WHAT HAPPENS IF THE REPUBLICANS LOSE OKLAHOMA... AND MISSISSIPPI?

I don't mean to make anyone crazy but it's hard to get the 1936 election out of my head. After the voting was finished, only 88 Republicans were left in the House (20%) and the GOP obstructionists could claim only 16 Senators. It may take a few cycles to attain such sterling results but we seem to be well on our way.

I've long felt that the absolute last firewall for the Republicans before they start jumping off buildings-- or switching parties-- would be in Oklahoma, where the Democrats are fielding an exceptional strong and compelling candidate in state Senator Andrew Rice for a seat currently held by lunatic fringe extremist Jim Inhofe, the incumbent with the most reactionary over-all voting record of anyone up for re-election in November. Oklahoma has been a right-wing hotbed for some time and Bush took the state in 2004 with 66% of the vote, one of the highest tallies he got anywhere. The last time Inhofe ran (2002), he took 57% of the vote and the state's congressional lineup includes 4 right-wing Republicans and one right-wing Democrat who votes with them very frequently. On the other hand, the last time SUSA checked, Bush had an approval rating of only 39% in Oklahoma and 59% were not satisfied with how he's doing his job. On top of that, mainstream Democrat Brad Henry won the governor's chair in 2006 with 67% of the vote-- to a paltry 33% for typical right-wing extremist Congressman Ernest Istook, a virtual indistinguishable doppelganger to Inhofe.

This morning, though, I noticed that another redder than red state may be teetering. Everyone knows that Democrat Travis Childers defeated garden variety GOP wingnut Gary Davis in a heavily Republican congressional district last week. Even though it was patently false, everyone in the district believed, courtesy of the GOP and some shady Republican front groups, that Childers was handpicked to run by Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright. And they elected him anyway. That still didn't prepare me for what I read today. The wingnut Davis was seeking to replace, Roger Wicker, had been appointed to the U.S. Senate when Trent Lott finally admitted he was nothing but a lobbyist and moved from the Capitol to K Street. The latest polling numbers indicate that Wicker should enjoy his few months in the Senate since they are likely to be his last. "Former governor Ronnie Musgrove leads appointed Senator Roger Wicker by 8 points, 48% to 40%, in the Mississippi Senate race to fill former Senator Trent Lott's seat, according to a new poll conducted for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Musgrove is viewed favorably by 57% of the state's voters, compared to 30% who view him unfavorably." A DSCC spokesman added that "With gas prices out of control, Mississippians are tired of Roger Wicker taking thousands of dollars from the oil and gas industry and then showering them with billions of dollars in special tax subsidies." Good point. And pretty much as close to 1936 as the Republicans are going to get in 2008.


UPDATE: OH... AND IT'S GRIM OVER ON THE HOUSE SIDE TOO

Although Boehner has failed in his bid to oust Tom Cole from the NRCC-- Republicans are too paralyzed with fear and confusion to do anything but march to their miserable individual demises. today's Hill is reporting that some whackadoodle right wing bloggers-- the kind who are inspired by Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, James Dobson and Rush Limbaugh-- are campaigning to replace poor old Cole.

“[Republicans] can continue on this course until November and embrace disaster,” wrote the directors of RedState, a leading conservative blog, “or they can clean house and bring a new direction to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).”

That new direction includes a new NRCC chairman and a commitment to an anti-earmark pledge, they wrote last week, after Democrat Travis Childers won in a special election the Mississippi seat held by Republicans for three decades.

The bloggers also write that Cole and other Republican leaders haven’t stressed enough the need to play to the party’s base, especially on fiscal matters, which they think is crucial to holding off Democratic gains.

Only if they concentrated on reducing earmarks would they be able to rally the activists who could reverse Republican fortunes, according to RedState’s editor, Erick Erickson.

...Activists aren’t calling for just Cole’s head. Erickson wants “bloody purges” in the Republican Conference of members such as Rep. Don Young (Alaska), whom Erickson calls an “earmarxist” for having secured millions in federal funds for projects such as the so-called Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska and the Coconut Road highway in Florida.

I love the idea of the GOP House caucus getting together and roasting Don Young and Jerry Lewis on spits over open fires. I hope it's televised. And then they can embrace Bush even closer, back McCain's call for 100 years of war, spend millions of more dollars on racist ads about their icon Jeremiah Wright, run against gays, choice and abstinence. Now there's the platform that will guarantee them that 88 seats they deserve.