Elections & Political Parties

I don’t know what was more disturbing, the lame attempt to suppress immigrant voter turnout in California’s 47th Congressional District or the breathless reporting and hyper-indignation that followed it.

Our political word of the day is "tough." And what we need today is a tough Homeland Security Party.

In times of war and danger, when our national security is threatened, toughness is the right response. When confronting killers and invaders, we don’t need compassion; we need to fight back with tough measures, including walls, if need be, between us and those who threaten us.

What does the future hold for us? It’s one of the oldest of human ambitions: to see what’s ahead. And the fact that we rarely get it right only increases the allure of trying.

Every melodrama needs a villain. And the same holds true for melodramatic Washington scandals.

But in politics, the role of "villain" can change -- suddenly. Let’s consider four scandals spread over four different decades, with an eye to who gets tagged as villainous.

In a radio interview last week, prominent evangelical activist James Dobson said that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith "could pose a serious obstacle" if he decided to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. Dobson said he thought that conservative Christians wouldn’t feel comfortable casting a ballot for a Mormon. Chances are, he’s wrong.

So what to make of the Mark Foley "Pagegate" scandal? And of Republican efforts to "de-Foley-ate" themselves of collective blame for his actions in time for November? Four points:

It is conventional wisdom that the new democratic activists of the "netroots" are strong on political tactics but don’t have much to contribute to the war of ideas. Matt Bai, writing in The New York Times Magazine, charged disparagingly that "leaders of the netroots... will tell you that Big Ideas are overrated."

Who’s winning the domestic political war over the international war on terror -- Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton? Bill Clinton is fighting hard, for himself and his legacy, for his wife and her possible presidency.

At this launch event for Sidney Blumenthal's new book, How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime, New America's Whitehead Senior Fellow Michael Lind introduced Blumenthal, and moderated the Q&A that follows. Video of the event is available at right.

So do Republicans deserve to lose in the 2006 midterm elections? Some well-known conservatives say so. Yet, liberationist-left Democrats might still push Republicans to victory.