Bloodless Coup

Tomasky As Billy Mumphrey (Minus the Diplomacy and International Intrigue)

There is more than a little bit of truth in this piece by Michael Tomasky. It's surely the case that comments made by the likes of Howard Dean and Dick Durbin (people who lack the power to set the national agenda or have much of an impact on state policy) increasingly dominate "news" coverage since the Republicans who actually control DC have little to show for themselves but a string of failures, inaction, and unpopular acts (see the Schiavo affair) - and many of their actions (or inactions, for example, the recent anti-lynching resolution) are the last thing they want to have to talk about on television. But when Tomasky writes "the evidence of those failures is growing too preponderant for even cable television to ignore, and the demands for apologies too blatantly hypocritical", he steps into dreamyland of fluffy little bunnies and rainbows that would be fit for the hapyy dancing elf seen at the begining of the film version of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. I wish things weren't this way. But if we know anything about DC during the Bush administration it's that there is an endless amount of lying and hypocrisy that can and will be tolerated or ignored. And when the "news" anchors have had their fill of politely nodding at that, there's always some missing blonde to turn the country's attention to, or some network show to advertise. I wish I was being too pessimistic. But I'm afraid Tomasky's confusing the way things should be with the way they will be.