Tuesday, November 16, 2004

State of Nature: When scorpions lack a common enemy or prey, they sometimes attack each other in an act of cannibalism. Now the Republican Party seems intent on doing the same thing.

Lacking any adequate political adversary, conservatives are turning their sights on the moderates within the party. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania made the mistake of publicly doubting the ability of the Senate to confirm new Supreme Court justices who seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, and he became an enemy of the American Family -- or at least some Association that claims to represent them.

These conservatives want to prevent Specter from becoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for which he is next in line, to limit his influence on approving federal judges nominated by President Bush. If the far-right has its way, they will lose Specter's support and as a result will weaken the power of the Republican Party.

Republicans may be the top dog in town now. But they can't let their power get to their heads. I know hard-core conservatives who would rather the Republican Party play smart and take a moderate approach to running the government than to let the extremists run the asylum at the risk of losing national political support. The decision Republicans make with Specter could be an indication as to whether the party has the brains to stay in charge for awhile.

P.S. The American Family Association is also targeting Proctor & Gamble for actively recruiting "individuals who practice the abnormal and destructive homosexual lifestyle to come to work for the company." In response, the association wants people to boycott P&G products. In case you don't know what the company produces, here's a list. I guess right-wing homophobes and nutty animal-rights groups have a common enemy. I encourage them to boycott P&G products such as soap, laundry detergent, and toothpaste. That way we can smell them coming ahead of time.