Let's switch gears; this is a lovely article: The Bright Side Of Repudiation

[CatWoman]

Stricken with anxiety as the polls continue to indicate a Democratic resurgence, certain Republicans have started spouting justifications and explanations for their party’s possible eviction from office. No matter what may happen on Election Day, they say, the results must not be taken at face value—because liberal Democrats can only prevail by pretending to be right-wing Republicans.

Among the first to test out this excuse in recent days was Laura Ingraham, the hard-line radio and TV talker who insisted that the defeat of Republican candidates would somehow represent a triumph of her ideology. What she told CNN’s Larry King on Oct. 30 is worth examining, if only because we will surely hear more of the same in the days to come from other sources—and because those same claims are already s
surfacing in the political coverage of The New York Times.

In other words, the reactionary spin is once more set up to turn into the conventional wisdom.

To prove her point, Ms. Ingraham cited three highly competitive Senate races: Pennsylvania, where Democratic nominee Bob Casey Jr. is expected to defeat Republican incumbent Rick Santorum; Tennessee, where Democratic Representative Harold Ford Jr. was in a dead heat with Republican Bob Corker, the former Mayor of Chattanooga, until the Republicans aired a racially polarizing TV commercial; and Virginia, where the underfunded Democratic challenger, James Webb, is bidding to upset Republican incumbent George Allen.

http://www.observer.com/20061106/20061106_Joe_Conason_politics_joeconason.asp

[madmusic]

1. Excellent:

Supposedly, these candidates prove that the Democratic Party has repented its liberalism and recognized conservatism as the only route to restored influence. The appeal of this argument to conservatives is obvious, for it allows them to claim a specious victory even when their party loses.

It has only one defect, which is that it evaporates instantly upon closer inspection.

Thanks for posting it.