What does it say about the current political climate when Byron Dorgan--North Dakota's progressive lion--didn't even want to go down with a fight? Something tells me that deep down inside, Dorgan wanted to run against Hoeven. Dorgan wanted to stand up there and once again pride about the billions in subsidies and government grants that he brought back to North Dakota. He wanted to show that he was still the king of North Dakota politics. He wanted to show that even the most popular governor couldn't bring him down. Yet, Mr. Dorgan leaves the Senate without a fight.
I remember when President Obama came to Grand Forks and campaigned for "change." North Dakot's congressional delegation stood up there, arms around "the one", priding about how historic such a picture would be after November 2008. Now such an image would have haunted Dorgan all election season. Remember when the pundits actually thought that Obama had a real shot at winning North Dakota. Something tells me that our congressional delegation was swept up in this euphoria as well. I honestly believe that Sen. Dorgan thought that hope and change would change the face of North Dakota. He gambled...and now it is coming back to haunt him.
I think Dorgan was pressured to step down to weaken the image this November of major Senators getting kicked out of office. They say that Heidi Heitkamp might run. This actually might narrow the gap between Hoeven but not enough to make a difference.
The question is now...who falls next? Harry Reid? Maybe. Blanche Lincoln? Probably. Either way let's see if other Senators overplayed their hands when it came to hope and change.
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I concur. There must be some serious power plays being made in those rhetorical "smoky rooms" in DC for them to send a senior senator like Dorgan packing. Granted, he'd lose hands-down in November, and that's a given. But to make him fall on his sword early, whoever wields THAT kind of power over him is well connected indeed.
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