Expect more attacks from Dems on billionaire Koch brothers

By Amber Phillips

Monday, Sept. 15, 2014 | 8:40 a.m.

Editor's note: This is part of a weekly series, Senate Showdown, in which the Las Vegas Sun politics team shares news, links and insights on Nevada Sen. Harry Reid and the 2014 battle for the U.S. Senate. Readers can also submit questions at [email protected] or via Twitter using the hashtag #AskAmber.

WASHINGTON — In seven weeks, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will know if he will still run the U.S. Senate.

The campaign to control the Senate is the defining storyline of American politics in the Nov. 4 election, and Reid is a main character.

Forecasts predict Republicans could capture a slight majority in the Senate. An unpopular Democratic president and the first national election since the 2013 implementation of Obamacare has helped create a tough environment for Senate Democrats up for re-election in red states.

If Republicans gain a net six seats in November, they would control both chambers of Congress for President Obama's last two years in office. Reid would lose control of the Senate for the first time since ascending to majority leader in 2007.

But seven weeks is a long time in politics.

Neither Reid nor Republican Nevada Sen. Dean Heller are up for re-election this year.

No one truly knows who will take the Senate: This time last week, things seemed bleak for Senate Democrats. Nonpartisan forecasters like Stuart Rothenberg of Rothenberg Political Report and Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia declared there could be a wave of Republican wins in November with a net gain of as many as eight seats. By the end of the week, forecasters like Nate Cohn of The New York Times' Upshot blog wrote about a narrow but possible path to victory for Reid's Democrats. Other forecasters say control of the Senate is a toss-up. What this all boils down to? No one will know for sure until election night.

Could Democrats' Koch attacks be about something else? For voters whose No. 1 issue is the economy, Democratic attacks on the conservative billionaire Koch brothers — David and Charles — could help paint Republicans as out of touch, according to a memo from liberal billionaire Tom Steyer's outside group. Politico's Maggie Haberman got a hold of the memo detailing the Dems' strategy.

But why do attacks on two relatively obscure men work? Left-leaning Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent says the Kochs are a symbol for today's inequality: "a proxy for the one percent, a means through which to tap into a general sense that the economy remains rigged in favor of the very wealthy." Expect their names to appear in many more Democratic ads for tight Senate races.

What happens during the Senate lame duck?

The Washington Post's Paul Kane predicted the lame-duck period between the November elections and when the next Congress takes over in January could either be a blockbuster or a snore. He theorizes if Democrats keep the Senate, there could be another budget showdown. If Republicans take the Senate, not much will happen until the new Congress in January. The wild card? The war in the Middle East.

Reality may bite for victorious Republicans:

If Republicans take the Senate, they'll have a long to-do list: everything from welfare reform to the Keystone pipeline. But in today's hyper-partisan Senate, 60 votes are needed to do anything, and most scenarios for Republican victory in November fall short. Politico's David Nather details the struggles they may face. It's possible Republicans may be living a parallel world to Reid's leadership struggles.

The secret Senate book:

OK, this isn't directly related to November or Reid's future, but it's pretty cool. USA Today reporters Donovan Slack and Paul Singer have unearthed an until-now secret rules book for senators. The book micromanages how many potted plants each senator can have and bestows how much senators can spend to charter planes or boats.