There are just four weeks and a day or two between now and the Congressional elections.

The consequences of Democratic control of the U. S. House of Representatives would be appalling, and former presidential speech writer (and occasional Administration critic) David Frum spells them out:

“. . . [T]hey will seek to harry and destroy the administration through the use of Congress’s investigative powers. For them, one useful thing about investigations is that the investigators are not required to agree in advance that any wrongdoing actually occurred. Left-wing Democrats convinced that the country was deceived into war by a sinister neoconservative cabal can work alongside more moderate Democrats, who will tell themselves that they are just asking neglected questions. And both factions can then happily go fishing for something damaging to turn up.

For those on the receiving end, a groundless investigation is every bit as time-consuming and excruciating as a meritorious one. And for those on the questioning end, investigations can be nearly equally damaging. They tempt senators and their staffs to see plots rather than problems, to seek revelations rather than solutions, and to think like prosecutors rather than policymakers.”

These are not normal times, but a time of war, even if many people of both parties do not accept that fact.

• We are in a world war against the terror-masters of Iran and Syria, abetted from time to time by North Korea and other unfriendly states.
• We are in struggle on our doorstep to preserve our electoral system, law and order, and our economy against indiscriminate opening of our continental borders.
• We are in a longer-term cultural battle to restore teaching the fundamentals of western civilization within taxpayer-supported and many private schools systems (from K through graduate school). Far too many schools no longer transmit our heritage, propagating instead a “multi-cultural” vision hostile to traditional values as well as sound learning of fundamental skills.

The Bush Administration does not have a perfect record in all these matters. But this is not the place to reiterate their shortcomings, which most conservatives understand quite well.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Good: Last week, all sorts and conditions of Virginia House Republicans came together to support the Federal Election Integrity Act, H.R. 4844, requiring photo-identification to vote in Federal elections and proof of citizenship to register for Federal elections.

And, as a bonus to fiscal conservatives, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor teamed up with Indiana Representative Mike Pence to offer legislation, H.R. 6057, eliminating the capital gains tax on inflation. Some tax authorities argue that the Administration could do this by executive order. (Full disclosure: your correspondent was one of 20 signers of a coalition letter to Congress urging an end to taxing inflation on capital gains.) The Club for Growth has made H. R. 6057 a priority. That pro-growth voice reports 67 co-sponsors of the measure last evening.

The Bad: In a time of porous U.S. borders, one would think members of all parties would be eager to secure the US voting system. Lamentably, Virginia U.S. Representatives Robert Scott, Rick Boucher, and James Moran voted not to do so.

And Tenth District challenger for the U.S. House Judy Feder crows:

People in this district—indeed, all across Virginia and across America—are desperate for change and accountability in Washington, DC.”

But apparently that promised accountability does not extend to explaining where she stands on securing our voting system. NoVaPolitics asked Ms. Feder for her views on the Federal Election Integrity Act. She failed to respond.

Read the rest of this entry »