The Republican Party's upcoming (and deserved) cataclysm… Looking at the poll figures for Bush and the Republican Party, you don't have to be a genius to figure out that the Party isn't ideally situated for the upcoming midterms.  It is looking like 1994 all over again, with a few cynical operatives holding out hope that Republican gerrymandering might save the Party's bacon.

A brief aside on that.  Is there anything more sickeningly corrupt about the Party leadership than that they're proud of the way they've gamed the system, making it difficult to lose control of the House even though public opinion of their job performance is (rightly) in the toilet?  Unbelievable.  If this were another Party you wouldn't be able to contain your disgust at its arrogance, but it's your Party and, hey, gotta stay loyal!

In a way we're to blame:  after '94 voters lost focus and stopped driving the term limits movement, apparently happy that a bunch of incumbents somehow lost their seats anyway.  Well you are looking at the result of that inattention:  a desperate, pathetic, lobbyist-ridden, permanently-elected ruling Party completely out of touch with voters; a spendthrift, do-nothing overclass that is still shoveling pork into its greedy maw despite the occupation of another country (which isn't going so well) sucking away billions of dollars, not to mention enlarging entitlements based on the latest polls.

And to top it off the Party's response to the issue that is top of mind for its base is "let's mire this down in procedure and see if we can't find a way to fuck our supporters long term".  And that goes all the way to the top, to President Bush, whose pandering to Mexicans hasn't made them hate America any less – if anything they hate us more because they are contemptuous of our weakness.*

Republicans have controlled Congress (with a very brief Senate turnover) for 12 years.  Not a lot to show for that, is there?  It's mostly a negative accomplishment – they've avoided enacting overtly liberal policies and confirmed some conservative (or so we hope) judges and stuck to doing what Republican legislators are now known for, spending imaginary revenue.

The leadership is a disaster.  Tom DeLay?  A thug now thankfully devoting his energies to his current legal challenges.  Bill Frist?  A hapless, inept opportunist.  Rick Santorum?  Tin ear for politics in his own state; he'll be cleaning out his desk this fall anyway.  Dennis Hastert?  To the extent that he wields real power, he didn't use it to head off the current troubles.  So what good is he?  Keeping the train running on time into a concrete abutment is not that praiseworthy.

What seems obvious is that gerrymandering, careerism, and the inanity of current Democratic legislators (the first and third developments are interestingly related) has led to a culture of indulgence in the Republican Party.  Discipline and accountability are needed.  This fat, slothful, belching creature needs the kind of tough love that only a viciously abusive and irrational parent can give.