If You Run as Reagan You're Going to be in Trouble if You Vote Like Nancy Pelosi

That's the problem facing newly elected Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.  The Dem governor who is taking Robert Byrd's long-held seat pretty much ran his campaign as Reagan, even to the point of using his hunting rifle to shoot a hole in the cap-and tax bill.

So what's he going to do once he gets in office?  If he starts voting with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi his prospects in the next election will be grim (because his was a special election he'll come up again in 2012).

The GOP is doing what it can to lure him away from the Dem fold:

Republicans are making some big promises to try to lure West Virginia Senator-elect Joe Manchin to cross the aisle.

Aside from his pick of committee assignments (likely the Energy and Natural Resources Committee), Manchin might get support for one of his pet projects - a plant to convert coal to diesel fuel that has stalled under Democratic leadership in Washington.

It's one of Manchin's pet projects and could mean big money for the state's coal producers.

"Republicans believe in an ‘all of the above' approach to energy," one top Senate aide told Power Play. "And coal-to-diesel could certainly be part of that."

Manchin's switch could mean Republican support for not just $1 billion in seed money for the project but also a deal, much sought in coal country, to require the armed forces to use converted coal for fuel.

Republicans believe Manchin is particularly susceptible to the overture because he is up for reelection in 2012 and will have to be on the ticket with President Obama, who is direly unpopular in West Virginia. Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Independent Joe Lieberman are the other two prime targets of Republican advances.

If Manchin, Nelson and Lieberman switched, it would leave the Senate in a 50-50 deadlock.

Because of Tea Party influence I don't think either Nelson or Lieberman will switch. Both of them would face primary challengers from the right if they were to run in 2012 as Republicans and both would likely end up losing their nominations.