Why not make it easy on ourselves and nominate John Elway?

He is reportedly interested, a conservative Republican, and fairly well known and liked in Colorado.

;-)

give John the ball

There's little doubt that the Democrats will go after this seat in a big way, though I do question how fast Colorado is trending Democratic. Its swing left from 2000 to 2004 was a result of the Nader voters going to Kerry. My instinct is that Colorado is now about a 52-48 state in favour of the Republicans, which would mean that two Democratic senators, a Democratic governor, Democratic majorities in both houses, and four out of seven Democratic representatives is a little overstretched. This might be a more uphill fight for the Democrats than initially expected.

It's definitely the most vulnerable Republican seat so far, but don't be surprised if in two years time, it's still red.

"give John the ball." -- Ironman

Because Lynn Swann did so well in Pennsylvania?

I think McInnis is the GOP's best choice in Colorado. If he declines, they should go with Schaeffer.

Another seat that will probably go Democratic. It is looking less likely that the Republicans will be able to hold on to more than 40 seats in the Senate in the near future.

I wonder how "moderate" the Democrats will be when there is no worry about a filibuster?

If the Democrats had 60 seats (which is unlikely - if all goes well in 2008 and 2010, they might get up to 56 or 57, before 2012, which will be a killing ground for them in the Senate), they would be more, not less moderate. If they had 60 seats, they would be able to have 9 Senators vote with the Republicans and still have 51 votes, even assuming no Republicans voted with them. That would allow Democrats in red states to vote against liberal legislation popular at home. Tom DeLay did much the same thing when he was House Whip - he let moderates like Shays, Castle, Shaw, Johnson, etc. vote against bills that would damage their political standing at home, as long as there were enough votes to ensure that they would pass.

That's why the GOP moderates in the Senate from 2004-2006 had far more moderate records than the Democratic moderates. Because there were 55 GOP senators, they could afford to lose votes. The Democrats, with only 45, could not, so Durbin had to keep them much more closely in line.

Swann 1) was running against an incumbent who outspent him 2/3-1; 2) had been out of the public eye for about 15 years; 3) was from one part of a bipolar state; and 4) picked a horrendous year to run in a Blue state as an R

Elway 1) would be in an open seat; 2) is presently a Arena League team owner 3) from the state's sole major media market 4) is running is a state which has yet to vote D in a close Presidential election

McInnis is OK, he is from the Western Slope which is a swing area. Schaeffer lost the 2004 primary to Coors so I question his overall appeal