The Great Anti-Republican Wave?

Read this interesting column by Charles Krauthammer on Jewish World Review. He points out what everybody has heard ad nauseam for the last 1 1/2 years: presidents traditionally lose seats in Congress during the sixth-year elections.

I've heard several pundits (including Rush Limbaugh) try to say Republicans aren't going to lose seats, but that just seems like whistling through the graveyard to me. I'm still predicting that Republicans will keep razor-thin majorities in both houses, but that could just be wishful thinking on my part. It's very hard to tell what the races look like when you're in the middle of a very red state.

I suppose the reason I've not been convinced of the Democrat tidal wave that's been predicted is observation that most people think Congressmen are crooked, but their Congressman is ok even if he is crooked. Having lived almost my whole life in the city from which the notorious Jim Wright hails, I've always been skeptical of the "they're going to throw all the bums out" line of reasoning.

Still, it's highly possible that Democrats will retake the House and possibly the Senate. But then what? My prediction is that you won't see impeachment hearings like some frothy-mouthed libs desire, largely because, at this point, the I'm-gonna-impeach-your-president-cuz-you-impeached-mine rhetoric looks pretty childish. Plus there would be all those uncomfortable votes by Democrats for things like the Iraq war that they would have to find a better explanation for. And why do all the explanations by Dems for their votes sound so much like Vanessa Williams and Laura Schlesinger about their nude photos? "I didn't know what I was doing!"

In any event, what a Democrat takeover will mean is more vetoes and no legislation going through. Except amnesty for illegal immigrants. Now THERE'S a crowd-pleaser!

Oh, and forget about more conservative justices. You know, the ones we've been promised for years now. Senate Democrats would insist on a Roe-proof litmus test while saying they don't want a litmus test. But, hey, the crowd that doesn't know the definition of "is" and buys the "I voted for the $87 million before I voted against it" wouldn't see any cognitive dissonance there.

The interesting part of Krauthammer's column is where he points out that all politics is still local, regardless of the Democrats attempts to nationalize the elections. The most vulnerable Republican seats aren't up for grabs because of the Iraq war but because of various malfeasance at the state and local level. I suppose that supports my thesis that people will continue to vote for their own Congressional crooks because they don't think they're as bad. But we'll have to wait and see.