Landrieu gets Southern (in)hospitality: Opinionline

Alex Rogers, Time : "With the fall of three-term Sen. Mary Landrieu Saturday, Louisiana will not have a Democratic statewide elected official for the first time since 1876. ... The Republican Party will control ... every Senate seat, governor's mansion and legislative chamber from the Carolinas to Texas. Congress' last white Democrat in the (South) didn't lose because of a superior opponent, but because of her association with a deeply unpopular president and a health care law."

Paul Waldman, The American Prospect : "The old playbook for white Southern Democrats (does) not work anymore, (but) there's an alternative: Be a more loyal Democrat. ... A greater emphasis on the things that distinguish Democrats from Republicans could give them more of a chance to win. ... This approach would have the added benefit of not making Democrats look weak and unprincipled, as they so often appear by the end of a campaign in the South. And it isn't like they have a lot of other options."

David Corbin and Matt Parks, The Federalist : "The incoming class of U.S. senators is now complete. ... Half (30) of those Democratic senators who voted for Obamacare just five years ago are now gone, 17 of whom were replaced by Republicans. As even leading Democrats have begun to notice, if there is any one message the American people have communicated in their congressional election votes over the last three cycles, it is that Obamacare should go, too."

Michael Tomasky, The Daily Beast : "With Landrieu's departure, the Democrats will have no more senators from the Deep South, and I say good. ... Write it off. Let the GOP have it and run it. (Democrats) should make no effort, except under extraordinary circumstances, to field competitive candidates. The national committees shouldn't spend a red cent down there. This means every Senate seat will be Republican, and 80% of the House seats will be, too. ... It's gone. A different country. And maybe someday it really should be."

Jim Geraghty, National Review : "In another two years, we'll probably get another crop of Democratic Great Rural Hope candidates, posing in their pink sneakers and cowboy boots. ... And then Tomasky's denunciation of the region will be forgotten. (The political press) will journey to the South and write their glowing profile pieces about how these new moderate, sensible, populist Democrats can win in Republican-leaning states."

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