The Caps and the Repubs

I am not a stellar sports fan, but even I knew that Washington, D.C.’s hockey team, the Capitals, were something to marvel at.  I can even spell Alex Ovechkin. That’s why even I thought game 7 was a major downer, not to mention a nasty surprise. Hey, given the limp performance of our other sports teams, the Caps were such a relief after the ‘skins went downhill, depriving this partisan town of one thing we could all agree on. Then came the Caps and Ovechkin, and this was to be the year the Big Red Caps went all the way, but a funny thing happened on the way to the Stanley Cup.

Being a political if not a sports junkie, a funny thought occurred to me, looking at the November elections and our other Big Red (no, not the Commie Rooskies, that’s another story). Here we have the Republicans, who, like the Caps, have had a pretty good season. They certainly have had all the publicity and some remarkable (as contrasted to distinguished) players who have torn victory after victory from the jaws of their 2008 defeat—– except for an occasional razor-thin save here and there by seemingly dispirited Democrats. Republicans have been licking their chops in anticipation of a blowout in November.  

Sort of like the Caps, come to think about it. How is it the Caps lost? Injured player? Over-confidence? Outstanding opposing goalie? Evil incantations or dumb luck for the opposing team?  These things happen, and the same thing could very well happen to the Republicans in the November election that Conventional Wisdom says they are destined to win. The Canadiens fought back from a 3-1 deficit; they obviously did not buy into the Conventional Wisdom. If the Democrats, especially the grass roots, refuse to believe the Conventional Wisdom which says “it’s just the time for the fired-up Republicans to win,”and “the President’s Party always loses seats in the off-year election”—- Like h**l!  Democrats can pull a Canadien, and make a funny thing happen.  I’d like to hear Michael Steele, Newt Gingrich, Fox, and Palin say something like Coach Boudreau in a post mortem: “…Sometimes the other team takes you away.”