Speaking of Nick Lampson...

Several Republican incumbents have been criticized in recent months for trying to distance themselves from President Bush rhetorically, while continuing to enable him with their votes in congress. Some, it has been noted, have even attempted to distance themselves from the Republican Party, by removing any reference to it from their websites.

Well, take a look at the website of Nick Lampson, who is running for congress in the 22nd district of Texas, where Tom DeLay has decided to withdraw from the race. Tell me if you see a hint as to the candidate's party affiliation.

Lampson is a Democrat, but you wouldn't know it from reading his site. Now, maybe this camouflage is necessary in a district that sent Hot Tub Tom to Washington for umpteen terms, but it just feels like Lampson is doing a disservice to his party and to his would-be constituents. The platform he outlines on his website is almost indistinguishable from the talking points Republicans used when they took the house in 1994. He waxes poetically about the meaning of the colors in the American flag. He talks about national defense and fiscal discipline. These are certainly important topics for a congressional candidate to discuss, but the closest Lampson comes to articulating a recognizable Democratic Party position is when he talks about adequate funding for No Child Left Behind. Of course, he doesn't say a word about rolling back Bush's upper-income tax cuts to pay for it. He even gets in a dig against local property taxes for funding public education.

If it quacks like a Republican...

It is worth asking. If Nick Lampson gets elected to congress, who gets fooled: the Republican voters in T-22, or the Democratic ones?