Momentum Builds for a Chris Dodd Run at Majority Leader

As the political season reaches its Iowa caucus climax, momentum is building for Sen. Chris Dodd to parlay his presidential campaign into a bid to challenge Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV, for Majority Leader.

Almost all of the support for this effort now comes from the netroots, much of which favors such a move. But talk of Dodd making a run at the post has slowly crept into the corners of Capitol Hill as well. And in light of the Connecticut Democrat's successful filibuster threat this week over granting immunity to telecommunications firms that conducted warrantless surveillance, some in the progressive community see the framework for a potential shakeup.

"Dodd is an effective legislator, he is practiced and experienced and is articulate," said Joan Claybrook, president of the nonprofit group, Public Citizen. "He also knows how to make the process work. I think Harry Reid has an entirely different style and likes to work things out behind the scenes. He's had to be a negotiator and people don't like that sometimes. They want to see someone take a stand and win, but that is hard in this Congress and with these issues."

Claybrook, it should be noted, made no endorsement. And Dodd's campaign and close advisers insist that he is not focused on anything other than the presidential race.

"Senator Dodd and his campaign supporters, staff and family are 100 percent focused on the Iowa caucus and winning this nomination," Dodd's spokesperson Colleen Flanagan told the Huffington Post.

And yet, after Dodd forced reconsideration of the surveillance legislation - by arguing for eight hours and threatening to go longer - he left many prominent bloggers yearning for more.