Since 1994, following the infamous Republican sweep, a good number of fairly conservative Democrats switched to the other side of the aisle, including Sen. Dick Shelby, Rep. Rodney Alexander, and Rep. Nathan Deal, among others. Now that the Democrats have taken Washington by storm, it is very tempting to contemplate winning some defectors of our own.

Note: This diary is cross posted at the University of Pennsylvania Democrats' "The Fighting Quaker" blog, http://www.penndems.org/blog.php.

Allow me first to say that, throughout this tirade, I refer specifically to John Danforth, but also in general to all such disgruntled or so-called "maverick" Republicans who have no trouble taking money from the RNC, even as they call from the rooftops their professed Jim Lehrer-esque political impartiality.

Back into the news of late is former senator John Danforth (R-MO). Mr. Danforth, an ordained Episcopal minister noted for his gravitas as well as heir to the Ralston-Purina fortune (the company having been founded by his grandfather), is in the limelight once again to promote the release of his new book, Faith and Politics. In this book, Mr. Danforth expresses his disenchantment with the current state of the Republican Party. He feels that it is entirely too beholden to right wing theological ideologues, writing in a recent New York Times piece, "By a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians...". He speaks out against the current Republican-controlled government's rampant corruption and its discrimination against, well, everybody. It is also worth noting that Mr. Danforth served for seven months during the administration of George W. Bush as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, a post that he relinquished in order to spend time with his wife, Sally. However, methinks him a trifle disingenuous, given that book tours (not to mention writing the book to begin with) take up a tremendous amount of potential spousal cuddling time...but I digress....there's more after the break.

Today is indeed a sad day for the institution of the family. The New York State Supreme Court has rejected the rights of gay men and lesbians to marry, effectively denying them the right to start their own families with the same rights and protections as straight couples.

This is completely hypothetical, and just for fun, but what would be the dream team you'd assemble if the Dems were to win the 2008 election?

I recall from my high school days learning about the various Chinese dynasties in world history class. Although ten years ago stories of the centuries-long holding of power by a single family seemed an antiquated notion, something rendered unlikely by the advent of the republic, we now realize more fully the tendency of history to repeat itself.

In yesterday's paper, syndicated conservative columnist and editor of the National Review Kathryn Lopez had a few words to say on this matter also. However, she was not referring to the Mings, but, you guessed it, the worst ruling family in modern history, the Bushes. Yes, Ms. Lopez had the audacity to call for a Jeb Bush presidency, and in the process touting him as nothing less than a conservative messiah, poised to salvage the remains of a decadent country ravaged by an invisible (at least since '01 or even '94) liberal juggernaut.

That the Democrats are somewhat lacking in the Reagan-esque power of passionate and convincing speech-making is certainly not breaking news. However, it seems more and more these days that the Democrats are becoming even less articulate...for a perfect example, look no further than Joe Biden's embarrassingly nebulous pontifications during the Alito hearings. Undoubtedly, the power of potent speech-making has helped earn support throughout history for statesmen who were lacking otherwise in other areas, such as Mr. Reagan, whose often unrealistically grandiose political ideas were more Hollywood than Washington. Democrats, however, can take some heart in having politicos of the ilk of Russ Feingold and Bill Clinton around...unfortunately, though, these straight-shooters often seem to be lost amidst a jungle of John Kerry-s...

As I have expended considerable wordage pontificating on my disdain for the current House representation of NJ-04, namely Christopher H. Smith, I shan't re-examine my  "how do I dislike thee, let me count the ways."

Suffice to say, I have moved beyond idle kvetching and have, as has been suggested of me, formulated an alternative. Yes, although Rep. Smith will be running unopposed--as of now--in November, we needn't resign ourselves to this necessarily as an inevitability, for there exists within this pseudo-Republican district a Democrat who would be able to open the eyes of the district's electorate to its anachronistic reality--a Reagan-era Republican district that has not seemed yet to realize that the Berlin Wall has fallen long ago. Things have changed.

spot on analysis. bumped from the diaries -- jonathan

The mayor of my hometown has been in office since 1984...luckily, he's a Democrat. The United States Representative from my district, Christopher H. Smith, has held his office since 1980...unfortunately, he's a Republican. So is the Representative from the district adjacent to my own, Jim Saxton, who has held his office since 1984. Although such longstanding incumbency may not be all that unusual, in the particular case of NJ-03 and NJ-04, it represents a particularly lethal combination of lack of education and indifference on the part of the public, and oversight on the part of the Democrats...and one which deserves our attention.