With Bipartisanship Gone, Comity Is Sure To Follow

By February or March, the "lip-service talk of comity will dissipate" between Republicans and Democrats, a high-powered lobbyist predicts. At that point, he worries, bitterly partisan oversight hearings will very likely have begun, making it difficult for advocates to form coalitions to move measures through Congress.

Some lobbyists believe they'll have to peel 15 to 20 House Republicans away from their party on key votes, essentially the reverse of the 109th Congress. But getting legislation through the Senate will be significantly more difficult. Former Majority Leader Bill Frist often had to find five or six votes to cross over to break a filibuster, but Democrats, with a tiny Senate majority, will have to find twice as many.

That means, says the hired gun, that Republican moderates may wind up being not only the most powerful but also "the most lobbied people in Congress."

By Bret Schulte