Imagine a campaign commercial that starts with a grainy, shadowy image of a Nativity scene being ripped from the front lawn of city hall.
A sad, weary announcer intones, “President Bush appointed judges who know what made America great … but Democrats in the Senate used stalling tactics to stifle the will of the people.”
The shot dissolves to quick-cut scenes of same-sex couples in tuxedos and wedding dresses celebrating on the courthouse steps.
“Americans want judges who won’t substitute their values for ours,” says the voice-over, “but the Democrats listened to the radical activists.”
Next we see some grinning convicts emerging from a prison’s revolving door - then a shot of fat, cigar-chomping lawyers congratulating each other. “The president appointed tough judges to protect our children from criminals and our jobs from frivolous lawsuits,” says the announcer, “but our senator obeyed his Democrat bosses - he wouldn’t even let those appointments come to a vote.”
The TV spot suddenly goes full-color, with a confident-looking Republican on a beach, among a cluster of elderly people. Next, we see that candidate in earnest conversation with some cops and soldiers, then surrounded by upward-gazing young people in a church or university setting.
“Fortunately, we don’t have to let the Democrats block the president’s plans to keep us safe at home … to strengthen Social Security … and to get some judges with common sense,” says the announcer. The commercial closes with the candidate saying he or she approved the message, while shaking hands with Bush before a background of American flags.
That’s a little preview of the Florida Democratic Party’s worst nightmare. It’s the sort of thing we might see in 2006 as Sen. Bill Nelson, the party’s sole survivor in statewide office, is one of at least six Democrats being targeted for defeat by the White House.
If something like this comes out, I’m mailing the RNC a check the next day.