The political future is not promising for the Republicans. It’s hard to believe that less than two years ago, American conservatives thought they would run the federal government forever. However, recent coverage of numerous blunders has led to record-low ratings for George W. Bush and the many Republicans hoping for success in 2008.

To many up here in Canada, this decline is cause for celebration. Along with our “blue-state” neighbours, we’ve longed for the mainstream media to finally expose the corruption in Republican Washington. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing self-righteous, Bible-thumping conservatives being charged with taking bribes? Or who could help laughing when Bush tried to appoint his personal lawyer to the Supreme Court? The end is near and the Democrats look ready to pounce on it.

Amidst all this excitement, Democrats will probably ride a wave of anti-Bush sentiment into government. However, a knee-jerk approach to politics and policy-making is pushing the party farther away from anything that remotely resembles responsible, goal-oriented leadership. It’s ironic that Democrats have resorted to manipulating voters with the same nationalistic fervor and scare-tactics favoured by Karl Rove. The Democrats may make serious in-roads in these elections, but they are doing so at the cost of their integrity.

Any self-respecting Democrat should be ashamed by their representatives’ opposition to the Dubai-based corporate takeover of several American ports. Exploiting the anti-Arab sentiment found in Bush’s post-9/11 policy shows how opportunistic and ignorant these politicians have become.

The assumption that a company from Dubai would be a threat to national security is based on flawed logic and is inherently racist. Assuming that the company would be sympathetic to Muslim terrorists because two of the 9/11 hijackers were fellow countrymen is ridiculous. It is this kind of black-and-white thought that led to the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War.

This red-necked reaction should be reserved for the far right; so why are Democrats flocking to this point of view? I was always under the impression that they were the less bigoted party. Preventing foreign investment according to nationality undermines American commitments to free markets and universalism. If this mindset becomes the norm, how can the U.S. expect other countries to grant concessions to their companies?

Xenophobia aside, the Democrats are being irresponsible with their poll-inspired calls for a hasty withdrawal from Iraq. The civil war that started with the American invasion does not have a convenient “timeline,” no matter the preference back home to reduce troop presence there.

Any arbitrary exit date would neglect America’s responsibility for aiding this war-torn nation. Even though Bush’s lies started this whole mess, he realizes that the troops must stay until power is transferred to a democratic Iraq that will provide security for its people. Gullible Democrats-many of whom were tricked into voting for the fraudulent war-need to ensure that America finishes the job or risk further damaging the country’s international image.

It’s obvious that the Democrats must fight the Republicans on key issues in the upcoming election. But they should avoid sinking to the lowest common denominator, lest they end up running a campaign that targets Neanderthals, however successful a strategy that might be.

That said, Canadians and “blue-staters” both need to be wary of mindlessly supporting a party that increasingly seems to be getting its economic and foreign policy from a strange mix of Michael Moore and Fox News.