When I was in law school, I used to join semi-regular card game w/ other guys from our class. I eventually quit b/c, while I was playing for camaraderie, too many other guys were playing to win. There were nights when I had good cards and I managed to win, but I usually lost.
The Dems approach politics the way that I approached those card games. They've lost a lot more often than they've won over the last 26 years b/c they approach politics differently than the GOP does. Earlier this week, Richard Cohen bemoaned the fact that "the after-hours camaraderie in DC is gone." He opined: "A little bourbon would do marvels for our dysfunctional government."
In 2004, the Rethugs succesfully impugned the patriotism of of a Dem nominee who was decorated for bravery in Vietnam. In 2002, they succesfully impugned the patriotism of a US Senator who lost 3 limbs in Vietnam. In 2000, they used Katherine Harris' pre-election purge of purported felons, the "Brooks Bros riot" at the Metro Dade Center, and a lot of other sleazy tactics to steal the WH.
These tactics were sucessfully honed by the Rethugs in the 1990s. In 1994, they took control of both houses of Congress under the leadership of a GA Congressman w/ a sordid private life who compared the Dems to Woody Allen and to a SC mother who drowned her kids. In 1991, they got a visibly unqualified and patently dishonest hack a lifetime Supreme Court seat by branding a demure law prof w/ no ax to grind "a bit nutty and a bit slutty." These aren't the kinds of people whom the Dems should be seeking out for camaraderie.
To make matters worse, sleazy tactics are becoming a path to career advancement in the contemporary GOP. As others have noted on this site today, Ken Blackwell is using his newfound celebrity as a springboard to his gubenatorial campaign in OH. Katherine Harris is now in her 2d House term, and she is almost certain to run for the Senate in 2006.
With all due respect to Richard Cohen, following his advice is a sure path to permanent minority status for the Dems.
