Political GM’n
The struggles of my hometown Seattle Mariners have brought out the General Manager instinct in me – the desire to improve the team by making the big trade. But trades aren’t just for sports teams. On the political front, it seems like there’s an obvious exchange of discontented players that would satisfy both sides. A couple of Senators appear to be cancers in their respective clubhouses, and maybe a change of uniform would do them both some good. I speak of course of John McCain (R-AZ) and Zell Miller (D-GA).
You can’t turn on the TV these days without encountering the gravelly-voiced McCain saying something so reasonable and moderate that even partisan Democrats start bobbing their heads in approval. At a time when people will look outside and check if Donald Rumsfeld declares that the sun is shining, it must drive the White House nuts that Bush’s former rival – undone fair and square by cheap shots and innuendo back in 2000 – is out wooing the public with that “plain talk” and principles. Yes, close examination reveals McCain to be a Reagan Republican, with hard-line conservative views on many social and economic issues, but it least it seems that he has given his views more than a moment’s thought. For that reason, holding up the possibility of McCain as a possible VP pick for fellow veteran John Kerry is becoming a parlor sport among wishful-thinking Democrats, to what can only be the intense annoyance of the current residents in the White House and many of our friends in McCain’s own, highly-disciplined Republican party.
On the other side of the aisle is the last of the Dixiecrats, the venerable Zell Miller of Georgia. I don’t know much about Miller’s ideology or prior record, except that he seems to have been a well-liked figure in Georgia politics and served alongside other moderate or conservative Democrats from his home state, including Jimmy Carter, Sam Nunn and Max Cleland. I am sure he has a great dedication to public service, a credible record on things like race relations, and the Southern Senators’ gift for manipulating legislative procedure to the benefit of his constituency. But lately Zell has gone around the bend, spouting off reactionary and dangerous views on civil liberties and social issues, supporting off-the-charts Right Wing judicial candidates, supporting the war with unseemly vigor, and reliably voting against the Democratic caucus on practically all tax and finance measures. All of this falls barely within the realm of acceptable, by Democratic standards. The bottom line with Democrats is, you don’t have to agree with everything, but you do have to be in favor of Democrats winning. And that’s the line Zell finally crossed last week when he attacked his own party’s Presidential nominee and endorsed George W. Bush. If you do that in public, in what sense can you call yourself a Democrat?
So both sides have these troublesome figures, spreading dissention and giving aid and comfort to the enemy in times of conflict. Republicans are doubtless fed up with the neddlesome and headline-grabbing McCain, while Dems have had it with the cantankerous and reactionary Miller. So why not swap? Terry McAuliffe should get on the phone to Ed Gillespie and propose to trade our old warhorse with the attitude problem for their disgruntled superstar who isn’t getting enough playing time. We could even throw in a few state representatives and a Lieutenant Governor to be named later.
8:29:45 AM 
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