Grim Old Party

During the summer, a female acquaintance of mine in her 70s who had been a faithful Republican during her long life received a GOP telephone solicitation as a previous contributor to the party. Not this time. She informed the fundraiser that President Bush's position on immigration was the last straw. She would not give the Republicans another dime.

Such a rebuff, commonplace for Republican fundraisers today, puts a human face on cold Federal Election Commission statistics showing a commanding Democratic lead in raising money for the 2008 elections. This unusual disparity is at once a symptom and a contributing cause of the melancholy suffusing the Grand Old Party.

As measured by offices held, Republicans have been in much worse shape during my half-century of reporting in Washington. The party was a mere remnant after the Democratic landslides of 1958, 1964 and 1974. But never have I seen morale so low. While Republican support for an unpopular war has remained remarkably strong, almost all the non-war news during the dreary August recess has been bad for the GOP. The hope is that the eventual elevation of a presidential candidate will revive the party's spirits.

The week before Labor Day, when nothing of importance was supposed to happen, brought bad news even as it appeared nothing worse was possible:

? The apparent disgrace of Sen. Larry Craig, a former member of the party leadership, was all the worse because several Republican senators and staffers were not a bit surprised. That raises two questions. If so many people knew Craig was an accident waiting to happen, why was he not eased out of office? How many other examples of possibly scandalous behavior are known but hidden?

? The decision by Virginia Sen. John Warner, announced Friday, not to seek a sixth term at age 80 was no surprise but still was a disappointment. Former governor Mark Warner, a Democrat and no relation to the senator, is an overwhelming favorite to win the seat next year. Republicans privately estimate that this is one of four Senate seats they will lose, giving Democratic leader Harry Reid a real working majority.

? Rep. Rick Renzi, facing an FBI investigation, announced he would not seek a fourth term in a highly competitive northern Arizona district that could go Democratic. Renzi, investigated for receiving an alleged kickback in a land transaction, is but one of at least a half-dozen House Republicans under federal inquiry. Meanwhile, a growing number of scandal-free GOP incumbents representing contested districts are heading for the exits. That depresses meager hopes for restoring a Republican majority in the House.

? Most of the dwindling contingent of Republican governors have abandoned conservative principles to embrace the Democratic-sponsored extension of SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) to people who are neither children nor poor. Only three -- Indiana's Mitch Daniels, Mississippi's Haley Barbour and South Carolina's Mark Sanford -- resist the lure of federal dollars.

Given these multiple developments, the Republicans yearn for a leader. It cannot be George W. Bush, an unpopular lame duck. The party's presidential candidates pretend Bush doesn't exist, not mentioning his name during debates. But none has inspired the party faithful. Front-runner Rudy Giuliani is anathema to social conservatives, the core of Republican success for more than two decades. This situation explains the interest in Fred Thompson as a possible savior, although he has not fulfilled lofty expectations prior to his official announcement of candidacy.

Mitt Romney approached the calamitous atmosphere by asserting that Craig, until last week his Idaho state chairman, is part of Washington corruption that only a true outsider -- specifically, the former governor of Massachusetts -- can cure. Past candidates have succeeded in pointing to corruption in Washington, but always by the opposite party. The Republican Party's next leader faces a more complicated problem.

? 2007 Creators Syndicate Inc.