Ireland Out; Catlett Only Hope

Elizabeth Dole's latest failure is her inability to convince West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland to challenge Sen. Robert KKK Byrd. Though she would only have been in office for two years, Ireland proved her political metal when she defeated Ken Hechler by nearly 30,000 votes, making her the only victorious GOP candidate in any statewide race last year. She is a solid conservative but has an approach that makes her tough to demonize, especially running against a crotchety old man like KKK. The departure leaves former West Virginia University basketball coach Gale Catlett as the last remaining person with any real chance of defeating Byrd. Even he would be a long shot. This is just the latest in a series of Dole's failures. Hopefully the Republican Caucus will remember this the next time they choose an NRSC Chair and be more careful with their election.