Wrong About Everything = Key Campaign Advisors

I think it's important to note that this headline, "Neocons aiding '08 Republicans," makes about as much sense as "Heliocentrists aiding '08 Democrats". These are people who have been wrong about absolutely everything, making them ideal consultants, right? The Republican Party is so wedded to this stale, unpopular, and amazingly wrong theory of foreign policy that they risk becoming completely marginalized as a party for the next generation.

Advisers to Sen. John McCain of Arizona include Robert Kagan, co-founder of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century (PNAC), while former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's policy team includes Norman Podhoretz, a founder of the neoconservative movement, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gets advice from Dan Senor, who counseled L. Paul Bremer III, the Coalition Provisional Authority administrator in Iraq.

And yet there's apparently nothing these can do about it. They've boxed themselves in to win their nomination, as a term and a half of belligerent Bushism has pressed upon conservatives a Manichean, black-and-white worldview that has absolutely no room for change. Therefore, the Republicans are preparing to nominate a Bush clone.

Defense analyst Tom Donnelly says that by surrounding themselves with such advisers, Republican candidates simply appeal to likely primary voters.

"The public in general opposes the war, but Republican primary voters are generally more supportive of the war," says Mr. Donnelly, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Besides, he argues, "antiwar voters aren't likely to vote for an antiwar Republican over an antiwar Democrat."

In this environment, the man with the biggest chance to capture the hearts of the conservative base is the nastiest bully on the block, who uses fear and divisiveness as a dog whistle to voters.

As both Kevin Drum and Benen point out, the substance of (Giuliani's) speeches and public appearances are little more than gibberish --- he's the Italian George W. Bush, just trash talk and macho attitude. His personal life is so complicated that he makes Bill and Hill look like Ma and Pa kettle.

He has to go straight for the Republican id. And unsurprisingly the polls indicate that the Republican base is liking what it hears. And why wouldn't they? Rudy's campaigning as if he were a right wing talk show host. They didn't care that Rush was a thrice married drug addict and they don't care that Rudy's a thrice married, pro-choice cross dresser. They just hate Democrats, period, and they don't care what you do or even what you believe, as long as you hate Democrats too. Rudy is the first full-blown dittohead presidential candidate.

Which is why you have discredited advisors in league with ALL the Republican candidates so they can catch up and show their dittohead bona fides. They're not just driving off a cliff, they're driving toward the Grand Canyon.