Mort Kondracke is usually an astute Washington observer. Back when I could still stomach The McLaughlin Group, Kondracke was the first major pundit to stick it out in 1994, and predict a 50+ seat Republican sweep, taking control of the House as well as the Senate. He made that call, if I remember correctly, in early summer. Nice job. You can find him making sense most afternoons with Brit Hume on Fox.
Too bad he decided to wash down his Valium with vodka and bong water before writing this column in the new Roll Call. At least, there’s no other explaination I can come up with for this:
A flood of corporate scandals – from Enron to Andersen to Tyco – plus more GOP tax cuts for the rich suggest that Democrats could profit this year by sounding populist themes.
I talk to everyone from ambulance chasing attornies to the guy with the giant floor-waxer after the restaurant closes. And with me, politics always comes up. Guess what, Mort? People are talking about the war. No one I know, not even people with serious medical expenses, are talking about the President’s prescription drug plan.
When was the last time you heard an accountant threatening to vote Democratic if the White House didn’t “do something” about Enron? How many Californians do you think are more worried about Dennis Kozlowski and his Tyco scam than they are about some Islamofascist nuking LA? Are New Yorkers up in arms over Social Security reform, or that gaping hole in Manhattan?
If Dems want to win, they need to follow this guy’s advice, and become the real war party.
The little stuff can wait.
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