Poll: Should Stevens step down? Resignation could impact Senate balance

October 28, 5:46 PMPolitics RoundupJay Keller

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The guilty verdict of Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on Monday could mean the end of a 40-year tenure in the Senate. But, with the election only one week away, the development could help inch the Democratic Party even closer to 60 seats in the Senate. Currently, the Democrats control the Senate by a margin of 51-49.

With Stevens' reelection hopes growing increasingly slim by the minute, the Democrats grow even more hopeful of reaching the fillibuster-proof 60 seat majority. And, now that the ballots have been printed and the deadline has passed, it's too late to replace the incumbent Alaska senator with a new candidate.

Why is 60 so important? The Democrats now have 51 seats and Senate rules mandate that it takes a vote of 60 senators to end a vote or "invoke cloture." The implications: only 41 senators are needed to stop a nomination, or a bill, from being brought to a vote. In other words, such a move would kill the bill.

Also, under the Senate’s rules, any bill or presidential nomination can be debated — and debated and debated — until every senator has had his or her say on the matter. Ahh, the fillibuster.

So, with a majority of 60 senators, the chances of a fillibuster grow slimmer, along with the need to force a bipartisan compromise.

Although the balance of the Senate doesn't necessarily depend on one seat, the loss of one seat has a huge impact on the Republican party and their election strategy. For example, the Democrats could use a filibuster-proof majority to pass a law giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, allowing them to become citizens. Or, they could threaten a fillibuster to stall the nomination Republican-backed judicial candidate as well.

Either way, Democratic Senate candidates are likely to follow the strategy of putting their opponents on the defensive in the wake of the Stevens verdict.

Today, presidential nominee John McCain called on Alaska's Ted Stevens to resign from the U.S. Senate, saying that Stevens "has broken the trust of the people." Given that development, what do you think? Vote now in our poll.

Should Alaska's Ted Stevens resign his senate seat in the wake of his conviction on charges of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts?