The Party's Over

By Jay Newton-Small

On Nov. 26, former Majority Leader Trent Lott became the seventh Republican to announce plans to depart the Senate. The move has fanned Democratic hopes of a 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority in that chamber and GOP fears that the party is in a downward spiral.

Lott plans to step down before the end of the year, which means Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour can replace him with a Republican who can then run as an incumbent in a special election next year. But retiring GOP Senators from Virginia, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Idaho are all planning to serve out their terms--leaving their seats open to challengers and, in many cases, divisive and expensive primaries. Republicans also have four vulnerable Senators running in purple states in 2008: New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota and Oregon; some of them are trailing in polls. Senator Ted Stevens' corruption woes in Alaska may force Republicans to defend that once lock-safe seat. And Democrats have even vowed to go after Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, whose protege just lost the Kentucky Governor's mansion to a Democratic insurgent. But if resignations are weakening the party, the party's weakness is also encouraging more resignations: it's just less fun when your team isn't winning, so more GOP-ers are opting out.

The resignation bug has also spread to the House, where three senior Republicans--former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, former Republican Conference chairwoman Deb Pryce and seven-term veteran Ray LaHood of Illinois--are among the 18 who have had enough. One more big Republican retirement (or scandal), and Democrats may start thinking that Christmas has come early.