The strangest things land in my old One Man’s Trash email account. Along with the pitches for story ideas from truly disturbed people, pleas for assistance from exiled Nigerian princes and the occasional sweepstakes notice, there is a river of email flowing from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
These missives are enormously entertaining. They range in tone from the conspiratorial to the unintentionally hilarious. The most recent entry, though, falls into the category of “just plain dumb.”
Signed by DCCC political director Kelly Ward, it breathlessly informs me that “Speaker Boehner is in all-out panic mode. He donated over $4 million to our Republican counterparts to try to save his teetering majority.” For a contribution of just $3, I can help give Mr. Obama the congressional majority he needs. To do what isn’t clear.
But it was the “all-out panic mode” that struck me. John Boehner has no general election opponent, so he can spread his campaign cash around as he likes (just as Nancy Pelosi has with her own campaign funds).
This isn’t panic. It’s par for the course.
And really, if we want to look for panic, it’s the Democrats who seem to be diving under their desks.
Consider the latest meme to run through the Democratic communications circles: Republicans are criminals. Not existential bad guys who just want to beat up old ladies and take kids’ lunch money. But genuine candidates for the Big House.
The Obama campaign sank its teeth into a Boston Globe article that questioned when Mitt Romney left Bain Capital. “Romney lied to the SEC! He’s a crook” team Obama said. Except a Washington Post analysis of the same documents, and a FactCheck re-examination of the same papers, declared the Obama campaign’s charges bunk.
Much closer to home, we have the ongoing clown show in the 7th congressional district. Here, incumbent, and House majority leader, Eric Cantor is being challenged by Democrat Wayne Powell. Now in a district that was essentially drawn for Cantor, one would not likely give Powell a snowball’s chance of winning in November. But that hasn’t stopped the Democratic house organs from trying to give Powell whatever help they can.
Or rather they are giving the spotlight, attention and aid to his campaign manager, Mudcat Saunders.
Shaun Kenney has already highlighted the verbal depths to which Saunders is willing to sink in order to tear down Cantor. But it was his appearance on the execrable Rachel Maddow show that shows Saunders, too, is eager, willing and able to embrace the “Republicans are criminals” meme and run with it:
Cantor is “bought and paid for,” a “crook” and, if that wasn’t enough, he’s unpatriotic, too.
Now if these charges were true, then just like the Obama campaign, Mr. Saunders should have the courage of his convictions and have an ethics complaint lodged against Cantor. But he doesn’t. Put it down as politics if you will, but it reeks of cowardice and worse, “all-out panic.”
And isn’t it mildly amusing that Saunders, rather than “pretty horse” Powell, is getting the airtime? Cantor has nothing to worry about. For Saunders and his ilk, though, the worries are only just beginning.
