House Republicans may be heading off a cliff in November, but give them
credit for perseverance. Even after the new slogan they floated -- "The
Change You Deserve" -- was discovered to be trademarked ad copy for the
antidepressant drug Effexor, GOP leaders decided to go with the rollout
anyway.
"The Republican agenda, 'The Change You Deserve,' is directed at America's
families," Rep. Kay Granger (R-Tex.) announced at a televised news
conference with House Republican leaders yesterday morning. "And you may
be a little surprised at this agenda."
Why, yes, we are. And Democrats are manic over the medicinal mantra.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called re****ters into his
office. "Democrats, not drugs, is what the American people need," he said.
He flashed the Effexor side effects on a large flat-screen television.
"Nausea, up to 58 percent," Hoyer said. "Actually it's higher than that
for Republicans."
"Are depression symptoms keeping you from where you want to be?" Effexor's
maker, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, asks in its promotions. "Not feeling as good
as you used to?"
For House Republicans, the diagnosis is obvious: They are suffering from
Election Anxiety Disorder. Tuesday night, they lost the third special
election in a row to Democrats in heavily Republican congressional
districts. Eighty-two percent of Americans say the country is on the wrong
track, and they're largely holding President Bush and his party
responsible. This week, panicked House Republicans defied Bush and voted
with Democrats to pass a farm bill and to divert oil from the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve.
http://www.wa****ngtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051403186.html?hpid=topnews
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