But he's OUR butthead....

I'm worried about citizens getting complacent about the upcoming election. The general consensus and most polls indicate that the dems will be booted out in strong numbers. The majority party in congress usually does lose big in the first off-year election following the election of a new president. But let's not forgot how these people got elected in the first place... and remain alert and active.

George Bush II was extremely unpopular. I'm not sure why. I can understand disagreeing with his policies, etc. etc., but George Bush was piled on by the press and public in a genuinely inprecedented and shocking way. Over my lifetime, I've seen a lot of presidents come and go. LBJ was not well-liked and neither was Nixon, but I don't recall the same kind of name-calling and passionate hatred that was heaped on "W" being directed toward those eariler presidents.

I think the open contempt and bashing given to "W" was part of the democrat's 2008 campaign, and it began about 2006. I think it was done deliberately to ensure that the dems could elect anyone they wanted in 2008. So we got the Comrade.

And as far as the "mess George W left behind," that was in large part created by the Pelosi-Reid congress, which began their vile machinations in 2006. Not that preceding Republican majorities were a whole lot better.

Anyway, the dems still have a few tricks up their sleeves and lots of money, although I've worked in and around advertising long enough to know that if you've got a truly crappy product that no one wants, no one will buy it no matter how much money you spend to advertise it. I have to laugh at Pelosi's naivete in this regard, thinking that if she simply renamed socialized medicine, people would like it. We don't call her Pazzo for nothing.

To tell you the truth, the dems as they stand right now remind me of a big bunch of frat boys (and girls) on spring break. They get drunk, or feel intoxicated, because this is spring break, and that's the way you're supposed to feel. They funnel tequila directly into their esophagi, display their boobs and other usually covered parts to video cameras, they screw anything that moves, perhaps with an audience to egg them on. That was the Comrade's 2008 campaign. Just nuts. It was like someone said, "Hey! It's OK to let go of your rational judgment and just go crazy!"

Unfortunately, now we all have to live with the consequences. And as these off-year electrions begin to crank up, you can probably expect to see compelling and well-funded efforts to inspire the same kind of madness.

Because to re-elect the loonies in congress requires madness.

Then there's the traditional wisdom to explain why the same old jerks get re-elected to the same districts: He may be a jerk, but he's OUR jerk.

What do you want to bet that Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters will be re-elected, despite being on trial for corruption during the campaign? Anyone remember Adam Clayton Powell? This is not the young man currently running in Harlem, but his dad. Adam Clayton Powell was actually censured by congress for misbehavior, which included spending congressional sessions in the Caribbean and fathering a number of children that he didn't always acknowledge or support. That Adam Clayon Powell was famous for telling voters, "Keep the faith, Baby." This was turned around after one scandal to the more appropriate, "Keep the baby, Faith."

He was re-elected and would probably still be in office, except he died.

I look at some of these congressmen who are approaching 300 years old and who have been in congress since Ford was making Model T's, and it makes you wonder, what are their constituents thinking? Many of them simply represent bad habits. Arlen Specter and Robert Byrd -- King of Pork -- come to mind. Tottering, demented old fossils, but think of them as they once were. I'd rather not. And don't worry about them being turned out after decades of public service. They retire with pensions greater than what 80% of the population will ever make, and they made sure of that while they held office.

Vote the bums out.

Save the republic.