Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) House Minority Leader.
Now in an election year, even in mid-terms, you would think that party leaders would show a little, well- restraint, in their interviews. The last thing any party leader wants to do is give the opposition a reason to point and say, "See- they're going to tear this country apart. They're rabid animals who think only of punishing us!"
But that's damn-near what Ms. Pelosi has done.
The Republicans are sitting on some of the lowest approval ratings in recent history, and have been treading water for weeks. Staff changes at the White House, which were supposed to be invigorating and a sign of great things to come, are not having their intended effect. Bush's supporters are shifting nervously in their seats, and the clearest sign of their unease came recently, courtesy of a fundraising letter by Elizabeth Dole. The letter is inflammatory and looks paranoid at the outset:
"If Democrats take control of the Senate in '06, they will cancel the Bush tax cuts, allow liberal activist judges to run our courts and undermine all Republican efforts to win the War on Terror.
Even worse, they will call for endless congressional investigations and possibly call for the impeachment of President Bush!"
Gasp! The horror! An investigation- who would dare?!It's a bottom-scraping political "hail-Mary" pass: if ya can't win 'em- scare 'em away from the other guys! It's laughable, right?
Right.
Right up until Ms. Pelosi more or less confirms the whole idea, that is.
Can we hold on here for a second? Maybe think before we speak? (Just a thought.)
Yes, by all means, point out that the current administration has done things that warrant investigation, 'cause, you know, they have. Wiretapping, back-room energy deals, fundraising, letting the lobbyists run rampant, gutting the Bill of Rights...., hmmm, where was I?
Ah! This is all well and good. But can we please refrain from the witch-hunt attitude that seems to be permeating the party these days? Shadenfreude is one thing if it's done in private, but some people in Washington are beginning to salivate like Pavlov's dogs at the mere thought of getting their licks in... It's unseemly, unprofessional, and I.Don't.Like.It.
It one thing when a "minor" player gets hot under the collar. It wakes up the team, makes the other guys a little nervous. But then the coach or the captain gets up and says, "He's got a good point there, folks, but let's not do anything to make things worse. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it, so let's play fair." You get to call attention to the problem, to make people look at it who would normally turn away, but you get to reassure them at the same time. "We're all good people here, just folks trying to play a game and win with honor."
There's a line here.
And if we cross it, then we are the radical monsters the Republicans want us to be.
