Will Ben Nelson now start voting like a more progressive liberal Democrat?

The headlines suggest that the Democrats are worried about keeping "control" of the Senate in 2012 now that Ben Nelson has announced that he won't seek reelection in 2012, but I assert that the question is more relevant for 2013 and beyond since Nelson will be free to vote for the entire year of 2012, and further that he will now be able to "vote with his heart" since he doesn't have to vote in a manner to assure the reelection that he will not seek. The real, urgent question is how Nelson will vote in 2012. It is hard to say. Given that his current voting record has been masked by his desire to get reelected, we don't know how his "heart" would vote.

 

In any case, the good news, for Democrats is that they at least have a chance that in 2012 they may have another liberal progressive vote rather than a right-moderate, quasi-Republican voter in their midst.

-- Jack Krupansky