Back in college, a hundred or so years ago, I was a political science major. One of the fascinating things I learned about was something called the "Dolchstosslegende" which arose in pre-Nazi Germany between 1918 and the Second World War. So why does that have anything to do with the 2008 elections? Read on, gentle reader - it's a lot more relevant than you might think.
According to Wikipedia, which I used to refresh my memory:
"The stab-in-the-back legend (German: Dolchstoßlegende, literally "Dagger stab legend") refers to a social myth theory popular in Germany in the period after World War I through World War II. It attributed Germany's defeat to a number of domestic factors. Most notably, the theory proclaimed that the public had failed to respond to its "patriotic calling" at the most crucial of times and some had even intentionally "sabotaged the war effort."
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Everyone knows that history repeats itself, and I can't help but think of the 'Dolchstoßlegende' as I read - on Daily KOS and elsewhere - of the Republicans' frantic attempt to scapegoat, before the fact, their crushing defeat on November 4th in the race to the White House. Even as their own paid operatives are committing voter fraud in states across the country - improper purges of the rolls, unauthorized party switching, using the tragedy of foreclosures to disenfranchise those who most need a political voice - the Republicans are turning ACORN into the political version of the anti-Christ. ("Lose the election? Heck no. Those pinko liberal Commies stole the damn thing from us with their homeless vagrant voters.")
Just in case that doesn't work, Caribou Barbie Palin and friends have suddenly begun digging up faux 'middle class' folks who don't like Barack Obama's tax plan, to shill for them. (Heck, no. Why would a working stiff like me want a tax cut? I'd MUCH rather wait til I'm rich someday and get whatever's left of McCain's tax cut.) If the latest crop were vetted as well as Joe the Plumber, I'm guessing the media will have a field day with them. My initial reaction today to her new nickname for Barack Obama - 'Barack the Wealth-Spender' - was to get all hot under the collar. Upon reflection, I realized she can come up with all the schoolgirl nicknames she wants at this point. Come January 20th, 2009, if she wants or needs anything from the federal government for her state, she's going to need to pick up the phone, swallow hard, and say, "Hi. This is Governor Palin. May I please speak with President Obama?" And she's going to have to do that for the next four (eight?) years. Ain't karma a bitch?!
In the meantime, the Dolchstoßlegende continues to be spun out by the Republican Party elders a strand at a time. Naturally, they will continue to avoid the 800 lb. gorilla in the room, as they must. To admit that their party lost the presidential election and (dare I hope?) cloture-proof control of the Senate to the opposition because their campaign was bereft of ideas, hope and any call to true patriotism is as improbable as an admission that mounting a "government and special interest reform" campaign using the top lobbyists in Washington wasn't their brightest idea ever.
So wise up, Republicans. That sharp pain you're about to feel in the middle of your back is no Dolchstoßlegende - it's a self-inflicted wound. It started when you chose a candidate your right-wing didn't really like because the other choices were just too scary for mainstream Republicans to stomach. Then you tried to 'balance the ticket' with one of the worst VP nominees in U.S. history. (It's as if Frances McDormand's character in FARGO had an evil lobotomized twin.)
To top it all off, you eschewed any shred of true campaigning and the high-minded contest of ideas McCain had promised early on, and elevated the art of mudslinging to such a degree that you sickened and alienated even some of your conservative supporters in the pundit world. So I'm sorry, Republicans. You need to put the knife down and step away from the kitchen. Noone's going to buy your Dolchstoßlegende this time around. We've all sat around the tv the past few months watching you do yourself in.