"It seems the Democratic efforts to defeat McConnell's re-election bid had been deemed overly aggressive"

As opposed to the efforts to defeat Tom Daschle's bid in 2004? Nice whine, with an excellent bouquet.

Their feelings are hurt. Oooooh.

Crybabies.

Fuck them. Seriously. Fuck them.

Does anyone think the public will be in the mood for their hurt feelings when there are so many serious problems plagueing people's everyday lives?

The Obama team is hitting the ground running. The Republicans will dig themselves a deeper hole if the play obstructions and whine about their hurt feelings.

a handful of votes where the people of Maine (1) are paying attention and (2) actually care.

In a crisis situation, people will care and pay attention. I suspect this will be a bigger problem for Sens from northern urban and western states. I'd love to see Cornyn, Kyl, McCain and Ensign squirm. The entitlement of professional courtesy will not be enough to let them filibuster a lot on economic or health care issues.

Mitch McConnell's only note is obstruction. That is what he does all the time. The only hope for America is that Obama is able to break Republican solidarity important votes. That is probably why he made nice with Lieberman. McCain is one guy who is likely to vote Democratic if a really big issue comes along. There are others, but I heard somewhere that McCain is a maverick.

This is just part of the fantasyland that right-wingers always live in. This particular fantasy was probably invented by Rush Limbaugh or Frank Luntz messaging from his blackberry while sitting on the toilet taking his morning dump.

How nice that Collins and McConnell are so rich and privileged that they can afford to obsess about their delicate emotions, crying like babies rather than doing their jobs.

Seriously, remember the Daschle take down? It was as he was trying to be as bipartisan as possible in the wake of 9/11 and Rove made taking him out objective #1.

Awwwww. Republicans have hurt feelings? I didn't know Republicans even had feelings.

Isn't this the GOP's version of reverse psychology? They accuse the opposition of what they've always done themselves, with the intention of temporarily confusing the voters. Think of the attack on Obama for a. inexperience and b. being a celebrity, followed by the nomination of Palin.

What a f*cking double standard. Did John Kerry have "hurt feewings" after he was called every name in the book in 2004? After Republican'ts like Collins wore purple heart band-aids at the 2004 RNC convention to mock Kerry's 3 purple hearts.

SCUM. You are SCUM Susan Collins. Your party pretends health care, global warming, and widening economic inequality are not problems, and instead focuses on corporate welfare, endless war, and cutting taxes for the rich. And you want us to give a sh*t because you have "hurt feewings".

Bitch.

Emo Republicans are hilarious

I'm all like, choked up, you know? Won't somebody be their friend? Maybe Karl Rove will come hold their hand, kiss the boo-boo and make it all better.

Cry me a river...

Hello??? McFly????

Joe Lieberman insinuated that Barack Obama was a terrorist loving marxist and Mr. Obama didn't whine (I think he should have stepped on Lieberman's neck, but that's me). These people are pathetic. Get over it! Politics ain't beanbag!

Somebody from the new administration needs to get a box of Kleenex and sit down with these crybabies and make it clear to them that they will be asked nicely, exactly once, to come along on important legislation. They should then be warned that obstructionists will not be coddled, they will instead be ground into a fine powder. Obama needs to make an example of someone early on, just to give everyone a heads up that things have changed.

Harold in Buffalo 9:24 AM

"I didn't know Republicans even had feelings."

The do have compassion for the top one percent.

I think Collins has a point. Incumbents aren't supposed to be challenged. The Democrats seem to have forgotten that this whole opposition party thing is just theatre.

Just imagine, trying to get a sitting Senator voted out of office. The nerve.

Wait a doggone minute. I thought Liberals were supposed to play the victim card all the time.

I can't remember - who was that senator (or was it a representative?) who was a Republican voting mostly conservative, then switched parties and became a Democrat voting mostly liberal?

Wow, the party of Personal Responsibility just turned into the party of WATB.

Gosh darnit, even Palin knew that politics is a tough business, dontchano (wink).

Feinting (sic) couch is over there -------->

If you can't stand the heat...

Whiners!!!!

Ths reminds me of a speech Clarence Thomas gave a few years ago, where he said the problem with modern American politics is that the conservatives are just too civil. They need to get more aggressive with the liberals.

I would have more sympathy for Collins and McConnell had they loudly and publicly scolded their own party for scurillous nonsense like linking Obama to Britney Spears, for outright lies like the Swiftboat Vets, and for grotesque Orwellian character assassination like suggesting Max Cleland was insufficiently patriotic.

As I don't recall any such consistency, I find her behaviour more contemptable than compelling.

"When GOP lawmakers opposed the initial Wall Street bailout, they said it was because Nancy Pelosi hurt their feelings. In reality, they just didn't like the bill."

Actually, this may be an instance in which lawmakers listened to their constituents - at least Republicans pretended to listen temporarily, knowing full well that the bill would be passed eventually. Of course their general principle is to obstruct the Democratic Congress and try to make them look incompetent.

Anyway the political motivations on this issue are complex and whether they "like" the bills or not has no importance.

They're trying to scare the Dems into not opposing Republicans in elections. "If you are insufficiently collegial when it comes to elections, we'll be insufferable pricks on the Senate floor. How will you like THAT!"

Talk about not being based in reality....

Republicans have become sixth-grade sore losers.
american politics in evolutionary retrograde.

This while Saxby Chambliss is busy attempting to smear Jim Martin as being soft on child predators. Martin's daughter was kidnapped when she was eight. She was returned to her family, thank goodness. This fact didn't keep Chambliss from smearing his opponent. Just as he, who earned five student deferments during the Vietnam war, smeared disabled veteran Max Cleland in a prior election. Hurt feelings? Cry me a river, assholes.

How is the local media covering Collins' statement and general kvetching in Maine?

Sort of explains Lieberman's hurt feelings when a few Democrats had the nerve to campaign with the Dem nominee against him.

What part of the words "Tom Daschle" do these people not understand? And the actually succeeded in taking him out.

It takes a special kind of amnesia to be such a political hack.

First they call you traitors, then they call you Marxists, then they call you Socialists, then they call you meanies and then you win.

Clarence Thomas thought they were too nice?

Sounds like the old joke about two former Nazis talking about a possible 4th Reich, to which, one said, "Ya, and next time, no more Mr Nice Guy".

Let 'em cry.

Then call them crybabies. Repeatedly.

Use their own nasty, vicious ads as examples - bring video clips to every talk show, in case this comes up. Observe, humorously, that they can dish it out, but they sure can't take it.

Point out, at every opportunity, how many of them voted to obstruct the legislation of the week. Point out all the good stuff that the Republicans successfully blocked. Observe that, while they're crying about their hurt feelings, Americans are actually suffering.

Get people mad at Republicans. It would be about time.

When GOP lawmakers opposed the initial Wall Street bailout, they said it was because Nancy Pelosi hurt their feelings. In reality, they just didn't like the bill.

In reality, they reflexively opposed anything supported by Democrats.

It is surreal.

I imagine U.S. politics devolving into one of those shoe throwing contests we see in Asian politics.

We need adults running this country.

This is making the decision to forgive Lieberman look a little bit smarter (though I'm still not happy about it). Constantly complaining that the people who are publicly magnanimous to you are just so mmmeeeaaannn makes the complainer look like a bitter whiner.

When I get sad, I stop being sad, and be awesome instead. True Story.

Shorter GOP: "You hate America. You want the terrorist to win. You're going to ban the bible. You drink lattes. You're out to destroy the family. And you're a big meanie."

Did any of these guys get emotionally past the age of six?

Collins, McConnel,
Grow up you wussies before I come over and smack you upside the head. Republican senatorial shmucks. Smucks!
PS- if you don't back the President's agenda we are going to come down on you like a ton of bricks.

How are they going to stand up to the terrorists if they can't stand some truthful campaigning?

Robin Z - that was Jim Jeffords.

Given the rumors about McConnell, someone is bound to throw the obvious insult at him for this.

Shorter GOP whiners:

I think you're wrong. Politics is beanbag. Or at least, it should be when it comes to me.

The obvious answer to these guys is the one we heard from them over and over between 2000 and 2007: Get over it.

Republicans have some serious victimization issues. On NPR the other day, I heard a leading pundit for the religious right exclaim his excitement at being the 'underdog'. He claims it fires up their base and makes them more active.

In other words, they only thrive if they can convince themselves they're being victimized. You see this all the time with Republican reaction to events.

Well, if the Reupkes really want to publicly display how weak they really are, if they really want to have their collective weakness of character and personality publicly noticed and debated, then I for one fully support an informal national referendum on how weak modern conservatives really are. I mean, if Republicans are too weak to withstand the vicious attacks of fact-finding and truth telling those famously milquetoast Democrats dish out at election time, then how can such weakness of Republican character be expected to protect America and its interests? Really, if Republican want to make their weakness an issue before the American people, then I say let's accommodate them. Just remember, though, we didn't start this dialogue of how weak Republicans truly are. Glad to finish it, though.

You've got it exactly backwards - actually it might be a good thing if ALL of them WOULD take the campaigns more personally. I would argue that it might actually help campaigns get better if they did.... As it is these folks can call each other the spawn of Satan during a campaign, and then once past the election it turns out they are "friends," "collegial," and sometimes even drinking buddies.

If what they said during the campaigns wasn't just flim flam for public consumption which really doesn't bother them in the least, then they might not indulge in some of the tactics that they do!

It has long struck me that many Republicans' emotional development is at best, stuck in adolescence and early adolescence at that. Intellectual development as well. The issues they choose to focus on, and solutions offered, are all at an adolescent level. Too bad; we could use a viable opposition party. There's hope, though--we Dems provide our own opposition party among our contentious selves.

I feel "lingering resentment" towards Joe Lieberman who campaigned against the entire party. His.