The Fever Swamp

THE FEVER SWAMP....A plainly disgusted Karen Tumulty recaps Graeme Frost's introduction to the modern conservative fever swamp in Time magazine and concludes with this:

Politics has never been a gentle game. As far back as 1895, satirist Finley Peter Dunne's fictional saloonkeeper Martin Dooley observed that women, children and prohibitionists would do well to stay out of it, because "politics ain't beanbag." But surely, even Mr. Dooley could never have imagined a day would come when a mere seventh grader could be swift-boated.

But of course, that's the whole point. The slavering hordes of Malkin-land might or might not have made a difference in the ongoing S-CHIP debate, but they've certainly driven their real point home: The next time the Democrats ask a private citizen to do a radio address they're going to think twice, aren't they?

But who knows? After this latest affair, maybe being a target of the slime machine will become a badge of honor. Maybe ordinary families will start lining up at the door to give radio addresses that enrage the mouth-breathers. If the Democratic Party is smart, maybe it will happen this very Saturday. Who's on deck for this week's broadcast?