Expectations for a Democrat-controlled Government

[benny01]

doesn't that feel a little...cheap? I mean he LEFT the Democrat party

I guess so. Bernie is in the same boat. I think if they had an issue with being considered part of the caucus or were more independent with their votes, they would probably refer to them as independents.

[Crovash]

doesn't that feel a little...cheap? I mean he LEFT the Democrat party

In May 1993, King announced he would run for governor of Maine as an independent, abandoning his affiliation with the Maine Democratic Party. "The Democratic Party as an institution has become too much the party that is looking for something from government.”

While Sanders, the other independent from a New England state is by his own admission a democratic socialist, thus left of the Democratic Party as a whole, King is closer to what we used to call liberal Republicans here in the northeast before that party went south.

Caucusing with the Democrats is basically a practical necessity for them.

[SiteWolf]

I guess my point is, there are officially 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 2 Independents then....so how is that a Democrat majority even with Kamala?

[Crovash]

I guess my point is, there are officially 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 2 Independents then....so how is that a Democrat majority even with Kamala?

Apparently it is determined by the numbers in your caucus.

The Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate, sometimes referred to as the Democratic Conference, is the formal organization of all senators who are part of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. For the makeup of the 117th Congress, the conference additionally includes two independent senators (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine) who caucus with the Democrats, bringing the current total to 50 members. The central organizational front for Democrats in the Senate, its primary function is communicating the party's message to all of its members under a single banner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Democratic_Caucus

Believe me, if there were anything even remotely untoward about the setup, McConnell would have let the entire world know by now.

[SiteWolf]

Apparently it is determined by the numbers in your caucus.

The Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate, sometimes referred to as the Democratic Conference, is the formal organization of all senators who are part of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. For the makeup of the 117th Congress, the conference additionally includes two independent senators (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine) who caucus with the Democrats, bringing the current total to 50 members. The central organizational front for Democrats in the Senate, its primary function is communicating the party's message to all of its members under a single banner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Democratic_Caucus

Believe me, if there were anything even remotely untoward about the setup, McConnell would have let the entire world know by now.

Oh, I'm sure....and I was only asking the question for clarification