Midterm Elections: `Madame Speaker’

With their Grand Old Party now the Grand Old Porkers (the Party of Pork), midterm elections have lost all meaning for much of the GOP faithful. They stare in horror at the national debt, quadrupling on their watch. Federal spending has increased 49% under the Bush administration, which is why they can’t sleep nights, just tossing and turning and counting the number of zeroes in a trillion. Being fiscally frugal is what Republicans are all about, what they stand for, what always separates them from throw-money-at-every-problem Democrats.

Now these hollow-eyed wrecks may just stay home on Nov. 7.

This is, of course, terrible news for GOP chair Ken Mehlman. He prides himself on voter turnout. On election day 2004, his ground forces were a well-oiled machine, stunning the Democrats whose ground forces of placard-waving labor union members historically have more troops, are better organized and outperform the opposition.

But now, as Republican strategists concede, Mehlman’s base isn’t responding. Their hearts aren’t in it. They have a “motivation” deficit.

There’s only one way to get their hearts beating again for Republican candidates: shock treatment.

Mehlman’s job, with considerable help from the national news media, is to remind the Republican base what is in store for them and the country should the Democrats win.

The war on terror has begun.

You may have seen a recent issue of Bill Buckley’s National Review. It featured a cover photo of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with the caption: “Madame Speaker”.

To the Republican base, “Madame Speaker” are the two most terrifying words in the English language. She’s a liberal. She’s from San Francisco. How bad can it get?

Well, what about a subpoena-wielding John Conyers as chairman of the judiciary committee in the House? If you’re a Republican with a pulse, does that get your motor running?

It sure caused palpations at the National Review. “Even a slender Democratic majority would be able to pass some legislation...”

Here’s their brief summary of the horrors National Review sees occurring if Dems take control of the House: “The minimum wage would be increased. The re-importation of drugs at discounted prices would be allowed. The government would use its purchasing power to impose de facto price controls on the drug industry. Congress might enact some restrictions on wiretapping in the pursuit of terrorists.”

Wow. Talk about the end of the world as we know it! The Democratic leadership in Congress has its own “Six in ‘06” campaign issues but I think what the National Review came up with is much more persuasive.

But the subpoena button is the one Mehlman really needs to push to motivate his Republican base. The Bush administration has gotten this far with its incompetence and corruption because with control of all the power levers there has been no oversight and no accountability.

“A Democratic House would launch investigation after investigation,” warns National Review. “The Bush administration’s conduct during Hurricane Katrina, every conceivable aspect of the Iraq War, the putatively nefarious conduct of the oil and gas industries: all would be fair game.”

Not that after 12 years of being pushed around that Democrats are the least bit interested in political payback, but for the good of the country, well, get those subpoenas ready.