Has Sen. Chris Dodd’s fall been too precipitous? Has Kevin Rennie been too competent at reporting the stories the “real” investigative reporters have missed for years? Has the grassroots movement to oust Dodd been too effective? If the goal of that movement has been to replace Dodd with a Republican, the answer may be yes.

According to Rennie at RealClearPolitics, Democrat Roger Pearson of Greenwich has indicated that he has formed an exploratory committee to consider challenging Chris Dodd for the senate in a 2010 Democratic primary.

A Democratic challenge to Senator Christopher Dodd emerged today when Greenwich, Connecticut Democrat Roger Pearson told [Rennie] he has formed a committee to explore a run for his party’s 2010 nomination. The former First Selectman of the Republican bastion says that like many others he “is very disaffected” with Dodd, who has “really disappointed a lot of people.”

In one sense one of Dodd’s fellow Democrats taking the seat would not a bad thing, because at this point I truly believe that almost anyone is better for Connecticut (and the country) than Dodd. I don’t know that much about Pearson, but if he won a local race in Greenwich, he may not be that liberal. And he isn’t Dick Blumenthal, another Dem prospect for whom I have less respect than Dodd, so he has that going for him, too.

But the truth is that 2010 is the best chance for Connecticut Republicans to take a U.S. Senate seat in recent memory, and the likelihood is that it will be the best opportunity they will have for some time. Were Dodd to lose in a primary (or worse, decide not to run and give the Dem candidate a free pass to the general election while the Republican candidates duked it out in a primary) the Democrats would instantly have a better chance to retain the seat. I mean, even if their candidate were named Joe Lieberman and he was running for a second, simultaneous senate seat, he’d probably have a better chance than Dodd the way things are going.

There is a real possibility that the damage has been done to Dodd a year too soon. If the groundswell against Dodd pushes another Democrat to successfully challenge him in a primary, or forces him to suddenly “need more time with the family” and retire, the road will be much tougher for the eventual Republican challenger. It won’t be impossible, but if Dodd’s toxicity level remains anywhere near where it is right now, there is no one the Republicans would rather run against.

Chris Dodd is very liberal, ethically challenged, a huge contributor to the economic collapse, supportive of the most socialist of Obama’s policies, afraid to tell the truth and apparently for sale to those who are willing to raise campaign funds for him. The best chance the Republicans have to take the seat is with Dodd on the other side of the ballot. Fortunately, Dodd also has an ego the size of his pompadour, and insists he is going to run. Hopefully he’s not lying about that, too.

Cross-posted at The Artful Doddger.