In a rather strange bit of media, the decision of Montana Democrat Brian Schweitzer not to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Max Baucus is being portrayed as some sort of major surprise. It is not.
Two months ago, Schweitzer was elected to head Stillwater Mining, a large platinum producer with mines across Montana. The election came after the former CEO was ousted by a shareholders' revolt. Schweitzer ended up with a lucrative job that will give him a much bigger pay day than anything he could get in the Senate. There is no way that Schweitzer would have taken the job if he were planning to resign almost immediately to run in the elections.
That being said, Schweitzer's announcement that he will not run coupled with the retirement of Baucus means that the seat is likely to go to the Republicans. That result is far from a sure thing, but the odds right now have to be about 2-1 in favor of the GOP. That is a big step towards the Republicans regaining control of the senate.
Of course, having control of the Senate and the House will only allow the Republicans to pass laws that president Obama will ignore as unwieldy. Since Obama does not enforce the laws as written, the power to write them is not as important as it used to be.
Two months ago, Schweitzer was elected to head Stillwater Mining, a large platinum producer with mines across Montana. The election came after the former CEO was ousted by a shareholders' revolt. Schweitzer ended up with a lucrative job that will give him a much bigger pay day than anything he could get in the Senate. There is no way that Schweitzer would have taken the job if he were planning to resign almost immediately to run in the elections.
That being said, Schweitzer's announcement that he will not run coupled with the retirement of Baucus means that the seat is likely to go to the Republicans. That result is far from a sure thing, but the odds right now have to be about 2-1 in favor of the GOP. That is a big step towards the Republicans regaining control of the senate.
Of course, having control of the Senate and the House will only allow the Republicans to pass laws that president Obama will ignore as unwieldy. Since Obama does not enforce the laws as written, the power to write them is not as important as it used to be.
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