With the addition of Franken, they technically have 58. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., caucus with Democrats but don't define themselves that way.
Sanders, a socialist, is arguably the most liberal member of the Senate, so he's more than willing to buck the Democratic leadership when he doesn't feel the liberal wing gets a fair shake. Lieberman, by contrast, is a moderate who's plenty willing to challenge the Democratic leadership when he believes it veers too far to the left.
But the Democrats aren't even at 58 votes on most days.
Two of the most revered members of the chamber suffer from poor health. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., has rarely visited the Senate for more than a year because of a struggle with brain cancer. Sen. Robert Byrd, 91, of West Virginia who has been slowing down in the past few years, recently suffered a staph infection and spent several weeks in the hospital before his release Tuesday. Depending on the day, the Democratic "supermajority" could be as scant as 56.
And then there are the moderate-to-conservative lawmakers who populate the Senate Democratic Caucus: Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.; Mark Pryor, D-Ark.; Ben Nelson D-Neb.; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; Jon Tester, D-Mont.; and Arlen Specter, D-Pa.
This crowd is known to oppose the Democratic leadership on critical issues and often requires special courting. With them, the big Democratic majority could work against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., since it gives these moderates the perceived opening to bolt the party on key votes and freelance -- or act as holdouts that Democratic leaders must woo.
There's a reason why former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., titled his book "Herding Cats."
In a worst-case scenario, the independence of the moderates whittles the Democratic supermajority all the way down to a very ordinary 50 votes -- or fewer.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein D-Calif., sometimes goes it alone on given issues.
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