Davis delivers stinging missive to GOP
by Lindsay Barnes
Now that he’s not running for Senate or seeking re-election, Congressman Tom Davis (R-Fairfax) has written publicly what many of his colleagues have reportedly stated privately: the Republican Party is in the worst shape in decades. In a controversial 20-page memo he delivered to his GOP colleagues in the House yesterday, Davis writes that the present political atmosphere is “the worst since Watergate and far more toxic than in 2006, when we lost 30 seats (and our majority).” Davis attributes this to President Bush, whom he says, “continues to flounder,” and the uniformly arch-conservative “GOP brand,” which Davis calls an “albatross” around the necks of moderates like himself. #
If the recent special election in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional is any indication, this November should be a bloodbath. Republicans deserve it frankly. The arrogance of the Bush Administration, combined with the reckless, drunken spending, has earned them a decade or more in the minority. The endless corruption, the pointless war, the squandering of the world’s goodwill after 9/11…
Indeed, while there will be those who try to dissociate themselves from this worst-of-all-presidencies, which of the Republicans had the cajones to do it while Bush was/is in office? Other than Nebraska’s Chuck Hagel, I can’t think of one. I used to respect John McCain, but even he caved to the Rove-ian machine and ended up selling his soul. The GOP is a party based on callous greed and religious extremism. Its utter devastation will be sweet to savor.
Let’s shed no tears for Mr. Davis nor allow him to rewrite his own EXTREMELY prototypical GOP resume. Davis was elected as part of the 94 “Contract for America” and of course like all but one or two of those GOP congresspeople of the class of 94 he ignored his pledge to retire after 6 terms. Since 2003 he’s voted with his party 89% of the time (though to his credit he did vote with the Dems on the resolution opposing the Iraq surge last year). His wife runs a firm that helps businesses gain government contracts and has benefited from his heavy-handedness (which the so-called Ethics Committee has investigated - but of course they don’t do anything anyway). When renowned liberal George Soros surfaced as one of the potential owners for the Washington Nationals, Davis threatened baseball with investigations into other matters, stating that baseball doesn’t want to get involved in any political fights. As committee chairman he drafted and signed a subpoena demanding Terry Schiavo appear before his committee during the controversy that preceded her passing.
So this guy has been part of the problem his entire career, so it’s a tad bit disingenuous for him now to call the kettle black. It’s a shame he decided not to run for Senate - would have been enjoyable watching Warner mop the floor with him.