Dole Blows It Again

This time the bad news comes from the northern Plains. North Dakota Governor John Hoeven has opted out of a Senate bid. For those of you keeping score, this is the tenth missed opportunity for Senator Dole and by far the biggest miss of the cycle. Had he challenged Senator Conrad, Hoeven would have offered the GOP its best chance to capture a Senate seat. That distinction now goes to Rep. Mark Kennedy.

Some have argued that Sen. Allen missed his share of opportunities as well. Let's compare:

Allen 2004 (6-3-2)

1. Arkansas - failed to get Tim Hutchinson
2. Colorado - failed to get Owens, partly thanks to his divorce; got behind Coors when he should've backed Schaffer
3. Florida - missed Jeb, got Martinez; won the seat
4. Georgia - got his first pick, Rep. Johnny Isakson; won the seat
5. Nevada - missed Rep. Jim Gibbons
6. North Carolina - got Burr; won the seat
7. North Dakota - okay, Allen blew this one too
8. Oklahoma - got a strong candidate, Humphreys who was defeated by my man in the primary; Coburn won the general
9. South Carolina - got his first pick, DeMint; won the seat
10. South Dakota - got his first pick, Thune; won the seat
11. Washington - missed Jennifer Dunn, but got Rep. Nethercutt

Dole 2006 (2-8-1)

1. Florida - failed to get Gov. Bush; failed to get a second-tier challenger; ended up with Rep. Katherine Harris, who has consistently trailed miserably against Sen. Nelson
2. Maryland - may have gotten Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who has an exploratory committee, but has not committed to the race
3. Michigan - missed Jane Abraham, Rep. Candice Miller, and Rep. Mike Rogers; Stabenow leads GOP front-runner Rev. Keith Butler by 20+
4. Minnesota - got Rep. Kennedy, who was running with or without NRSC recruitment
5. Nebraska - missed Reps. Fortenberry, Osborne, and Terry and acting Governor Dave Heineman; Nelson's now a heavy favorite against a motley crew of third-tier candidates
6. New Mexico - missed Reps. Pearce and Wilson; Bingaman will coast to reelection
7. New York - Rudy? No ; okay, perhaps this one's not on her
8. North Dakota - Hoeven passes; Conrad wins without trying
9. Tennessee - No shortage of candidates here, but Dole's done nothing by way of clearing the field for the strongest candidate
10. Washington - No Rossi, no Dunn, no chance, no way
11. West Virginia - still a shot at liberal Rep. Capito; should've recruited former WVU basketball coach Gale Catlett or rising star Secretary of State Betty Ireland from the start; if Capito had the stomach for it, she'd have gotten in already. Oh by the way, there's nothing like giving away the values issues, as Capito would do, in a state that is economically closer to Sen. KKK
12. Wisconsin - No Thompson, no Ryan, no chance

On fundraising, her other primary responsibility, Sen. Dole is now begging her colleagues to contribute more because she failed to deliver the message to Party "Leadership" that failure to deliver the votes on the constitutional option would be disastrous for fundraising.

The election of Sen. Dole was one of the worst things this Congress has done, and that says a lot considering just how inept the GOP "Leadership" has been. Perhaps, though, more candidates would be willing to make the runs if there was at least some promise of progress. Sadly, though, Republicans have failed repeatedly to do anything worthwhile.

The one promising thing about the 2006 races is that the challengers running and the incumbents who will lose offer the opportunity for conservatives to take control of the caucus. The best case scenario involves former Rep. Ed Bryant, Rep. Mark Kennedy, Mayor Steve Laffey, Rep. Chip Pickering, State Rep. Urquhart replacing Senators Chafee, Frist, Hatch, Lott, and Mudd. If that happens, the 2006 cycle will be a rousing success. Even so, one cannot help but wonder what could have been had Sen. Dole been half-way competent.