Is it time for the other shoe to drop? I have the same feeling now that I did prior to the terrorist attacks in September of 2001 and the election of 2004.
Our politicians are spinning their wheels on petty and stupid stuff. The media and the pundits are salivating over the politics of an obscure Florida congressman who already resigned as the result of something he did three years ago. The only question is who has been sitting on this for three years and decided to make it public just in time to try and influence the election. (So where is Dan Rather?)
The time just seems ripe for one of two things to happen, either some other scandal is sitting in the can just waiting for the right time to interject it into the public discourse as we near the election or something will hit us via the war on terror. Either way the result will be the exposure of the lack of seriousness and substance of the Democrat Party.
The Democrats are overplaying the Mark Foley scandal. The double standard that they are employing is transparent to all but the most ill informed votes. Every election cycle they have been trying this tactic since the infamous and equally mythological “October Surprise” conspiracy. They can’t win on policy or by offering a positive alternative. Scandal is their path to victory ever since they ran Richard Nixon out of Washington. Often they have successfully employed this tactic. Newt Gingrich and Trent Lot have been among their successful targets.
In recent years, they have overplayed their hand when utilizing this tactic and the political “blow-back” has energized the Republican base more than their own folks. This appears to be happening again.
This distraction from the Global War on Terror could easily be swept aside by aggressive acts of terror between now and the election. Only one party is trying to be serious about the threat to our nation while the other cares only about creating civil rights for terrorists. The overseas allies of the Democrats often exhibit poor judgment when trying to influence the results of U.S. elections.
People vote their pocketbooks and safety. Republican control of both Houses of Congress has been a boost to both of these issues. Coupled with the power of incumbency, I think all the talk of Democrats taking control of either the House or Senate is hollow propaganda to give their base hope and discourage Republicans from turning-out on election day.
My admonition is to be prepared, the Democrats and their allies have at least one more dirty trick yet to be unveiled. Look for their strategy to boomerang and benefit Republicans.