Preach it, sister.

When I thought Amy Sullivan was wrong I wasn't the least bit shy about saying so in fairly forceful terms, so when she's absolutely right, I owe her the same level of attention.

In her blog space at the Gadflyer today, she writes about the Republican tradition of campaigning against the Beltway, claiming some special connection with heartland interests that is untainted by experience in Washington, DC. She suspects they'll try it again, despite the contradiction of that argument with their complaints about John Edwards' lack of Beltway experience. She also suspects the argument will, or at least can be made to, fail this time around.

I agree on both counts.

First, there's the hypocrisy problem. As Sullivan notes...

Between Bush and Cheney, we have one guy whose dad used to be director of the CIA, Ambassador to the United Nations, and, oh yeah, President and another who has served in four different administrations as well as Congress. Washington doesn't represent your values? Well, whose fault is that? Republicans control the House, the Senate, the White House, and, arguably, the Supreme Court. Tired of special interests? Take a look at K Street, where a staggering number of lobbying groups are seeded with Republicans hand-picked by Tom DeLay for their posts.

This year, the Republicans aren't just working inside the Beltway. They hold the mortgage.

There is a problem with public awareness, though. If we want people to know that Democrats are locked out of the process, we have to tell people that Democrats are locked out of the process. I might tweak the presentation a bit, but I'd be willing to settle for Sullivan's suggestion.

Democrats should embrace their powerlessness and flaunt the fact that they are not in control. I'm picturing a very simple ad: A photo of the Capitol Dome, flag waving in the breeze, with the words "Owned and Operated by the Republican Party" stamped underneath. Simple, to the point, voter education.

In fact, I might not tweak it at all. I like it. Let's try it, and as she says

Go ahead, Bush/Cheney, Inc. -- try to run against Washington. I'm betting that dog don't hunt.

Damn straight.