Norm Coleman has finally conceded the 2008 Minnesota Senate race. Al Franken will be sworn in soon (probably next week) and Democrats will finally have a majority of 60 in the Senate.
Which will, of course, make approximately no difference at all. The corruption of the filibuster into a routine requirement for 60 votes in the Senate (an arguably unconstitutional evolution, IMHO) combined with the continuing presence of half a dozen non-liberals in the Democratic caucus combined with an almost iron self-discipline within the Republican caucus — well, all that combined means that liberals now have the illusion of control of Congress but not the reality. In a way, it’s almost the worst of all possible worlds. Dem vs. Dem is now practically the only narrative that anyone will pay attention to, and since unanimous agreement is the only way for that narrative to play out well, this means it’s almost always going to play out badly.
Still, that’s a glass-half-empty point of view. So let’s be more positive: one more vote is one more vote. And unless events are massively unfavorable, the ground still looks favorable to pick up two or three more seats in 2010. And Franken will probably be a pretty good senator, someone who knows how to talk in plain language and get himself on the talk shows. As long as he keeps his sense of humor and shows it to us once in a while, I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.
