They're always so classy

Nice to see the Republicans up to their usual sleaze, exploiting America's fear of terrorism for their own political gain, and, as usual, trying to conflate the war against terror with the debacle in Iraq.

In the wake of the British arresting 19 people in that plot to blow up airplanes, the GOP went right into their standard political rhetoric. As The Times reported:

Republicans seized on the arrests of terrorism suspects in Britain yesterday to bolster a White House campaign to turn national security issues to their advantage this fall, arguing that the nation needs tough Republican policies to protect Americans from threats from abroad.

And, in The Washington Post, some of them don't even try to be subtle.

"It brings all those realities home and brings back some of the memories of 9/11 that got us into the war on terrorism in the first place," said Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (N.Y.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee."

Brings back some of the memories. The reporter should have added, "he said fondly."

And might-as-well-be-a-Republican, Joe Lieberman, went all out in his attempt to link Iraq with the war on terror, in the wake of the British developments.

“If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out by a date certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England,” Mr. Lieberman said at a campaign event in Waterbury, Conn. “It will strengthen them, and they will strike again.”

I wonder if the American people have had enough of this crap? Unfortunately, it always seems to work for the Republicans. They've played on people's fears to win two elections now. We'll see if it works again in November.