GOP applauds Capitol Hill police for altercation with Democrat

The story of Cynthia McKinney's scuffle with a Capitol Hill police officer got its share of attention on the liberal blogs, but the concensus seemed to be 'wait and see.' The most basic facts were disputed, and McKinney has something of a reputation for flying off the handle and even citing racism when it isn't really appropriate. Simply put, we don't know what happened yet. I haven't seen any blanket defenses of McKinney, but I haven't seen any attacks on the officer. Pretty even-handed, huh? Moderate, even.

But this is chicken soup for Republicans' charred souls. It's guaranteed to rile up the base, and it provides an instant platform for attacks on overly-PC liberals that are destroying the nation. And yes, as stupid as it is, it will be expanded into a claim that all Democrats are soft on security. For instance:

House Republicans pushed a resolution Tuesday commending the Capitol police force for professionalism after a confrontation between an officer and Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney.

"I don't think it's fair to attack the Capitol Police and I think it's time that we show our support for them," said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., a sponsor of the measure. Ignoring a police officer's order to stop or hitting one "is never OK," McHenry said of the incident. (. . .)

A spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., pointed out that a Democratic lawmaker hitting an officer does not support the minority party's claim of commitment to security.

The GOP is a nothing more than a horrific joke at this point. Their policies are reviled by the public, and they have nothing to run on this year. Unfortunately, they're in power and they mean to keep it. Expect them to arm their legion of swiftboaters with nukes this time around-- it's going to be one of the most savagely negative campaign seasons we've ever seen. That's the only weapon left in the Republican arsenal.