poor Senator Sheldon

Mason County's "Republican incognito" is no longer the swing vote, the axis of action in the senate.

Sheldon said he worries the new supermajorities in the House and Senate will lead to bad public policy, because the Democrats can push things through with little debate.

And while he sometimes misses the leverage he once held, he said he isn't bitter.

"It's the price you pay for being independent and not tied to a particular party," Sheldon said.

Not tied to a particular party? So much for running as a Diet Rite Democrat all these years.