CAN THIS PARTY (GOP) BE SAVED?

GOP faces stormy weather. Deservedly.

The poll found that 41% of those surveyed thought that this Congress had accomplished less than its recent predecessors — the most negative evaluation of Congress' record since 1997.

GOP leaders in the House and the Senate hope to counter that complaint by racking up legislative accomplishments in the coming months. But it won't be easy, because many of the problems before them — such as high gas prices and continuing instability in Iraq — are largely out of their control. Other issues, such as immigration and the budget, deeply divide the party.

Of course, the Rethugs have in their back pocket plans to attempt other, more party-uniting but general-citizenry-polarizing legislative wins in the state legislatures, such as anti-abortion measures and bans on gay marriage.

Republicans worry that because their party is dominant in Washington, they will bear the blame for high gas prices.

"The Republicans are in power; Bush and Cheney are identified with the oil business," Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, said on "Fox News Sunday." "It's not a hard issue for a Democratic challenger to demagogue."

Demagogue? (First of all, Bill, as a professional writer you should know that linguists frown mightily upon the use of "demagogue" as a verb. Were you the one who first called Dubya "the decider"?) Why should such a claim be characterized as demagoguery? It's no appeal to prejudices -- the Rethugs ARE firmly in power, THEY'RE the ones who allowed oil industry executives to write energy legislation, they've consistently underemphasized conservation and development of alternative energy sources, and they've thus far allowed oil company profits to soar while granting those same companies unnecessary and expensive tax breaks.

House GOP leaders will have a tough time passing a budget, which stalled before the recess amid party infighting. Moderate Republicans objected that the proposed budget allowed too little for education and other social programs; conservatives complained it provided too much. And Republicans on the Appropriations Committee objected to a crackdown on earmarking money for pet projects. ... The House also is scheduled this week to take up legislation overhauling its ethics and lobbying rules, a response to the scandals that have roiled Capitol Hill.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The ethics legislation that is most likely to be approved by Rethugs will fall well short of that which would actually produce anything like lobbying and ethics "reform".

The short and sweet of it is that this GOP-controlled Congress is unlikely to do anything substantive to improve the lot of the American people, and the voters are threatening to hold them accountable for it. Their only response is to distract voters from the real issues by campaigning on wedge isssues and use the specter of a showdown with Iran to once again scare voters into sticking with the "devil they know."

Tags: GOP in trouble, midterm elections, Republican Congress