Posted: 3:53 am
September 1, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Republicans' chickens have come home to roost.
The GOPers' plan to scuttle much of their convention this year is absurdly disastrous.
But it's likely their only reasonable option given the absurdly disastrous situation they've gotten themselves into.
Corruption in Congress and thick-headed arrogance from the White House have left the party an insult to conservatives and an embarrassment to Republican voters.
It is a truly amazing turn of events that the party is so loathed and disrespected that it gets blamed for natural disasters. And they actually accept the blame.
So, instead of holding their convention this week, GOPers will put America through a great expression of "storm guilt."
They're no longer running on a platform of ideas or principles. They're running on the "I'm sorry" platform.
As well they should be.
But it's no comfort for those who see in Democrats nothing more than socialized medicine at home and patty-cake diplomacy abroad.
For all the ridicule heaped upon them, conventions are very important - especially for Republicans in these times.
A convention is one of those rare moments in modern elections when a campaign holds the national spotlight and explains its platform.
This is crucial for rallying the base and calling home voters who have given up on the party in the past four years of watching Washington govern. It's why conventions almost always give a party a boost in the polls.
Four years ago, John Kerry was windsurfing the country with his French faux pas and impressing mainly himself. As insufferable as he was, Kerry was seen as less bad than President Bush.
Republicans were utterly despondent.
Then came the GOP convention, where Bush once again laid out the case for his presidency. It was a stunning success, and conservatives remembered why they liked Bush.
Today, the GOP brand is in even worse tatters. Republicans are publicly browbeaten for being Republican, so they refuse to admit it.
Arriving in Minneapolis yesterday, some GOP delegates were greeted by other travelers - not protesters, just travelers - wearing T-shirts that declared, "I am NOT a Republican."
Canning the convention leaves John McCain with one less option for turning the race around.
And just as in 2004, if Democrats can't manage to find victory in all this good fortune, they get what they deserve.
churt@nypost.com
