THE 52ND SENATOR:

Landrieu’s Fate: Do the Democrats even care about the last 2002 Senate campaign? (Rod Dreher, November 7, 2002, National Review)

Recriminations over the Democrats' Black Tuesday have Louisiana senator Mary Landrieu, who faces an expensive and brutal slog to the December 7 runoff, turning the knives on her own campaign. Landrieu, who goes head-to-head with Republican challenger Suzanne Haik Terrell, purged her political consultants in the wake of the national GOP sweep, and is planning to go it alone. Landrieu yesterday fired her Washington advisers, and according to a high-level Democratic source, is "preparing to go to war" with the national party to keep its tacticians and staff away from her campaign.

"Landrieu's a micromanager who doesn't listen much to advice, and she and her team — her father, mother, brother, and chief of staff — have decided she's going to handle the runoff their way," the Washington Democrat tells NRO. "The DSCC [Democratic Senate Campaign Committee] is going to send 150 people to Louisiana, but Landrieu and her people are preparing to go to war with the DSCC to do it the 'Louisiana way.'" [...]

"Both parties could spend an easy $10 million to $15 million here, if this thing got competitive. I'm not sure the Democrats are going to be willing to do it," says Maginnis. "They're probably getting tired of spending so much money and time propping up Mary Landrieu."

Why not just recruit Ms Landrieu? If she wins the GOP adds a seat and she's in the majority. If she loses give her a job somewhere. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 7, 2002 11:44 AM