121 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 75 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds    H4'ed 9/27/12

Maine's Angus King, running to be Governor of the U.S. Senate

By       (Page 1 of 4 pages)   3 comments

Jean Hay Bright
Message Jean Hay Bright
Become a Fan
  (7 fans)

 

From day one, Angus King has been a spoiler in Maine's U.S. Senate race to replace Olympia Snowe.

His entry into the race forced King's "good friend" Congresswoman Chellie Pingree to reconsider her next move, and to pass on the race. Chellie would have been a natural, and an easy win against Republican nominee Charlie Summers, whom she had defeated once before, in 2008 for Congress, by 55% to 45%. But, because of Angus King, it is not to be.

King says he wants to go to Washington as a moderate, to do what seasoned politician and so-called moderate Olympia Snowe could not do -- be the force for common ground in that tumultuous arena. That is his only stated reason for jumping into the race. But, in everything he has said about how he will do that, two things are clear.

One, he has repeatedly insisted that he will not decide which party, if either, to caucus with until after the election. Both the Democrats and the Republicans are assuming that he, being a nice guy and all, will of course caucus with the Democrats. But that's not what King is saying, and for the Democrats to assume that is both foolish and naive.

King is waiting until after the election to make that decision because -- presuming he's elected-- his decision depends entirely how the cards have fallen in the other 49 states. That means voters in all the other states will determine what King does next.

Which party will have the majority? Come Nov. 7, is the new U.S. Senate split down the middle, or has one party taken charge with room to spare?

Which brings us to the second thing that is clear. King is counting on the U.S. Senate to be split 49-49, with him and Vermont's Socialist/Independent Senator Bernie Sanders standing in the center aisle. Since Bernie Sanders already caucuses with the Democrats, in a split chamber, that situation would put King as the deal-maker.

And that's what he wants to be. He wants to be the deciding vote, yeah or nay. He wants to have veto power, just like he did when he was Maine's governor.

Which brings me to a perfectly logical conclusion -- Angus King is running to be Governor of the U.S. Senate.

(I personally don't think King has made the intellectual leap from being the one and only chief executive in a small-population state to being one small part, only one in a hundred, of a legislative body that is in charge of the whole country. Political science professor Amy Fried, in one of her BDN columns, noted that foreign policy positions have been oddly absent from this race.)  

But what happens if, after all the voters in all those other 49 states make their decisions, the U.S. Senate chamber is not split down the middle? If one party holds a comfortable majority, King, as a self-described independent moderate, is left out in the cold. His vote, his permission, his voice, becomes irrelevant. Neither party would need him. For anything. And Maine loses.

Another odd thing about Angus King is how thin-skinned he has been, from the very beginning. The day after the Democratic and Republican primary, King challenged the other candidates to disavow any negative campaigning, by their own campaigns or by outside forces beyond their control. So, first off, we learned he was bracing for negative campaigning, and he wanted to head it off at the pass. The two party nominees, of course, declined, pointing to our Constitution's free speech First Amendment as well as the recent Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

And then when those negative ads started being aired, in several television and radio spots funded by outside Republican organizations, Angus King freaked out. He ran a strange counter-ad, featuring the 1950s movie monster Godzilla, as he stands there insisting that the big guys on the other side are picking on him. When a second round of ads shows up, he demands that the stations pull the ads, claiming that they are factually inaccurate. The TV stations of course declined his request.

Angus King, for all his name recognition, is coming off as a newbie, an inexperienced candidate, one who is not prepared for the heat that is always found these days in the top-level U.S. Senate Campaign kitchen.

Welcome to the real world, Angus.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Valuable 2   Must Read 1   Well Said 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Jean Hay Bright Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Writer and political activist Jean Hay Bright is now semi-retired, running an organic farm in Dixmont Maine with her husband David Bright. Her two political books are "Proud to be a Card-Carrying, Flag-Waving, Patriotic American Liberal (1996), (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Numbers Prove Sanders Has Earned a Path to White House

Bernie Beating Hillary in Blue & Purple States with Delegates & Votes

Maine's Angus King, running to be Governor of the U.S. Senate

Thanks, Super-Delegates

Republicans, turn the tables with Medicare-For-All

Olympia Snowe -- Consequences of one election, one vote

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend