WI: Mitch McConnell lost reelection in 2008?

What would need to happen for Democrats to successfully flip this seat in the 2008 Senate elections? What ramifications would there be with the removal of McConnell from the Republican caucus? Would we still have the filibuster? How would American politics, and Obama's tenure, be shaped by the absence of this major legislative figure?
 
Not sure how to make it happen, perhaps different Obama rhetoric around guns and coal? Avoiding "clinging to guns and religion" might help there. Earlier and greater evidence linking his wife to cocaine and/or corruption could work.

Without McConnell in the caucus the total obstruction line might not become GOP strategy, but the Dem's majority would also be less vulnerable to fillibusters and Joe Liebermans. The filibuster would likely thus be a less contentious issue overall. We'd also likely see a better stimulus bill, a public option in Obamacare, and many more judicial confirmations. Conceivably some republicans would be more open to bipartisanship on stuff like climate and immigration in this scenario. Even if not, the marginal improvements in 2009-2010 would have a big impact on the 2010 midterms, even if they didn't swing them completely. They, and that 2010 electoral change, would also give Obama much broader support and potential in the later years, so you'd probably see some Bush tax cut repeals sooner, less austerity, and maybe even an actual treaty on climate or Iran going before the Senate.
 
Not sure, McConnell and Trump seems like symptoms to me, that Republicans voters uncooperative and hostile attitude toward Democrats on general.

other Republicans senator would replace McConnell, continue Republicans uncooperative attitude toward Obama, because that's position their voters want.
 
OTL McConnell's opponent was a relatively unkown businessman. If Steve Beshear or one of Kentucky's two democratic Representatives at the time (John Yarmuth and Ben Chandler) ran, they might have been a stronger challenger. If McConnell did lose, his most likely successor as minority leader would be Jon Kyl. Kyl's pretty conservative, so its unlikely that you would have seen Republicans suddenly cooperate with Obama's legislative agenda, but you might have seen less obstruction of appointments.
 
OTL McConnell's opponent was a relatively unkown businessman. If Steve Beshear or one of Kentucky's two democratic Representatives at the time (John Yarmuth and Ben Chandler) ran, they might have been a stronger challenger. If McConnell did lose, his most likely successor as minority leader would be Jon Kyl. Kyl's pretty conservative, so its unlikely that you would have seen Republicans suddenly cooperate with Obama's legislative agenda, but you might have seen less obstruction of appointments.

Does Obama push through a nominee after Scalia dies?
 
Not sure, McConnell and Trump seems like symptoms to me, that Republicans voters uncooperative and hostile attitude toward Democrats on general.

other Republicans senator would replace McConnell, continue Republicans uncooperative attitude toward Obama, because that's position their voters want.
I think that you are right. The Republicans Obstruction would still happen and I be complaining about another Republican over on the Chats Pages.
 
I think that you are right. The Republicans Obstruction would still happen and I be complaining about another Republican over on the Chats Pages.

Republican obstruction would still happen, but if McConnell loses to a Democrat (as opposed to another Republican in the primary), it'd have a significant impact on Republicans' ability to obstruct before the 2010 midterms. Democrats technically had a filibuster-proof majority, but only for about 4 months (between Arlen Specter changing parties and Ted Kennedy dying). Kennedy's health made it hard for him to get to votes before then, and the narrow margin meant even if they could split off one Republican, one recalcitrant Democrat like Joe Lieberman could exact basically any concession he wanted. A 39-59 split gives the Democratic agenda much more power than a 40-58 one.
 
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