I am afraid there is no hope for the Democratic Party. Not unless it cops on to the dumb thread of our society.

     Politics by any estimate is a blood sport. I didn’t say that, originally, but I agree.

     When the country went Red overnight in November and the proud cadres of progressives wandered into the morning sun incredulous and then launched a heart-sick week of lament, a crucial truth was overlooked. A dear friend once voiced it well:

     “If you want to make any money in this country, you’ve got to give ‘em something stupid.”

     At the time, he was a card-carrying republican, but by now I think his groovy girlfriend has swayed him to reason.

     Nonetheless, he was right.

     The GOP took the election by dazzling the low end of America. The majority. The Democrats failed because their message was too real, too logical for a society plugged into image, idealism, pride and fear.

     Even more telling is how open the Bush Campaign was about their methods. Bush called Karl Rove “The Architect of my Campaign.” And Rove described his strategy of targeting the Christian Right.

     Not only did they tailor their message to manipulate the largest voting base, but they admitted it, and the voters in that demographic seemed impressed.

     So pervasive was this open policy of manipulation that the Bush Campaign, when asked about his questionable military service – of which members of his National Guard squadron said they never saw him –announced that he would not address the allegations, but instead would “look back proudly on his service.”

     So, Rove said, “here’s how we’re going to manipulate the public.”

     And the public said, “Yeah. Great. Let’s see how masterfully you manipulate us.”

     And then they voted for him.

     No kidding. It’s a game. The American public has no patience for the truth. They want image, idealism and excitement.

But the Democrats want idealism also. The problem is, their ideal is one of a nation that actually reads and thinks critically. The GOP understands the simple truth that the voting majority is a knee-jerk, easily-lead creature. As long as they understand that and the Democrats ignore it, the republicans will dominate the political arena.

     But there is hope. House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R, Texas) is nearly politically dead after revelations of his violating Federal Law by raising corporate money and then using it to advance political agendas and allegedly pay his wife and daughter half-a-million dollars to work on his campaign. As if that’s not enough, Rep. Marry Denny (R, Texas) introduced legislation designed to protect Delay from the allegations.

     The Delay situation reveals only the surface of the rotten fruit that is the GOP.

     A conservative voter in a Wal-Mart parking lot on National Public Radio Wednesday night said of the Delay revelation:

“It takes away the glitz of being a republican. It takes away some of the glamour. It’s embarrassing.”

     That remark reveals so much about the mindset of conservative voters. It’s as if they want to believe the 1950s kid’s show star Howdy Doody is a real person, and will ignore at all costs the reality that he is a puppet, manipulated most likely by a chain-smoking alcoholic puppeteer – even after being told so.

     GOP supporters should be embarrassed by the news about Delay, but they should not be surprised. This, with any luck, could be the first feint rumblings of the self-destruction of the recently vaunted GOP. But Luck will not carry the Democrats. The party must move to reach the majority of our nation. It will not do that through reason or numerical figures; it will only do it through smoke and mirrors – of which, these days, the GOP has a firm command.

     Accordingly, I’ve developed a healthy and robust contempt for anyone who watches TV. In my mind, they do not count. It is both ugly and lazy for anyone to reference a television program in any conversation, and anyone who does deserves nothing more than they get. What they fail to understand is that their ignorance affects us all, as our nation now purely illustrates Frank Zappa’s dictum that we are Dumb All Over.