Urinetown

Forgive the belly-aching, but is anyone else tired of 98% of American politics—esp at the national level—engaging in an overgrown pissing contest?

Be it the GOP shrieking over Obama’s one judicial nominee posted since taking office, or Alaska governor Sarah Palin standing yesterday before a handful of reporters in Juneau, piously rejecting a portion of Stim funds due her state when it annually leads the nation in accepting Federal cash?

Not only was the above incredibly bad acting on Palin’s part (reminding me of a fiscal Joan of Arc) but politically, it’s a high risk move designed only to raise her exposure on the GOP’s national stage at the possible expense of her own constituents (never mind that Palin is up for re-election next year). Further, sooner or later, the current economy will improve--mostly likely on Barack Obama’s watch—which makes playing recessionary chicken with one’s own state (be it Alaska, Louisiana, or South Carolina) extremely stupid today for any Republican eyeing a presidential run in 2012.

In short, this ploy by Palin to appeal to a very small partisan base by spitting on a house fire and expecting kudos for aim is just one more sign of a GOP drifting away on a river of urine – not that Harry Reid is doing a sizably better job leading his own raft on the Democratic majority.