What is the relationship between these two stories from the Hill? Ted Stevens getting convicted of all counts for, in essence, corruption:
Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Senate Republican in history and patriarch of Alaska politics, was found guilty of all seven felony charges for making false statements.
John Ensign trying to blame John McCain for a disastrous Senate Republican showing:
Nevada Sen. John Ensign, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, on Monday said John McCain’s presidential run is making Senate races “more difficult” for the GOP.
They reflect a delusionally out-of-touch Senate establishment. On the same day that Ensign’s colleague starts the march off to prison, he is blaming the guy who tried to clean up his own party. Could this be more out of touch?
By the way. What is the job of the NRSC? Torecruit candidates and raise money. We are mostly playing defense. John Kennedy was a good recruit, but we don’t have anyone in Arkansas. But how did they do on fundraising? Not so hot: "DSCC doubles NRSC funddraisng … Again." Or "DSCC crushes NRSC in fundraising."
How about the fact that Congressional Republicans just aren’t that popular … because we haven’t changed our ways? The numbers demonstrate abject failure. After all, we have 27% approval, while the Dems have 34%. Oh yeah. And Bush is in the single digits, along with right-track/wrong-track. And we’ve had 9 straight months of job loss.
Maybe the problem is us. The lesson of this election for Republicans cannot be about John McCain, although he has his faults. It has to be about the establishment and us. Our leaders have lead us astray. It is probably time to find new leaders. Rank and file Republicans get that. That’s why the last two guys standing were the farthest from the establishment: John McCain and Mike Huckabee.
Until the establishment in Congress and party accept that they are part of the problem, we are just going to continue to lose more seats and continue to destroy our party and our movement. McCain isn’t doing that.