The Senate Race: What's Going On

by: Hopeful

Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 01:22:57 AM EDT

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which this year dispatched a half-dozen operatives to comb through tax, court and other records looking for damaging information on Democratic candidates, plans to spend more than 90 percent of its $50 million-plus advertising budget on what officials described as negative ads.

The hope is that a vigorous effort to "define" opponents, in the parlance of GOP operatives, can help Republicans shift the midterm debate away from Iraq and limit losses this fall.

This national strategy should sound familiar, because it is exactly the strategy of the Kean camp as well.  There is always something that can be blown up into a negative ad.  It's even better if you have a Bush fundraiser to launch -- and obviously leak -- an investigation.  The Kean camp must have been surprised when their first Menendez smear was rejected by the press -- who after all, allowed Kerry and Gore to be smeared -- so they will try again and again.  It'll be Linda Stender's turn next.  A Republican lobbyist says: "It will take one or two punches to fold them up like a cheap suit."  All this is because they don't want us to remember what's really going on.

What's at stake for this country is clear: