Ramifications of the Filibuster Attempt

Politics can be fickle. Democrats have spent the last couple of months crying out about the corruption in the Republican party. They spent countless hours trying to gain an advantage on their counterparts for the upcoming elections. But if they choose to attempt a filibuster on Monday, then all that effort will go to waste.

Voters tend to react most to an issue that is the most fresh news. The filibuster attempt will cause the corruption story to fade into the background.

There are political consequences to this filibuster. The Democrats become the party of obstructionist with the attempt or success of the filibuster. This muddles their message of "culture of corruption." Thus neutralizing this issue a bit.

Democrats in blue states will not be hurt. Possibly they will help them a bit as it is this base that is asking for the filibuster. However, those in contestable races in blue states may make their races tighter with the action.

Those Democrats that have spoken out against the filibuster such as Byrd or the members of the "Gang of 14" who vote for cloture, will not be affected unless in hard liberal areas.

Basically, a filibuster attempt can only help a few Democrats such as Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and John Kerry. That is it can help them in the short term. But the party as a whole loses the momentum it created during the Jack Abramoff issue. It kills their chances of controlling either the Congress, the Senate, and hurts their 2008 Presidential hopes.