Election 2006: Five Weeks to Go
This year, the election will be close. It will be pivotal. It will fulfill all your wildest dreams and fantasies.
Okay, probably not. It’s close because it needs to be close because that makes for exciting news. If you’re a political junkie like me, then this election does matter. They all matter and not knowing the statistical advantage of either side (the fact that there are only two sides is a post for another time), makes it all the more exciting.
In terms of strategy, the Republicans are hoping that your fear of death will override your desire for privacy. I’m not shocked that they’re employing this strategy, but why not go with the silver bullet that helped them kick ass in 2004: Fight the Gays! If only a gay person would commit a terrorist act, that would be like Christmas to conservatives. Unfortunately, as the Iraq War continues to go poorly, the Republicans need to fight the Democrats pointing out that the Iraq War is going poorly. How to do this? Say that Iraq is going swimmingly! That it’s helping to fight terror! And evil! And bad breath! That’s what Democracy is all about! Things are going great (but not enough so that you should feel safe; remember, if you feel safe, the terrorists win)!
Republicans have been gaining ground lately with lower gas prices (NOT a conspiracy, as charming as that may be; the summer will always have higher gas prices) and the recent “compromise” over letting the President torture people (not personally, of course; that would be distasteful). The recent “compromise” (I’ll explain the quotations in a moment) with President Bush and Senators McCain (R-Ariz.), Graham (R-S.C.), and Warner (R-Virg.) was not so much an argument over whether or not it was okay to torture people, but really just a game of “Who Wants to Get Re-elected?” But I’m sure it will all end up alright. After all, no one ever harbored a grudge over being tortured.
The bill just passed the Senate by a vote of 65-34 and passed in the House on Wednesday by a vote of 253-168, with a handful of Democrats joining the GOP majority in both houses. This means that there are 318 elected officials who would be willing to revoke the civil rights of strangers for the chance of being re-elected. On the bright side, there are 202 who are going to take their chances.
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