Senate Race, or Racism?

By Sniffles

So, if we cats have our calendar right, this is the week that oral arguments begin before the Minnesota Supreme Court — to determine whether Al Franken, who has more votes than Norm Coleman, should be the state's next U.S. Senator.

We can only assume that the court will rule "yes" on that question. And if and when they do, we fully expect the Grand Old Party to protest that former Senator Coleman's fight must, absolutely must, carry on. But we cats know what the real subtext of that argument will be.

It's this: The Democrats must not have 60 Senators to approve the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Al would be that 60th vote, and then that Puerto Rican woman would get on the court for sure.

Ahhh, the GOP. The party — at least, the one that's represented by the wild-eyed, right-wing base and the outside-the-Beltway shouters like Rush Limbaugh — is committing suicide before our very eyes. This is why the inside-the-Beltway Republicans have, for the most part, kept so quiet.

We cats are sure they're plotzing. John Cornyn, for example, is head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (and eventually has to run for re-election in Texas). John Ensign — who also represents a heavily Hispanic state — is considered a 2012 hopeful. And nobody's mentioned yet how all this anti-Latino Republican vitriol will affect this year's New Jersey governor's race.

If you can get beyond the revolting words of the Republican talking heads —the true racists in this fight — it's all really quite entertaining. We cats PURR.