Ahhh – while we are gearing up for the 2006 elections, so are the Republicans and they have a new strategy. Their new strategy is crafty and clever. It is a strategy to prove they are the party of integrity and honor:

WASHINGTON – Many worried Republicans on the ballot in November have been pushing away from the White House, not wanting to be dragged under by President Bush’s sinking approval ratings and growing anxiety over Iraq. That doesn’t mean they’re also fleeing his cash offerings, however.

Despite approval ratings in the mid-to-upper 30s, Bush remains the nation’s most successful fundraiser. Vice President Dick Cheney, whose poll numbers are even lower than Bush’s, is not far behind. Both have raised tens of millions of dollars for GOP congressional and gubernatorial candidates running in this year’s midterm elections.

Even as some Republicans are becoming increasingly defiant on a range of issues, they’re still lining up dutifully for the president’s campaign dollars.

Yes – stay away from Bush to show the voters you are the right choice. But wait a minute. If the Republicans would have done this all along and not bowed down to the White House on every single issue then they would not be facing a tough reelection. I guess they are really planning on “dumb old Americans” to forget everything that has happened (or more like not happened) during the 109th Congress and go ahead and vote for them because they are not “with Bush”. Well you can shave your Bush but it still grows back.

I also just love how they still want him to raise money. It reminds me of childhood, you know, you want your allowance from daddy but you don’t want to hang out with him because “what would my friends think?”

Of course Bush is good at raising money. The White House doesn’t mind spend, spend, spend just to put on a good show (think – Mission Accomplished). The problem is that money they spend is taxpayer money and we are already in a record deficit with that number going much higher by the day. True in Bush’s mind “that is something for future president’s to worry about”. He don’t care – he just wants to have his fun and make a big old mess for someone else to clean up. Maybe Bush 41 should run again in 2008, after all Georgie is use to daddy cleaning his messes up for him.

Here is the kicker to Republicans. This past year countless scandals have emerged and the coverage on them will not go away. We are still waiting for the indictments from Abramoff’s plea deal and every day we wait is a day closer to election day. The same goes for Scooter Libby. His trial starts in January and the pre-trial games will be kicking off around election time. At that point we will be 3 and a half years into Iraq and sadly there will be more dead soldiers. Our economy will still be screwed and we will still not have Osama (unless we already do). These are all issues that will weigh in on the minds of voters. Couple that with the fact that the Republicans have total control and that will push voters to wanting a change.

Of course we still need to do our part to make sure everyone out there knows they need to vote. We need a record turn out this year because that is what will show the Republicans we are tired of their giving it to us without the courtesy of a reach around (you get the idea).