Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter is going to mount a primary challenge to Blanche Lincoln, bringing her re-election prospects from “bleak” to “bleaker.” The conventional take on this seems to be that Halter getting in the race raises the prospects that she’ll back health reform.
I suppose that seems right to be, but it’s also worth considering the fact that at a certain point your political situation starts to look so bad that your thinking is dominated not by your re-election campaign but by your post-Senatorial job prospects. A moderate Democratic Senator from Arkansas might put together one kind of voting record if she’s looking for a private sector career and a slot on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors, and she might put a different one together if she’s looking for an executive branch appointment.
The particulars of Lincoln’s case aside, given that there are a whole bunch of incumbents (especially in the House) who are very likely to lose their seats in November no matter what they do on health care, it would be well-worth the White House’s time to invest a little energy in exploring who might enjoy a stint as ambassador to the Bahamas or some such.
Previous in TP Yglesias
By clicking and submitting a comment I acknowledge the ThinkProgress Privacy Policy and agree to the ThinkProgress Terms of Use. I understand that my comments are also being governed by Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policies as applicable, which can be found here.