Republican Senators reveal defense mechanism to combat bad news

[sabra]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0807/5216.html

<snip>

Interviews with Republican senators revealed a defense mechanism along these lines:

First, remind the listener that Democrats have problems, too. Bring up the "cold cash" case, aka Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson's indictment on bribery charges (he allegedly stored the money in a freezer). Jefferson has pleaded not guilty.

"I don't think it is a single party," said Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who is up for reelection next year. "It is a Congress thing. Congress is not doing well. We have partisan divides that make it appear that we can't get anything done."

Second, go on the offense against the entities stirring up the trouble, i.e. federal investigators and the media. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) employed that tactic Wednesday, accusing the FBI of "Gestapo-like" tactics in Stevens' case by raiding his home as the media looked on.

...

Third, hope that Republican strategists like Neil Newhouse, a longtime pollster, turn out to be correct.

"I don't think the Ted Stevens thing will make a darn bit of difference overall with Republicans," Newhouse said. "This election is staged in sections, and I think the critical time that our guys are worried about is when we have a Republican (presidential) nominee. You look at the political environment now and on paper, the landscape is tilted against us, the party brand is suffering. The party nominee gives us a chance to redefine what the party is about."

And lastly, wish for better times.

"Everybody has their ups and downs, and the great thing about politics is, things can turn on a dime," Cornyn said. "I'm not moping around."

[Ian David]

1. Q: What do you call 98 Republicans and 1 Democrat under investigation?

A: A Bipatrisan scandal.

[sabra]

2. it's a fuzzy math kind of thing

:sarcasm:

[liberal N proud]

3. They use the same math they use for calculating the war, the economy unemployment

and all sorts of other things.

You just drop the figures that don't look good to you and add up the rest and then subtract the same. All is well.:sarcasm: