Senate Numbers

Sabato: GOP to Take House, Maybe Senate in 2010 Election

NUMBERS Drudge has this titled "SHOCK PREDICTION," but if you're surprised, you haven't been paying attention, and still don't know. To answer your unasked question: “ If the Senate is split 50-50, who is in control? Has there ever been an even split? If the voters were ever to elect 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats to the U.S. Senate, the party of the Vice President would be considered the majority party. The Vice President is named by the Constitution to be the President of the Senate [the presiding officer]. The Vice President would cast the tie-breaking votes on all the resolutions organizing the new Senate, including electing its officers and assigning committee seats. In 1881, the Senate stood at 37-37, with 2 Independents: one tended to vote with the Democrats and the other with the Republicans. When Vice President Chester Arthur became president after the assassination of President Garfield, the Vice Presidency was left vacant, leaving no one to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate. The two parties came to an agreement where the Republicans controlled the committees and the Democrats managed the patronage. ” A better analogy, I think,  is 1980.  Reagan's sweep brought with him a Republican Senate, but the House remained Democrat controlled.  Didn't matter.  Houses Dems were so fearful of Reagan's popularity that House Republicans were able to steamroll them - for two years.  I see the same thing happening in a split Senate.  Plus, if Reid manages  to be one of those 50 Democrats, it will be an easy task to get him indicted, something that's way-way overdue.