The US Senate tends to be a pretty stodgy place. Historically, lawmakers are elected and then they tend to settle in for a while. Sometimes (yes, Robert Byrd, I’m talking about you) a ridiculously long while.<\/p>\n
But the last couple of election cycles, a crazy amount of change has hit the institution, beginning in 2008 with the election of two US Senators, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, to the White House.<\/p>\n
As part of their cabinet, they also chose Ken Salazar from Colorado to head the Interior Department and Hillary Clinton from New York to serve as Secretary of State.<\/p>\n
Also in 2008, we saw five veteran Republican Senators bumped aside: Ted Stevens from Alaska, Norm Coleman from Minnesota, John Sununu from New Hampshire, Elizabeth Dole from North Carolina, and Gordon Smith from Oregon.<\/p>\n
Three new Democrats also picked up open seats in Virginia, New Mexico, and Colorado. <\/p>\n
Including the new Senators picked to replace Team Obama, and the passing of Ted Kennedy in 2009, that represents a 13% turnover in the Senate in one year.<\/p>\n
That’s a huge shift. But the remarkable thing is that we’re certain to see another huge turnover this year.<\/p>\n
Altogether, there are five Democrats and six Republicans slated to retire at the end of 2010. They include some of the titans of the Senate, men like Christopher Dodd, Evan Bayh, Byron Dorgan, Kit Bond and Judd Gregg. <\/p>\n
There is also a very real chance that a number of other veterans could be forced out, either by their own parties or by voters in the general elections.<\/p>\n
It appears all but certain that GOP leaders in Utah will force Republican Bob Bennett off their ticket in November.<\/p>\n
And John McCain, once his party’s national standard-bearer, is fighting for his life in Arizona’s primary.<\/p>\n
On the Democratic side, Majority Leader Harry Reid looks deeply vulnerable. So do Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. <\/p>\n
All this change reflects a couple of trends: First, there is intense voter dissatisfaction and a deep anger toward both party’s incumbents. There is also a shift in the culture of the Senate itself.<\/p>\n
Not so long ago, incumbents Senators like McCain and Bennett would have been untouchable within their own parties. Now they are viewed with something like suspicion, as “Washington insiders.”<\/p>\n
When we begin 2011, it’s likely that America will have a new kind of Senate, one with only a handful of legislative veterans, and very few links to the institution’s traditional past. <\/p>\n
Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Your thoughts are welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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