How will the defeat of Tom Daschle play in the heartland?

Several bloggers, most notably The Power Line and The Frog Man, have discussed the effect that Tom Daschle's failure of re-election will have on several other "Red State Democrats" or Democratic Senators who represent States that Bush carried--not just this time around but last time, too. Specifically, the message is: Watch it. Fall in line on Bush's judicial nominations if you want to stay in the Senate.

Of course, the first-prize solution is always to run good Republican candidates (and not repeat not any more Arlen Specters!) to knock those guys off, as we did Daschle. Second prize is to flip them, as we did Dick Shelby back in 1994. This will do for a third prize.

While I'm on the subject: The problem isn't just Republicans In Name Only fooling their electorates back home. The problem is also the Senate itself. It acts more like a private club than the debating forum it's supposed to be. Frankly, I prefer the Senate of Rome in the days of Cato the Younger--what a real master of invective he was!--or Gaius Scribonius Curio, who served a term as Tribune of the Plebs during the Gallic Wars and really shook up the Senate, or the incomparable Mark Antony. Now that was politics as it was meant to be. Modern Senators can't seem to do anything sometimes, because they're too busy worrying that someone will be Not Speaking to them for a month. Who cares???

Well, maybe these two bloggers are right and Daschle's defeat will actually goose the Senate into doing some of the right things. Only time will tell.