Houston Democrats

Well for starters, there is this:

"If you tell a lie, tell a big one."

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/joseph_goebbels.htm

The cartoon is from the Houston Chronicle of Saturday, May 27th. It neatly summarizes what polls are finding over and over. For example the Gallup Poll:

The May 5-7, 2006 poll also asked Americans their perceptions about whether the corruption scandals in Washington over the past year mostly involve the Republicans, the Democrats, or both parties equally. Seventy-six percent say it involves both parties equally, while 15% say the scandals mostly involve Republicans, and 5% say they mostly involve Democrats.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/17/115120/830

Voters believe that pols of both parties would rob their own mothers and then take up a collection for the old girl and keep the proceeds.

Never the less, some seem to believe holding up [here] , the Repbublicans as the poster party for the "Culture of Corruption" will be enough for us to recapture the House and ride to power in the states. Not so.

Clearly the polls contradict this theory. More to the point, Rove and company will move to neutralize it. I join those who spectulate that the unprecedented raid on Jefferson's office was simply the most recent and spectacular example of the efforts we will see to make the problem "bi-partisan". Add to the that the failure of the MSM to point out the huge disparity in who is being hauled off to jail for corruption and this theory is even more believable.

This is where Goebbels comes in. In the media's spin of the corruption issue you see a specific application of  the "Big Lie". You also see the paticular Rovian contribution to the arsenal of  dirty tricks one can use to subvert the processes of a democracy - attack you opponent where he is strong, using the big lie. Turn his strength into a contested issue and make him use resources and time in reacting to your attacks. He will never go on the offensive against your weakness if he is always defending his "strength" against your big lies.

Ironically, even the use of  tightly controlled media was anticpated by Goebbels. In his day, such efforts included an inexpensive single channel radio (People's radio). Now , as we well know, we have multiple channles doing the dirty work.

All the dog and pony show which has Hastert complaining about violation of seperation of powers seems to me the perfect way to keep Jefferson's guilty ass in the spotlight where he will be labeled over and over again , as a Democrat.

My conclusion: we have to tell them what we believe in, what our values are, and only then hit them with the corruption charges. I will talk more about that this after Memorial Day.