If this is the best they can do...

The truth can be denied no longer. The Republican Party is morally and politically bankrupt. It is a spent force. Republicans themselves know it, although they cannot bear to admit it.

The Washington Post reported today that congressional Democrats are presenting a plan of action for their first week in the majority, following this year's mid-terms. Under the heading "Confident Democrats Lay Out Agenda," Jonathan Weisman writes:

Democratic leaders, increasingly confident they will seize control of the House in November, are laying plans for a legislative blitz during their first week in power that would raise the minimum wage, roll back parts of the Republican prescription drug law, implement homeland security measures and reinstate lapsed budget deficit controls.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said in an interview last week that a Democratic House would launch a series of investigations of the Bush administration, beginning with the White House's first-term energy task force and probably including the use of intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Pelosi denied Republican allegations that a Democratic House would move quickly to impeach President Bush. But, she said of the planned investigations, "You never know where it leads to."

In an apparent response to the Post story, Republican National Committee press secretary Tracy Schmidt issued the following statement:

"Nancy Pelosi's vision for the future is one of higher taxes on working Americans, cut and run in Iraq, and a little impeachment thrown in for good measure. With such a radical leader at the helm of the party, it's no wonder Democrats go to great lengths to avoid publicly talking about their real agenda for the American people."

Oof!

That's some mighty powerful pushback. A stress-fractured talking point about taxes, a meaningless catch phrase supporting a war that most people now oppose, and a reflexive, substance-free defense of one the most corrupt, inept and unpopular presidential administrations in American history. If this is the best argument the Republicans can muster in support of their party, they might as well spare us all the shouting and admit defeat now.