This short article, set to appear on the front page of Friday’s WaPo, lays it all out. In brief: scandals have already hobbled the Bush administration beyond all recognition, Republicans are horrified by what has happened (one calls it a "perfect storm"), and it will get a whole lot worse in the next two weeks if Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, or both, get indicted. And Novak-Plame-gate isn’t even the worst of it – what they’re really worried about, apparently, is the Abramoff scandal, which seems to be mushrooming in new and unexpected directions every day. The administration is suckin’ wind, and there’s no end in sight.
The best thing in the article, though, is this quote from Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.): "I don’t think people feel there is a sleaze factor at all." Heh. Hahahaha!! Oh, hohohohohohoho!!!!!
To follow how the “sleaze factor” or what all Congressional Dems are calling it now the “culture of corruption and cronyism” is effecting the recruiting of candidates for House and Senate seats, I’d suggest checking out Chris Cilliza’s blog on the WaPo website. It’s called “The Fix” and he’s doing alot with the recruitment efforts by the DCCC,DSCC and the NRCC,NRSC. Elected officials, no matter how much they might bungle somethings, are not political idiots. They are rational actors, and the rational actors are saying, that 2006 should be a huge year for Dems and a (persistent) mess for the Right. It’s time for a culture of change, reform and progress. One year out, here we go!
The real question is, come the ’06 elections, can the Dems make it count? Can they make it stick and resonate with the average voter???That’s the tough sell. Who can push it? Who can sum it all up and be the voice against it on the national stage ala the repubs old “contract with America” stuff.