We're Beginning to Believe

There is gathering evidence that the collective intelligence of the Bush Administration and the Republican Party and the Republican Congress ( if these things may legitimately be distinquished from one another ) has finally collapsed or imploded or been exhausted.

If the following two stories could break on the same day (to say nothing of have either one be true ) then the wheels have come off the Rove Message Machine.

Story Number One. I watched this one unfold on CSPAN this morning and couldn't believe my senses. On virtually the last day of business before the fall elections in which Republican control of Congress hangs by a thread, the House of Representatives (i.e., the Republican leadership thereof ) ignores port security, border security, gas prices, global warming, the stagnant minimum wage and the war in Iraq to have a tightly controlled debate on one issue.

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. You got that right. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act which is designed to prevent horses being used for human food.
I know this is an issue that has been keeping you up nights and I am grateful that Congress has seen through the clutter to something of true importance.

The only good I can see coming of this is when Bin Laden hears about it he will forswear any further attacks on us as not being worth the effort as self-destruction must surely be our fate.

If the Democrats (who used almost all their debate time lambasting the Republicans for their priorities) can't take a slow fat pitch like this and knock it into a Demoratic majority in the next Congress, then God help us. But there's more.

Story number two deals (you'll be stunned to hear) with apparent misconduct in the awarding of a Pentagon contract worth seventy million dollars (say it ain't so, Don !). While no one in their right mind would permit a scandal at this delicate moment that involved the safety of our troops, I regret to report just such involvement.

At issue is new technology designed to Protect Our Troops against rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). RPGs have been taking a steady toll in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Army has been looking for a defense.

It came down to a choice between an Israeli contractor who had a system tested and proved under live fire and Raytheon. The (contractually) successful Raytheon system was not tested by the Army, leading to this amusing exchange between NBC's Lisa Myers and Col. Donald Kotchman who heads the Army's RPG defense effort:

Lisa Myers: Was the Raytheon system tested by the Pentagon?

Col. Donald Kotchman: The Army did not specifically test the Raytheon system.

Instead, Raytheon tested its own system this February.

Myers: How well did the Raytheon system do in its own testing?

Kotchman: I don't have that information.

Myers: Were there any Pentagon officials present for the Raytheon testing?

Kotchman: I do not know.

With everything else the R's have lying around, besides those listed above I'm thinking about voting irregularities (Ohio), candidate meltdowns (Florida), bribery scandals (Abramhoff), I would think there are extra innings worth of slow fat pitches. Enough so there wouldn't be any Republicans left in either house.

So now we meditate on how Karl can spin all this to their advantage and resolutely

Stay Naked
jd