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Friday, March 10, 2006

Republicans for Pelosi

The Moose suggests that Republicans should be rooting for Speaker Pelosi.

These are hard times for the GOP. As the Dubai deal illustrated, Republicans are fleeing from the White House. The last time we saw this type of flight of federal officials was the First Battle of Bull Run.

Emblematic of the exhaustion of the Republican governance is that the President is embracing the line item veto. It is a plea for help - stop me before I spend again! Conservative rule has become a sad joke of incompetence, corruption and plutocracy. Give it up.

And that may not be such a bad idea - give up the House that is.

Conservatives have thrived on the excesses of liberalism. They desperately need a left wing foil because, outside of tax cuts, the Republican domestic agenda is not all that popular. Remember the ownership society? That died with the last breath of social security privatization. Now, the Republicans are just a demoralized bunch of establishmentarians without an agenda or a reason for being.

And to top it off, Democrats were out there demagoging them on a national security wedge issue. Chuck Schumer was making Michael Savage look like a wimp.

Desperate times demand desperate action. It is time for Republicans to don their "Speaker Pelosi!" buttons. Rooting for Democrats to take the House is not merely making virtue out of necessity. Although it would pose a nightmare of investigations for the Administration, Democratic House rule might provide the perfect liberal foil for a demoralized GOP. Republicans will be forced to retool their party and hope that Democrats over-reach - i.e. Judiciary Chairman Conyers filing articles of impeachment.

Currently, there is a debate whether Democrats need a "Contract with America" type document. While it may or may not be needed to be successful in November, a unifying, centrist agenda may be necessary for Democratic governance. There is a distinct danger if the Dems take one or both chambers that the left will dominate and provide the Republicans an opening in '08. That would be the silver lining for the GOP in losing Congress. Then, they could once again run familiar campaigns against the left.

The right is co-dependent on the left.
-- Posted at 8:24 AM | Link to this post | Email this post