THE FRAUD CAUCUS FUND. I have to agree with Ari Berman of The Nation that the logical underpinnings of Republicans Who Care are shaky at best. A bunch of decrepit moderate millionaire Republicans are jumping into the breach between their far-right party leadership and moderate districts to save members of the Fraud Caucus like Chris Shays and Deborah Pryce. They are reportedly supporting "Republicans who favor balanced federal budgets and believe government should take a hands-off approach on such issues as abortion." The silliness of this exercise should be self-evident by now: if you want to support a politician who believes in a balanced budget and a woman's right to choose you don't need to look for the proverbial Republican in a haystack, you can just support a Democrat. Indeed, if you really care about a balanced budget and a woman's right to choose, re-electing a Republican who happens to profess those positions is actually counter-productive to those ends, particularly in the House of Representatives, where individuals hold virtually no power. What matters is who controls the committees and leadership positions that bring bills like Bush's tax cuts and the partial birth abortion ban to the floor. Can a bunch of accomplished financiers like David Rockefeller seriously not realize that their efforts, if successful, will do nothing but counteract their supposed goals?
--Ben Adler
