REPUBLICAN PARTY MORALE LOWEST IN LIVING MEMORY-- AND FALLING

Bob Novak claims he's seen the Republican Party in as bad shape as they are now, but he's never seen the Party operatives' morale so low. The Republican House members and senators have been getting an earful from their constituents this month. Republicans, claims Novak, somewhat unbelievably, are perfectly delighted with the GOP position of escalation in Iraq, but they are unhappy with all the non-war-related news. I guess the GOP masses had gotten their hopes up for mass deportations and GOP elites had gotten their hopes up for the institutionalization of cheap, non-union labor imported from poverty-striken countries. Now neither is happy.

And they're uphappy about all that Larry Craig news and how it's still all over the teevee. Novak says the GOP rushing him out of office-- obviously being well aware that the charges, despite his denials were true and serial in nature-- "raises two questions. If so many people knew Craig was an accident waiting to happen, why was he not eased out of office? How many other examples," Novak asks, referring to Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and half a dozen closeted Republican House members from David Dreier (R-CA) to Jim McCrery (R-LA), "of possibly scandalous behavior are known but hidden?" (And of course there are the non-gay Republican perverts-- and not just David Diapers Vitter. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), for example, is going to be in for a very bumpy ride... very soon.)

And homosexual hypocrisy and toilet trolling isn't the only kind of corruption Republicans are miserable about. Ney, DeLay and Cunningham were far from the only-- or even the worst-- crooks profiting form the Republican Culture of Corruption. Among those being publicly discussed as targets of FBI investigations, Rick Renzi (R-AZ) has already announced he's not going to run again. Even worse for Republicans than Renzi not running are John Doolittle (R-CA), Don Young (R-AK), Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Jerry Lewis (R-CA) announcing that they fully intend-- as of right this moment to run. (Several months ago Novak had announced he had inside info that Lewis would pull out of the race. Lewis, who has spent over a million dollars in legal fees to keep from being indicted, claims he's in for the duration.) Renzi, says Novak, is just "one of at least a half-dozen House Republicans under federal inquiry. Meanwhile, a growing number of scandal-free GOP incumbents representing contested districts are heading for the exits. That depresses meager hopes for restoring a Republican majority in the House." Sober political observers think the Republican defeats of 2006 will be dwarfed by what awaits them next year.

Novak is also pissed off that Republican governors-- those folks who have to do more than just posture and bloviate and spout radical ideology-- have largely given up on hateful far right ideology in favor of consensus and practical and popular policies.

Most of the dwindling contingent of Republican governors have abandoned conservative principles to embrace the Democratic-sponsored extension of SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) to people who are neither children nor poor. Only three-- Indiana's Mitch Daniels, Mississippi's Haley Barbour, and South Carolina's Mark Sanford-- resist the lure of federal dollars.

Republicans are praying that they only lose 4 Senate seats next year-- Novak's wishful estimate. Less optimistic Republicans foresee half a dozen seats going blue and Democrats with vision feel that if the Republicans keep up the blatant obstructionism, something they clearly intend to do, they could lose between 8 and 10 senate seats.

And what makes all this all the most intolerable to the GOP roots are what Newt Gingrich derisively dubbed the "pathetic bunch of pygmies"™ (AKA- the Republican presidential field). The 8 or 9 or 10 clowns who wish to personify the concept of a third Bush term are all regularly beaten by "None of the Above" in every poll that allows "None of the Above" to participate.

The party's presidential candidates pretend Bush doesn't exist, not mentioning his name during debates. But none has inspired the party faithful. Front-runner Rudy Giuliani is anathema to social conservatives, the core of Republican success for more than two decades. This situation explains the interest in Fred Thompson as a possible savior, although he has not fulfilled lofty expectations prior to his official announcement of candidacy.

Mitt Romney approached the calamitous atmosphere by asserting that Craig, until last week his Idaho state chairman, is part of Washington corruption that only a true outsider-- specifically, the former governor of Massachusetts-- can cure. Past candidates have succeeded in pointing to corruption in Washington, but always by the opposite party. The Republican Party's next leader faces a more complicated problem.

Novak's column was entitled, Grim Old Party, which, at least to the base, is probably better than what many people have been calling it: the Gay Old Party, thanks in part to the incredible work of progressive blogger Mike Rogers. Longtime readers of DWT know which closeted Republican hypocrites we've been trying to bring to the public's attention. I've spoken with Mike and he has many more-- many, many more-- than I have never mentioned. (DWT can be discrete.) Anyway, if you like what Mike is doing and want to see Bob Novak's party turn a lot grimmer, you can give Mike some help here; he's earned it.


UPDATE: WHO'S NEXT?

Michelangelo Signorile is wondering if it'll be Miss McConnell, Lindsey Graham, David Dreier... but, of course, those 3 queens are so outed it's hardly fair to even count them. The real action, of course, centers around lil' North Carolina Congressman Patrick McHenry, whose boyfriend's corpse just turned up in Orlando with the dead bodies of a couple other Republicans, one of whom was the gay ex-chairman of the George Republican Party (as well as Ralph Reed's old squeeze).