I think there's a good bit of truth to that.  We all know Webb is interested in getting his kid out of Iraq.  I believe he's still there, but I could be wrong.  Economic inequality figured into it, too.  (Somehow he was able to play on the South's economic populism without being railroaded by abortion and same-sex marriage.)  And Tester was all about the Patriot Act, which was a huge issue in Montana for reasons that I still don't fully understand but am happy to embrace.

I don't know what McCaskill and the other newbies have been up to.  But, yes, that makes sense.

The real answer is to start running primary challengers against the leadership.  It's not as though we're in danger of losing New York to the Reps, so I don't see why this is being tolerated.  It's somehow kosher to hunt Lieberman for his warmongering but not Schumer for being in bed with the hedge funds.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin