Arrogance or Cluelessness . . . You Decide!

This kind of stuff drives me crazy.

This week you have, at the national level, the House Republicans:

1. Re-elected Tom Delay as their leader and then softened up their ethics rules so that he won't have to step down after he is indicted. According to the New York Times (link requires registration) . . .

The Republicans also seem bent on reining in the ethics committee for having had the temerity to rebuke Mr. DeLay for some of his more outrageous conduct. The party's Rules Committee chairman, David Dreier, recently sent a letter to House members signaling that he plans to make it even harder than it already is for members to file an ethics complaint, and for outside groups to be heard in the process. Rumors also abound that come January, when the next Congress is seated, all five Republican members of the ethics committee, including its current chairman, Representative Joel Hefley, may be replaced.

This was followed up with:

2. Slipping in an unoticed line in the budget that gave two of their committee chairs access to anyone's IRS file (can you say "audacious violation of privacy").

When the measure was noticed, Bill Frist said it would be removed. . .

Lawmakers vowed Sunday that a clause, which would allow two committee chairmen to view the tax returns of any American, would be removed from a multibillion-dollar spending bill before it is sent to the White House for President Bush's signature. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer demanded a "full and complete" investigation into how the measure got into the bill, and "appropriate punishment" for those responsible. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said: "I have no earthly idea how it got in there. Nobody is going to defend this."
(from CNN.Com)

Now, I didn't wake up this morning intent on ranting against Republicans, but then my Strib had the story of Minnesota GOP Chairman Ron Eibensteiner's potential casino conflict . . . while the Gov. pushes the idea of expanding casino's in the state, Eibensteiner has taken a major interest in a company that sells slot machines. According to the Strib:

. . . Eibensteiner's involvement in the company has attracted criticism from some members of the state Republican Party, who say it poses a potential conflict if Gov. Tim Pawlenty succeeds in his efforts to bring Las Vegas gambling interests to Minnesota. And staunch conservatives within the party, especially those morally opposed to gambling, are particularly concerned about his role in the business. Eibensteiner is a board member of Spectre Gaming and one of its largest shareholders; in July, he held 1.8 million shares, or 17 percent of the company.

"Our party ought to be discouraging gambling, and certainly we should not be part of the take," said Allen Quist, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate.

I think these lowlights mark a disturbing trend of arrogance and power politics among many of today's political leaders. While the Democrats might be watching these madcap capers with glee in anticipation of the voter backlash against the Republicans, I think they better rethink how this affects them.

The more likely outcome is not a backlash against Republicans two years from now. It is more likely that these antics will contribute to a general disgust for politics, while increasing voter apathy and lowering voter turnout. All those idealistic young new-voters that turned out to back Kerry, may start to rethink whether politics is really something they want to be associated with.

The ironic result is that, given that we're two years from an election; these actions could benefit the Republicans at the ballot box more than the Dems.

A smart move by the DFL at this point would be to work to highlight public servants on both sides of the aisle that are doing good and are worthy of admiration; rather than go on a negative attack that would further distance the average person from the abrasive world of politics.