Washington (CNN)When Democratic senators arrived for their policy lunch this week, several came off the elevators in the Capitol and turned instinctively towards the Mansfield Room, a large and elegant meeting space just off the Senate floor. It was only after walking in on a roomful of lunching Republican senators that the Democrats, to their chagrin, realized that when they lost the majority, they also lost many of the perks of power -- including use of the spacious room that's hosted Democratic caucuses for the last eight years. "I'm going to the wrong caucus," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said with an embarrassed smile as he turned to find the LBJ Room, an equally ornate but tighter room where the smaller 46-member Democratic caucus will now meet.
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Most Senate Democrats have never been in the minority
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New status in Senate will require adjustment for many Democrats
The room assignment is just one example of how life will be different for @placeholder after a long eight years in the majority -- so long, in fact, that most current Democratic senators have never served in the minority.
"And the President's veto pen becomes a major element and 34 @placeholder senators become decisive," he said, referring to the number of Democrats needed to prevent Republicans from overriding a presidential veto.