A Boston Tea Party …(A Lighter Shade Of Red)

Today Kent Conrad voted for judge John Roberts as the chief Supreme Court Justice. His vote was an interesting one. I had predicted to others that we would indeed vote to confirm judge Roberts. For me it was a predictable conclusion.

Kent had just run a campaign commercial toting his ability to cross party lines to get things done for his state. He has a definite case of Hoevenitis which is causing him to act like a child who gets knocked in the head for acting up in church. You see Kent wants us to believe that he votes like a senator from a red state. Yes, North Dakota is Bush country and the recent Forum poll showing him well behind Governor Hoeven was a huge punch in the stomach. I don’t think the results were a shock to him because certainly he had to have been doing his own internal polling. What has Kent on the run is now it is public knowledge how far he trails Hoeven.

Hence today’s vote. Conrad knew judge Roberts was going to win so he had nothing to lose in placing his support behind the judge. Sure he will lose credibility with his far left donors but he is now in a fight for his political life. The time has come to act like a red state senator.

His actions will be similar to the Christmas carol “The Scrooge”. Instead of the ghost of Christmas past he is reliving “the ghost of Daschle past”. We all remember John Thune reminding South Dakota residents how Tom Daschle obstructed the entire Bush agenda. Conrad wants to lighten the load of that cross as he approaches his reelection campaign. It is my hunch we won’t be hearing any statements like “this is the most reckless President this country has ever known” anytime soon. He may bleed blue but he will try to paint himself as a lighter shade of red.

Bush and Rove can continue to force the hand of Conrad with the nomination of the next Supreme Court justice (to be announced on Monday). Hopefully, this nominee will be to the right of Roberts therefore placing Conrad even more in a quandary. If he does vote to support an even more conservative nominee then don’t be surprised if the next commercial we see has him embracing President Bush just like we saw Daschle run. The problem with that strategy is Daschle was ridiculed for being a phony. A no vote on an even more conservative justice nominee will show that Conrad actually has a spine but will be just as damaging. He would then get to be painted the true liberal he is. Poor Kent, behind in the polls with two very public votes to make, don’t you feel sorry for him? If I were Hoeven I would announce I was running and then sit back and watch Bush and Rove continue to define my opponent for me. The defeat of Conrad gets easier by the day. The only choice Kent Conrad has is does he want to lose as a liberal or lose as a phony centrist. His choice will quite possibly come with his next vote. Time to pick your poison, Kent.