Russell Berman thinks dissident Dems -- centrist Democrats -- could become the determining factor in the House, turning the House into a mirror image of the deadlocked Senate.
The House of the 112th Congress would resemble the Senate of the last two years, where by virtue of the 60-seat requirement to overcome a filibuster, centrists like Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) held veto power over items large and small.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who would welcome a majority of any kind next year, has taken strong advantage of her 39-seat majority in the 111th Congress, often allowing — or feeling free to ignore — dozens of centrist and conservative members who routinely vote against major legislation. Under almost any plausible Election Day scenario, she won’t have that luxury in 2011.
