Although Dan Blue had some personal reservations about whether he wanted to move from the House to the Senate, he evidently has resolved those issues in his own mind. Blue, the former House speaker and legislative veteran, wasn't sure he wanted to move over from the House when I spoke with him Tuesday.Since then, the party has recommended him for succeeding the late Sen. Vernon Malone, D-Wake, and by law the governor must follow that recommendation.
One concern of Blue’s is the Senate's brisk debates, which often seem shorter than one might expect. A key reason for that is related to a strong caucus system in the Senate, as well as its longtime leadership with President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, now in his ninth term leading the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand. On the one hand the Senate is a model of efficiency; on the other, a lot of legislators, Democrats and Republicans, privately feel stifled. Basnight's wife died in 2007 and his restaurant in Nags Head burned to the ground before being rebuilt, and some observers believe he might hang it up after this term. But he's a savvy and highly successful politician, and my guess is he'd win reelection as long as he runs.
Blue's move to the Senate is especially interesting now. He represents a potential challenge to the leadership. As a former presiding officer of the House, he'll have his own ideas about how the Senate should be run and how debate should go. And if Blue has plans to change things, he'll certainly find allies. Among them might be Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, who was in the House for years with Blue before moving to the Senate. Nesbitt has a populist streak, asks a lot of questions about how things are done, and reflects the independence that many mountain lawmakers have brought with them to Raleigh. With Blue in the chamber, there might be a few more internal challenges.
Gary Pearce has an interesting take about all this at his and Carter Wrenn's blog, www.talkingaboutpolitics.com. Among them: the possibility that Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, might benefit: "Dan Clodfelter might position himself as a moderate alternative to both sides."
