Despondent Republicans turn to drugs

By Weekly Archive On May 20, 2008

Hillary
Clinton scored a huge victory over Barack Obama in West Virginia:
enough to keep the Democratic primary contest alive and enough for
her to continue to make the case, however unpopular, that maybe, just
maybe, she’d be a stronger candidate against John McCain than Barack
Obama.

Overshadowed
by Hillary Clinton’s big win in West Virginia, however, was a big
victory for Democrats in Mississippi — which is even more
significant, in terms of its impact on November 2008, than the
results of one more primary.

In
Mississippi’s First Congressional District, Democrat Travis Childers
defeated Republican Greg Davis in a district that George W. Bush
carried in 2004 with over 60 percent of the vote. Even though
Republicans spent $1.3 million desperately trying to hold onto the
seat. And even though — or maybe because — Dick Cheney flew to
Mississippi and spent election eve campaigning for the Republican
candidate. Poor Greg Davis. Campaigning with Cheney proved almost as
dangerous as going hunting with him!

Not
only that, forgetting that "all politics is local,"
Republicans tried to win the special election by linking it to
national politics. They said Childers would be a puppet of Speaker
Nancy Pelosi. They accused him of embracing "the same values"
as Barack Obama. But the Pelosi/Obama attacks backfired, proving that
Obama, especially, may have more appeal in the Deep South than
Republicans bargained for.

The
Democratic victory in Mississippi doesn’t stand alone. This is the
third special election held this year — all in Republican
strongholds — and under the leadership of DCCC Chair Chris van
Hollen, Democrats have won all three: in Illinois, Louisiana and
Mississippi. On March 8, Democrat Bill Foster replaced former House
Speaker Dennis Hastert as Representative from Illinois’s 14th
Congressional District, held by Republicans for over 30 years. On May
3, Democrat Don Cazayoux captured a solid Republican seat in Baton
Rouge, La. Just 10 days later, he was joined by new Democrat Travis
Childers from Mississippi.

The
capture of all three conservative districts is a great omen for
Democratic chances in November and raises hopes of breaking an
institutional jinx. Historically, neither party cleans up two
election cycles in a row. The party that picks up over 20 seats in a
so-called "wave" election typically loses ground in the
next cycle. The last exception to that rule was in 1976. After adding
43 seats in 1974, thanks to public outrage over Watergate, Democrats
actually bounced back in 1976 to score an additional gain of — one!

This
year promises to be different. Having already won three Republican
seats in special elections, Democrats are already two ahead of 1976.
According to Politico.com, GOP House experts are predicting Democrats
could pick up an additional 20 seats this fall. That could give them
an advantage of 70 seats in the next session of Congress.

Which,
of course, leaves Republicans tongue-tied. After his party’s latest
embarrassing defeat, Republican House Leader John Boehner explained:
"The results in Mississippi should serve as a wakeup call to
Republican candidates nationwide. As I’ve said before, this is a
change election. . . . Our presidential nominee, Senator McCain, is
an agent of change." This is, almost word for word, how Boehner
defended his loss in Louisiana, 10 days earlier: "The result
this weekend in Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District should serve
as a wakeup call to Republican candidates across the country. . . .
Our presidential nominee, Senator McCain, is an agent of change."

Even
Republicans are asking: How many "wakeup calls" does
Boehner need before he get gets the message? And is the Republican
leadership really that bankrupt of ideas?

If
there were any doubt Republicans are in complete disarray following
three consecutive losses, they quickly proved it. After holding an
emergency summit meeting, Boehner and other House GOP leaders emerged
to announce they had adopted a new slogan for the 2008 campaign
season: "The Change You Deserve." There’s only one problem.
It turns out that very same phrase is already the trademarked
advertising slogan for the antidepressant drug Effexor.

Manufactured
by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Effexor is prescribed for "depression,
anxiety disorder, and panic disorder in adults." It is, in other
words, just what congressional Republicans need. Except they should
be taking it, not selling it.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "Trainwreck:
The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too Soon)."
You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at his Web site:
billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpress.com.