators for the first time in nearly seventy years, since Ernest McFarland left office in 1953. And Democrats could pull off an upset in Kansas, a state which hasn't elected a Democratic Senator since 1932. So this fact alone does not mean that Collins is favored.

[Agafin]

Actually the stakes can be higher. They literally were, four years ago.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The stakes will be a lot higher for Democrats in 2024 if they get rid of the filibuster.

If Democrats win the Presidency and the Senate, it will be because people want a return to some sense of normalcy and stuff like being sure they will keep having insurance that covers their preexisting conditions.   It won't be because people are asking for some ambitious agenda that requires getting rid of the filibuster.  Presidents and the majority party can accomplish a lot of normal important things with taxes and spending under the budget reconciliation process. 

[Pericles]

The stakes will be a lot higher for Democrats in 2024 if they get rid of the filibuster.

If Democrats win the Presidency and the Senate, it will be because people want a return to some sense of normalcy and stuff like being sure they will keep having insurance that covers their preexisting conditions.   It won't be because people are asking for some ambitious agenda that requires getting rid of the filibuster.  Presidents and the majority party can accomplish a lot of normal important things with taxes and spending under the budget reconciliation process. 

In a sane universe, normalcy would not equal constant gridlock but rather the winning party having the ability to govern.

[TJ in Oregon]

I'll take this deal. Where do I sign?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Not just this year. If Democrats can’t do something with a trifecta even if they win it, and try to play nice in the name of being “bipartisan” or “moderate”, Republicans will just continue to walk all over us and force their agenda, no matter how unpopular it is, on the voters and never face any real consequences for it.

These are the same Democrats who tried for months to get Snowe to vote for the Heritage healthcare plan.

[Sir Mohamed]

Stakes are always high. Even if RGB didn't die yet, stakes would be very high.

Before the pandemic sunk Trump even further and a Biden presidency (winning with 290 EVs) with a GOP senate seemed the most likely outcome of the 2020 election, I remember all too well people on this forum arguing a Dem loss in 2020 may be better in the long run. Trump reelected would mean a Dem mega tsunami in 2022: 250 House seats and regain of the senate due to favorable map. Trump could then be blocked from making further judicial nominees and a more progressive Dem prez (compared to Biden) could govern with a trifecta starting on Jan. 20, 2025 and implement a progressive platform.

[Beet]

Actually the stakes can be higher. They literally were, four years ago.

Yeah, pretty much this.