Thomas B. Edsall is one of the smartest political writers in America, and his latest book, Building Red America, despite these valid criticisms, is required reading. Yet I can't help thinking this post is a little, you know, hyperbolic. Edsall asks: "Is the GOP Committing Suicide?" Good question! But then you get to his evidence:
The Supreme Court nomination of Harriett Miers; the mangling of New Orleans; the perseverating support of Rumsfeld and Gonzales; the insulation of Tom DeLay from ethics inquiries; the shunning of a presidential debate at Morgan State, a historically black college; the meticulous cultivation of corruption on Capitol Hill; the derisive treatment of such appointees as Paul O'Neil and Christine Todd Whitman turning them into attention-getting critics of the administration.
Edsall gets points for using the word "perseverating." But notice what most of these things have in common. They all occurred during the Bush administration. Neither Bush nor Cheney will be on the ballot next November. Which means that the Democrats may overreach if they base their entire electoral strategy on bashing an administration on its way out of office. Edsall is on stronger ground, however, when he criticizes the anti-immigration and anti-Hispanic rhetoric that's been emanating from some GOP pols and affiliates. And yet two of the top four Republican candidates, like President Bush, still support some form of reprieve for illegal immigrants who have jobs and no criminal records. (Both want to secure the border first.) Yes, the GOP is in a sorry state. But it's not that sorry.