Why Republicans Are Running Scared

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!" GWB, Sept. 2005
"Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job." GWB, April 2006

With Bush's poll numbers plummeting on all issues and the Republican controlled Congress showing even lower poll numbers, Democrats stand poised to take over at least one and possibly both houses of Congress in November.

Fallout from the Abramoff scandals is also looming over Congressional Republicans who may yet be implicated, indicted and imprisoned.

The failure of Iraq, Katrina, NSA spying, Plamegate, fiscal irresponsibility, and lie after lie have finally opened the eyes of many Americans who feel a change is due and can't wait for the mid-term elections to show their desire for change at the ballot box. Even many Congressional Republicans are trying to distance themselves from this administration's sinking ship of state.

More than the past failures, for which Bush inadvertently took responsibility by claiming in his grammatically challenged style, "I'm the Decider!", Americans should fear his future planned catastrophes. Military plans have been drawn up for a U.S. attack on Iran with nuclear bunker buster weapons.

Perhaps he would be satisfied with just the title of Decider if we gave him a cape and a pair of tights and leave important decisions to saner minds.

Certainly the decisions made by the Decider-in-Chief have been disastrous. Six retired Generals have spoken out against how the war in Iraq has been a disaster under Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense that resulted in more than 2300 deaths of America's sons and daughters in the military and called for his removal. We also lost the hearts and minds of the Iraqis with the torture scandals in which we have learned Rummy was implicated. The Decider has decided to ignore the Generals, who each have an average of 30 years of military service. After all, his service in the Texas Air National Guard kept Texas from being attacked during Viet Nam. That should certainly make him more qualified to make the decision that Rumsfeld is doing a fine job.

Brownie, a.k.a. FEMA head, Michael Brown, was also doing a heckuva job if you just ignore the bloated bodies floating in New Orleans' flooded streets while the people were waiting days for FEMA to bring them food and water. The Decider not only decided to appoint a crony to this important position responsible for managing life and death emergencies, but also decided to cut the funding to maintain and upgrade the levees.

Why does all this have the Republicans running scared? If the Democrats regain Congress they will have subpoena power to investigate the corruption and scandals this country has been living with since the Decider was selected by the Supreme Court in 2000. It will also make him a lame duck which will blessedly reduce the amount of damage that can be done for the remainder of this seemingly interminable term of office.

It reminds me of the sea captain who, when a pirate ship was spotted on the horizon, heading straight for them, called to his first mate "Bring me my red shirt!" When asked why he wanted his red shirt he told his mate that should he be wounded, the red shirt would prevent the crew from seeing the blood so they would not lose heart at their leader being wounded, and would continue to fight on bravely. Later in the day, a fleet of 20 pirate ships appeared on the horizon. The captain called out to his first mate, "Bring me my brown pants."

While Congressional Republicans and this administration are changing into brown pants, contemplating the possibility of the coming fleet of investigations, hope springs into the breasts of Americans who want to see their democracy saved and nuclear war avoided.

04-20-06