Political Science Theater 2006

A seemingly innocuous, run-of-the-mill corruption probe of a sitting congressman all of a sudden has turned into a grand political drama and potential constitutional crisis. Funny that it took the alleged misdeeds of a Democrat in the House to elicit this kind of commotion, especially given all of the crap being pulled by Republicans in recent years.

While Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana, may well have committed numerous unethical and/or illegal acts, for which he should be duly investigated and held accountable, it's hard to believe that it warrants this kind of attention. With all of the Republicans who are in trouble on the Hill, why did it take a Democrat to be the first congressman ever - EVER - to have his office raided by the FBI?

In the aftermath of the FBI's search-warrant-approved actions, the President placed a 45-day moratorium on the evidence collected until a reasonable solution can be ironed out. Seems reasonable enough, until one begins to wonder why he would take such action in apparent support of a Democrat who has been extremely critical of the Bush administration's incompetence in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Now, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller reportedly have said they will resign unless the evidence collected in the raid is reinstated. Doesn't that seem just a tad bit rash?

The entire drama playing out in Washington has the feel of being just that, a drama. With all of the attention being paid to Republican do-no-gooders in Congress over the last several months, perhaps the Bush administration decided to unleash this little spat in order to drum up some publicity - a LOT of publicity - about a troubled Democrat. With the 2006 mid-term elections just months away, the troubled Republican Party needs to turn the tide in a hurry if it has any hope whatsoever of retaining a majority in the House and Senate this fall. And what better way to turn attention away from Republican misdeeds - and there are many - than to turn a white hot spotlight on the Democrats?

Anytime you have your Attorney General and your FBI Director allegedly threatening to resign over actions taken by the President, it tends to get the media's attention. And what the media pays attention to can't help but filter down to the voters.

So, regardless of the issues involving the raid on a congressman's office, the overriding message that Republicans want to sink into the minds of the voting public is that a Democrat is being investigated for corruption. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the DoJ trots out a few more investigations of Democrats as the October elections near, if only to give a boost to Republicans' chances of retaining power. Timing is everything, as they say. If the Senate and House majorities revert to the Democrats this fall, then the shit will really hit the fan come 2007.

And won't THAT be a show worth watching? Stay tuned...