Lincoln vs the Tea Party

CAN'T BUY ME LOVE . . .

For weeks, if not months, the media have been harping on the drubbing the Dems are about to get in the mid-term elections. The drumbeat has been incessant. Strange how tribal the world's leading democracy can be?

So, what's a liberal to do? First, stay in touch with your inner Stewart and Colbert. Let's rework Freud's formulation, of Ego, Super-ego and Id. Stewart is our Id - trashing anyone who leaves themselves vulnerable with the abandon of a three-year-old on sugar. Colbert is our Super-ego - the know-it-all confidence of Beck and UnRuly (aka O'Reilly) rolled into one.

So who is the Ego? How about Obama - as in cool, no-drama, no-panic, do-what's-right Obama. If you don't want to wait up for the live shows at 11pm on Comedy Central, catch the reruns at 7 pm the next day, or watch it online, and be sure to stay tuned to CC for coverage of the "Rally to Restore Sanity" today. As for sanity, mine's already restored.

There's great material to review from their shows this last week, with Stewart taping in Washington. There was a break a week back while the teams got ready for this week and the rally, but the week before that also had some gems. (Here are the links again: Stewart and Colbert)

Right now, have a look at Garry Wills on Colbert - spiking the Tea Party on the issue of racism. As Wills says, "Of course!"

The last few national elections have been interesting tests of Lincoln's wisdom, that you can "fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time." In 2006, Rove's playbook of banning abortion and gay-bashing to get out the conservative vote was drubbed by the collective wisdom of the people, returning Democratic majorities to the House and Senate, with Bush still in office. So how will it go this time?

First, Tea Party Darling O'Donnell appears to have saved Biden's old Delaware senate seat for the Democrats - which you might call "magic"? No? And then there are fine women stepping up for the Republicans all over the place, causing the media to carp that the Dems are not empowering women in their own ranks. Spare me, ok, the Dems women are already in office, on the job, or had the job. (How about Clinton, Boxer, Feinstein and Albright?) Fresh faces are fine, but beauty is skin deep!

But let's be serious about this now (even if it really is serious all the time). California is providing an interesting lesson regarding the future of the Republican Party. Two substantial Republican women are running for major office in the nation's bell-weather state - Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina. Surely this is the next wave, and the country should be ready? California is historically a Dem supporting state, but has elected Republicans like Reagan and Schwartzenager, and if ever there was a time to defeat Democrats because of the economy, you would think it would be now. Both the current candidates have run well-funded and well-presented campaigns, but both are lagging. Why is that?

I am sure there are many reasons. For one, funding isn't everything. We know of course that politics is big business, and thanks to the recent Supreme Court ruling, Big Business can now spend freely in political campaigns. Further, both these candidates have spent chunks of their own money on their campaigns. If money was everything, they would be winning, no? Then again, not if you believe that silly love song, "Can't buy me love", which seems to have as much wisdom and power as the Biblical Proverbs. (Who would have thought that the Beatles would trump the venerable Supremes?) Politics may be big business, but being big in business does not necessarily qualify you to lead in politics, especially when you try to play the game for the Party of "No!".

The Dems may not be popular, but the Repudicans haven't got a clue. Tea and sandwitches, anyone?