Elephant in the Room

David Broder today highlights the disconnect between the reasons the GOP think they are in trouble with the voters, and actual underlying issues in his "For the GOP, a Heartland Plunge."

He reports that at the National Governors Association convention recently, Republicans gave the impression they thought the problem was "in part because of the chaos conveyed by the daily televised scenes of destruction in Iraq and Lebanon.... [the media's fault] .... and in part because of the dismal reputation built by the Republican Congress that is home to many of the endangered GOP candidates,".... [it's nothing we did]. (Washington Post)

While these things definitely impact the voters, the elephant in the room is corruption.... the GOP dominated-Ohio state government is a case in point.

As the Toledo Blade explains on August 16, "The breadth and depth of corruption at the highest levels of Ohio government has been documented by e-mails that reveal how officials sought to keep a lid on news of multi-million dollar losses at the Bureau of Workers' Compensation that might have altered the outcome of the 2004 presidential election."

Oh yes, the Republicans have good reason to attack the press, the press has been uncovering their odoriferous piles of elephant dung. In Ohio a week before the 2004 presidential election, the head of the Ohio BWC took steps to ensure that a $215 million investment loss in an offshore hedge-fund would not become public knowledge, this and the failed $50 million "Coin-gate" scheme would not surface until months after the election.

So even if Republican Governors point the finger of blame for their dismal showing in the polls on Iraq, Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff's Congressional buddies, it's much more than that.

Broder sums it up this way, "Ohio may be particularly vulnerable because the economy in parts of the state ... has been hurt by layoffs, and because a series of scandals has left retiring Gov. Bob Taft with approval ratings in the teens."

But a wounded elephant is dangerous. If uncovering terrorist plots and trumpeting the "Democrats are weak on terrorism" Rove-bite don't raise dismal poll numbers.... AP-Ipsos job approval for Bush 33 percent and for the GOP Congress 29 percent.... who knows what rampaging devastation the Bush administration might unleash to stampede Red Alert-blinded voters in their direction.

The voters must remember, it's not just the failed GOP policies on Iraq or terrorism causing our national stink, it's the elephant in the room.