BACK WHEN WE INTERVIEWED RNC CHAIR KEN MEHLMAN LAST YEAR, Helen’s first question to Mehlman was something along the lines of Why is President Bush acting like a Democrat?
The GOP lost, Mehlman has moved on, but the Bush Administration is still acting like Democrats — even to the point of complaining about the “Right-Wing Blathersphere.”
Do they want whining from Michael Chertoff and Trent Lott to form the public image of the Bush Administration and the Republican Party?
Apparently they do. Good luck with that, guys. The political press can run with stories about bloggers being in full revolt over immigration, but it’s not really a case of bloggers vs. the Administration. Rather, it’s a case — like Harriet Miers, Dubai Ports, PorkBusters, etc. — of the Bush Administration ignoring the clear warnings available in the blogosphere. And once again, it’s not just bloggers who think the Administration is crazy. So far, every time they’ve done that they’ve had their head handed to them. That’ll happen this time, too, and if they should happen to “win” and pass their bill, the consequences for the GOP will be even worse. “Bizarre Republican Death Wish?” Indeed.
Frankly, that’s okay with me. I’ve long been unhappy with both Democrats and Republicans. The GOP has been better on national security, though that advantage is fading with time, but overall both parties have been lame and more likely to unite in opposition to citizens’ rights and liberties than to compete in protecting them. I’ve often at least sort-of hoped for a third party that would combine the GOP economic-libertarian strands with the Dems’ social-libertarian strands. I don’t know if the GOP’s self-destruction makes that more likely, but it seems like it might. At any rate, if people really want to commit suicide it’s hard to stop them, and that seems to be the GOP’s main goal at the moment.
Meanwhile, some further thoughts on what blogs are good for.
UPDATE: Bill Quick: “Why, you’d think our would-be rulers live in a bubble or something. Still, I don’t think they really misjudge outside-the-Beltway sentiment. They just ignore it – or try to.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: A view from the cartoonosphere:
