His Moral Fiber is an Inspiration to Us All

Are there any Republican Senators left who are not under criminal investigation? Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock is now aware that long-serving Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig has joined his GOP colleagues David Vitter and Ted Stevens in the cathouse, doghouse, and in Craig's case, the outhouse, where he apparently tried to solicit anonymous sex at an airport bathroom from a chap who turned out to be an undercover cop. Better luck next time, Larry....maybe at the Atlanta airport bathroom.

Funny as the story is, I'm not seeing how this sordid affair should necessarily result in Senator Craig being pressured out of his seat. I can see why he would resign out of embarrassment, but it's a sad commentary on our society that a victimless would-be sex crime like this could provoke colleague after colleague to throw one's career of public service under the bus while the legalized thievery that occurs every day in Washington goes perpetually unpunished. Larry Craig's actions may be weird, disgusting, and hypocritical, but are they really criminal? I think that should be up to Idaho voters to decide, not fellow Republican Senators like John McCain and Norm Coleman who are trying to salvage their party's reputation (and their own) by seizing on Craig's misfortune and calling for him to resign.

With all that said, I just love to see even more Republicans setting the party up for a 2008 defeat even more devastating than the party suffered in 2006. Larry Craig's bad press not only further deteriorates the Republican brand, but could even put the crimson red state of Idaho into play next year, with or without Craig still around. While the prospects of the Democrats winning any federal statewide office in Idaho (particularly if Hillary's at the top of the ticket) are remarkably slim, it will nonetheless be hotly contested if it's an open seat, and I'm pretty sure it will be as I suspect Larry Craig will toss in his badge before the end of the week. If the Republicans are forced to spend party money defending Idaho next fall, they're in huge trouble.

I've made no secret that I'm disgusted with some of the legislative priorities that Democrats have pursued since taking over Congress, but still find myself rooting for them to gain seats when I remind myself how ethically and intellectually bankrupt the opposition is.

Made It To 30

Thanks to Sara for recognizing my birthday Saturday, the day where I crossed the threshold into geezerdom. It was a nice sunny day at the Minnesota State Fair, and I got to hear snippets of speeches from both of Minnesota's DFL Senate candidates, Al Franken and Mike Ciresi. I guess you can't ask for a better way to reach the age of 30 since lingering around in your 20's is a biological impossibility. Still, my boss' snarky advice on Monday morning to schedule my first colonoscopy hit just a little too home.

Usually fall ushers in a renewed energy for politics, and that could very well be the case this year too. Right now, it's just a little hard for me to get too excited about anything. I haven't been this blase about the political horserace since this time in 1999, so I suspect something's gotta give. Most likely, that "something" will triggered in the coming months, because autumn just won't seem like autumn if I'm not obsessed with the political horserace...even in an odd-numbered year.

And It's Not Even My Birthday Yet.....

Technically, it's another 12 days until my 30th birthday, but I got an early gift this morning from the unlikeliest source....Karl Rove. Rove announced his resignation as President Bush's chief advisor this morning, ending nearly eight years of unrepentant thuggery that began in February 2000 when Rove engineered the early smears against John McCain, who Rove feared was becoming too much of a threat against his boy George W. Bush, and have continued without interruption since. Karl Rove represents the worst in American politics and the nation should be counting its blessings tonight to be rid of him.

With that said, the Democratic Party of 2007 owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Karl Rove. It was Rove's brand of bloodthirsty politics that finally caught up to him, allowing the otherwise hapless and disorganized Democratic Party to regain the reins of power in Washington despite themselves. Newt Gingrich's recent perception of Rove's tactics was pretty much on target, and represents one of the biggest reasons why Rove and his political party are in such a dismal position today. Rove had no problem polarizing the country to get his man elected with 50% of the vote plus one, and then advising him to govern as if anybody outside of that base is, at best, completely irrelevant, and at worst, a sworn enemy who needs to be taken apart limb by limb. This strategy, along with alot of help from terrorists whose attack helped Rove reframe the political debate entirely to his favor through two election cycles, got Bush elected twice, but when the ferocious rhetoric used to get him elected twice backfired under the weight of incompetence and corruption, the house of cards came tumbling down. There is no margin for error when one wins the way Rove does, so when error upon error upon error is made, the consequences tend to be that much more seismic.

And seismic were the consequences, with the Republicans Rove had perceived to constitute a permanent governing majority in America in 2005, lost both Houses of Congress in 2006. Very few people could have foreseen Rove's empire fall apart so suddenly, but in retrospect it seems like a self-fulfilling prophesy given that Rove's message essentially boiled down to a winking "Trust us!" when anybody paying attention knew he and his boss were not to be trusted. By August 2007, Karl Rove is a good guy for the Democrats' to have around. We don't want him behind the scenes pulling strings rather than being held liable for all of his dirty dealing, yet that is most likely what he'll be doing, working for Republican Party interests in 2008. Then again, if Rove can't find any new material than what flopped so thoroughly for him in 2006, it's unlikely that he'll have any better luck selling it behind the scenes than he did under the microscope.

Thoughts on the Bridge Collapse

I've been gone on vacation for the past week and finally have the opportunity to comment tonight on last week's 35-W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. I briefly caught the news footage on my way out the door Wednesday night of a collapsed bridge in Minneapolis, but I didn't realize at the time that it was the main bridge on 35-W. It was only when I returned home late Wednesday night that I realized the magnitude of the situation and the potential for long-term economic turmoil in Minnesota. Certainly, it's a black eye for the state and is likely to be a deterrant to our economic growth prospects in the months and years ahead.

It's probably not fair to single-handedly fault Governor Pawlenty or even his party, but there has long been a dangerous ideology in play in this country that lower taxes provide assurance of upward mobility and economic stimulus. That ideology has been challenged alot in the last couple of years, starting with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Given the surprisingly widespread national coverage this Minneapolis bridge collapse has received, the anti-tax ideology has likely been delivered another blow. Even Governor Pawlenty has done a complete aboutface in endorsing a gas tax increase during next month's special session. Even so, I'm pretty sure Pawlenty realizes his prospects for Vice-Presidential selection for 2008 have now been delivered a fatal setback.....and the fact that the bridge is unlikely to be rebuilt by the time the Republicans come to town for the 2008 Republican Convention will be an even larger-scale embarrassment for the party.

As haunting as the imagery on TV is, I'm amazed there have been as few casualties? What are we at now? Five? That's amazingly low. The idea that someone in a car can fall dozens of feet amidst crumbling pavement and steel girders and walk away from it with minor injuries is astounding. Chalk this up to another lesson learned the hard way in regards to funding infrastructural improvements and taking seriously reports suggesting your bridge has a nearly one-in-three chance of collapsing. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced the lesson will be learned at all, which could be abundantly clear in the 2008 campaigns when politicians still make fanciful promises of "lowering your taxes."