GOP to Run on the War

The GOP, apparently hoping for a miracle or residing themselves to history's most amazing incident of Orwellian "double-think", have decided once again to trot out the war in Iraq and national security as the primary reason why we the voters should forget about the inteptitude, corruption and deceit with which they have governed since President Bush came to office:

Just a few weeks ago, some Republicans were openly fretting about the war in Iraq and its effect on their re-election prospects, with particularly vulnerable lawmakers worried that its growing unpopularity was becoming a drag on their campaigns.

But there was little sign of such nervousness on Wednesday as Republican after Republican took to the Senate floor to offer an unambiguous embrace of the Iraq war and to portray Democrats as advocates of an overly hasty withdrawal that would have grave consequences for the security of the United States. Like their counterparts in the House last week, they accused Democrats of espousing "retreat and defeatism."

To which I say, bring it on. If Rove and the political wing of the White House (by which I mean, the White House) think that they are going to somehow convince the American people to ignore what they see on TV every night, then good luck. If they think they can paint Democrats as "defeatists" when a larger and larger number of people each month are beginning to think that having a plan (whatever that plan may be) for getting out is the way to go, then good luck. If they think that running on the stupidity and negligence with which the war has been run will get you to forget about the stupidity and negligence with which the country has been run, then good luck.

The fact of the matter is that the GOP would have nothing else to run on even if they wanted to. Tax cuts for which the benefit of has been felt primarily by the wealthy? The strong economy, as evidenced by rising gas prices? Social security privatization? The mission to Mars??

No, there's nothing for them to run on but their ace in the hole, the war, which is starting to look more and more like the joker. The GOP may desperately attempt to paint Democrats who support a plan for withdrawal as defeatists. That does not mean that Democrats who do advocate such a plan are in fact "defeatists" (whatever the hell that means anyway) except perhaps to the right-wing blogosphere and the 20% of hard-core Republicans who approve of the way Bush is doing his job. From the article:

Some polls show a majority of Americans continue to think that entering Iraq was a mistake, and pollsters say independent voters are particularly open to the idea of setting some sort of timetable for withdrawal, the very policy Democrats have embraced and Republicans are now fighting.

And those votes are exactly the ones they will be throwing away by referring to anyone who supports such a plan as a "defeatist." So bring it on GOP, and I look forward to Democratic control of the House and Senate come November.