The Year of Political "Retreads"

November 3, 2002

by Christopher G. Adamo

In October of 1991, Clarence Thomas was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice, amid a storm of controversy over Anita Hill’s accusations of "sexual harassment." Feminists, outraged over the Thomas confirmation, promised to change the face of America by proclaiming 1992 as the "Year of the Woman" in politics. However, reality turned out to be far less impressive than the rhetoric... the most notable example being Senator Carol Mosley Braun of Illinois. After only one term of Senator Braun’s antics, the embarrassed population of Illinois mended their ways and sent her packing. The great, hoped-for trend, by which Democrats had sought to fill their ranks with fire-breathing pro-abortion Amazons, eventually fizzled. We can only hope that a similar fate will befall their newest effort at seizing power... by recycling political "has beens."

In New Jersey, that title of distinction goes to retired Senator Frank Lautenburg, whose unimpressive career ended with a whimper in 1998. Now it seems that Lautenburg has recognized his duty to carry on in the discredited footsteps of Democrat Senator Bob Torricelli. As the burden of Torricelli’s scandals continued to grow in scope, it became obvious that reelection was becoming an impossibility. So, Torricelli simply withdrew from the race.

Certain individuals (this writer included) naively hoped that these events signaled a turn-around in the declining standards of American politics. Sadly, such a presumption proved to be mistaken. Democrat leaders had no intention of forfeiting that Senate seat, and thus decided to play a political "shell game" by replacing Torricelli with Lautenburg after legal deadlines prohibiting such action had passed. Clearly, they would not have taken such a risk, had there been even the slightest chance that the New Jersey Supreme Court might compel them to abide by well-defined New Jersey statutes. The only possible conclusion is that Democrat operatives knew beforehand exactly what the Court would do. Enough said.

On the heels of that fiasco came the shock of last week’s Minnesota plane crash that took the lives of Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife and daughter, along with four others. Tragic as this event undoubtedly was to friends and family, still more tragic is the manner in which the Democrat Party is shamelessly exploiting the situation in hopes of gaining politically from it. When Mel Carnahan of Missouri died in similar accident just prior to Election Day in 2000, that state’s liberal political machine managed to turn the event into a referendum on sympathy for the deceased candidate. Having been behind in the polls at the time of his death, Carnahan nevertheless won the election... posthumously. Motivated by the utmost degree of honor and graciousness, losing candidate John Ashcroft chose not to contest either the fraudulent nature of the election or Missouri’s many instances of underhanded activity on Election Day. Subsequently, Missouri Governor Roger Wilson simply appointed Carnahan’s wife to serve in his place.

Unfortunately, Senator Carnahan’s inept performance, in her husband’s stead, is proving to be an embarrassment. In Minnesota, the situation is complicated by the fact that Mrs. Wellstone also died in the crash, thus preventing anyone from conferring her husband’s office on her. But Minnesota’s Democrats ingeniously surmounted these obstacles while still being able to fully exploit the emotional benefits of the situation.

Though political strategists recognized former Vice-President Walter Mondale as the most viable last-minute substitute candidate, the choice is being promoted as a personal request from Wellstone’s survivors. Thus, Mondale can assert the merits of his own background (though only in Minnesota would such a record as Mondale’s be regarded as something to brag about). Meanwhile, any attack on Mondale’s record by Republican candidate Norm Coleman will immediately be portrayed by Democrats and the media as heartless cruelty against the grieving Wellstone family. Coleman, you see, has a moral obligation to assuage their mourning by allowing them to handpick the state’s next senator.

Just as New Jersey voters need to decide whether they intend for future generations to be subjugated to the whims of a panel of dictators (an apt description of the New Jersey Supreme Court), the people of Minnesota need to determine whether their Senator will be determined on the basis of issues or emotion.

_________________________________________

Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming with his wife and sons. He has been involved in grassroots political activity for many years. Chris was the editor of the Wyoming Christian from 1994 to 1996, and his columns can also been seen at CheyenneNetwork.com.

Send the author an E mail at Adamo@ConservativeTruth.org.

For more of Christopher's articles, visit his archives.