Accidental Blogger

Ever since the Reagan era, right wing blowhards have characterized the Democratic party as the "fretting, kvetching, hand wringing, nervous Nelly" Mommy party – as if mommies are the unreliable half of the parental dyad.  Republicans would like us to believe that they are the tough "bring-home-the-bacon, keep-out-the-intruder, make-the-tough-decisions" Daddy types. They also claim that Democrats are the party of doom and gloom, wishing to keep Americans feeling nervous, unsure and needy, so they can gleefully expand social programs befitting the nanny government they aspire to build.

But guess who "really" wants to scare us this Halloween.  Desperate before the unstoppable collapse of their house of cards, Republicans are wistful for a disater big enough to send the unruly brood of American voters scurrying back into Daddy’s arms. In his Weekly Standard column, conservative commentator Fred Barnes fears for the Republicans’ fading chances at the polls and hopes for a "big event" – a national security disaster!

"In his stump speeches, the president concentrates on terror and taxes. And the contrast he draws between terror-fighting, tax-cutting Republicans and wimpy, taxaholic Democrats is reasonably accurate. But it’s failing to attract independents or lure disgruntled conservatives back to the Republican fold.

Should Democrats capture the House, "they would raise your taxes and figure out new ways to spendmoney," Bush said at a rally in Chicago last week.  On national security, he said, "If the security of the United States is the most important issue, then part of this issue is which party has been willing to step up and give those charged with protecting you the tools necessary to do so." He didn’t need to identify which party has and which hasn’t.

The problem here is that national security isn’t the leading campaign issue. And saying it should be won’t make it so. What’s needed is an event–a big event–to crystallize the issue in a way that highlights Republican strength and Democratic weakness. It was two events–the foiled British terrorist plot and the need to comply with a Supreme Court decision on handling captured terrorists–that led to the Republican mini-rally in September.

Of course there’s little time left for a major event to occur. The North Korean bomb test wasn’t big enough to change the course of the campaign. So Republicans may have to rely on their two remaining assets: They have more money than the Democrats and a voter turnout operation second to none."

How disappointing! The Iraqis haven’t co-operated with peace, calm and democracy – they just keep dying and killing each other. Kim Jong Il’s nuclear bang was not big enough for the Republican buck.  There is still slim hope that Osama might play Trick or Treat instead of Hide and Seek.  If not, there is only Diebold and paperless electronic voting.