Political Foibles of 2006
By Tony Palmeri
Politically, 2006 will be remembered as the year Republicans were soundly defeated at the polls. Saddled by association with an unpopular President, corruption scandals, an Iraq quagmire and partisan gridlock, the GOP was reduced to relying on some of the most negative campaign advertising in the history of American politics. The public finally said “enough!” and gave control of the Congress back to the Democrats for the first time since 1994.
So in “honor” of the Republicans’ defeat, let’s talk about some of the worst political foibles of 2006:
*”Macacagate”: At the start of 2006, Virginia Senator George Allen was widely considered to be a shoo-in for reelection and the possible GOP presidential nominee in 2008. All that came to a crushing end when Allen was caught twice on videotape referring to an Indian American as “macaca,” a racist slur. Allen ended up losing his seat to Democrat Jim Webb. To this day Allen claims that he made up the term “macaca” and had no idea of its racist meaning.
*Bush Toadies Booted Out of Senate: George Allen was a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration, but was hardly alone. Joining him in retirement from the US Senate will be Mike DeWine of Ohio, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Jim Talent of Missouri, and Conrad Burns of Montana. Each of these Republicans were point men for the Bush Administration on a variety of issues, especially Iraq. With his chief Senate cheerleaders gone, Mr. Bush will have to work that much harder to make the case for Iraq, social security privatization, and more tax cuts for the wealthy.
*The Abramoff Scandal: In January, power broker lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to three criminal felony charges in federal court. The charges included corruption of public officials. Staffers connected to Congressmen Tom DeLay and Bob Ney were indicted for Abramoff related activities, while DeLay and Ney themselves resigned from the House in ’06. In October, Ney (the inventor of the call for French fries to be called “freedom” fries) pled guilty to making false statements related to the Abramoff. Expect more Abramoff fallout in ’07; this time expect some prominent Democrats to be named in the corruption probe.
*Congress Opposes FBI Raids On Their Own Offices: Speaking of corrupt Democrats, in May the FBI raided the office and home of Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson. Press reports say that they "found $90,000 of the cash in the freezer, in $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed inside frozen-food containers." Congressional leaders responded with outrage and deep concern about the raid, in spite of the fact that since 9/11 they have greatly expanded the powers of the Executive branch to monitor and harass ordinary, average Americans.
*The Foley Scandal: Republican Mark Foley, once chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, was forced to resign from the Congress when it was revealed that he had sent sexually suggestive email and text messages to congressional pages. The Foley scandal became a symbol of the Republicans’ hypocrisy on “family values” while casting doubt on their ability to manage the Congress effectively.
*Falk Wins Primary Battle, Dems Lose AG War: When Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced she would challenge incumbent Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager in the Democratic primary after Democratic insiders concluded Lautenschlager’s drunk driving arrest would maker her reelection difficult, Peg loyalists claimed that Falk would stand no better chance against a strong Republican challenger. The Peg loyalists turned out to be correct: Republican J.B. Van Hollen defeated Falk in a year when Democrats gained control of the Wisconsin Senate, kept the governorship, and gained 8 seats in the Assembly. Lautenschlager, who despite the drunk driving conviction was still a popular Attorney General with high name recognition, probably would have kept the seat in Dem hands.
*Marriage Amendment Helps Democrats: It is widely believed that the Republicans placed the so-called Marriage Amendment on the November ballot in order to help Mark Green for governor and conservative Republican candidates throughout the state. Conservative Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner believes the strategy backfired. In November he told the press that the Marriage Amendment brought out high numbers of conservative, “Reagan Democrats” to the polls who voted YES on the amendment to ban recognition of civil unions, but then voted for Democrats. If Sensebrenner is correct, it suggests that the Republican strategy of winning elections via recourse to divisive “wedge” issues may have come to and end.
*Jensen Picks Go To Jail Card: In 2001 Dane County DA Brian Blanchard began what has become the longest corruption probe in the history of Wisconsin politics. By 2006, five legislative leaders were convicted of crimes. All of them except former Speaker of the Assembly Scott Jensen (R-Brookfield) plea-bargained to avoid trials that could result in lengthy prison terms. Jensen chose the trial, and in March a jury convicted him of three felonies with the potential for 16 years in jail. Judge Steven Ebert ultimately sentenced Jensen to 15 months in prison after calling his actions "common thievery elevated to a higher plane."
No comments:
Post a Comment