DEMOCRATS OPERATING ON BEHALF OF THE GHOST OF 2002

Sometimes I hate the practice of politics, such as is being employed by the Democratic leadership in its unprincipled opposition to President Bush's tax cut and budget plan.

I understand it is possible for there to be principled opposition to Bush's package, so I'm not suggesting it is flawless. There are portions of it that are troubling to some conservatives. But the thrust of the Democratic resistance to the Bush plan is more likely grounded in political concerns.

Specifically, the Democrats are so anxious to regain control of Congress that virtually every legislative stand they take is bathed in calculations concerning that goal.

The Democrats are thinking about the political fallout both to themselves and Republicans if they successfully thwart Bush's plan. Now here's the rub for the Democrats: George Bush, who fervently believes in every aspect of his tax and budget plans, is on the road trying to sell it to the voters. And, if he succeeds -- and he's off to a good start -- Democrats are going to be faced with a powerful dilemma.

Let me lay out their conundrum. These counterfeit Robin Hoods are obstructing Bush's fiscal policies not to protect the middle class or the poor, but to stall an economic recovery that Bush's plan would help to stimulate. A prolonged recession obviously fits into their plans to reacquire power in 2002.

But if Tom Daschle and Richard Gephardt succeed, they'll do so at the price of potentially alienating the very voters they are trying to court for 2002, who appear to be lining up in favor of Bush's plan. Indeed, Democratic Sen. Zell Miller, who has signed on to Bush's tax plan, has warned his fellow Democrats that they'll be routed in 2002 if they don't get on board. Plus, the Democrats risk being saddled with the blame if a recession continues into 2002 and they had deliberately interfered with a tax policy designed to alleviate it.

So what will these highly trained Democratic class warriors do? I think they'll make every effort to ratchet up the rhetoric, stoke the stridency, fuel the fear, fool the fearful, dupe the downtrodden, pester the penniless, insult the ignorant, agitate the aged, rile the races, sever the sexes, con the clueless, deceive the disadvantaged, unsettle the unschooled, unnerve the unsophisticated, sucker the somnolent, snooker the snoozers, manipulate the malleable, mislead the masses, nettle the nave, hector the humble, oppress the oblivious, hoodwink the have-nots, punish the producers and exploit the elite.

But this time they probably won't get away with it. They've got a tougher adversary now than they've had in a long time. And, he's got a couple of major weapons on his side: truth and conviction.

~David Limbaugh is a Cape Girardeau lawyer and nationally syndicated columnist.