CA-50 Stakes Are High....Or Are They?

Voters in the 50th congressional district go to the polls on Tuesday. That election, will be Democrat Francine Busby's third shot at convicted Republican felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham's seat in congress. CA-50 residents have seen a perpetual campaign for that seat waged since the 2004 election, with still another round of campaigning and voting yet to come in November.

Republicans outnumber Democrats 44% to 30% in the 50th District. So, despite general disgust with Washington and the President and Duke Cunningham's bribery conviction, voters in the 50th District are likely to elect former congressman Brian Bilbray to represent them in the Republican congress of corruption.

Nevertheless, for all the complicating factors suggesting an unusually volatile electorate, the conventional wisdom – that Bilbray holds off Busby and keeps the seat for the GOP – still seems sound. Yes, polls predict a close vote, and some have Busby in the lead. But in modern California political history, no congressional district with a solid Republican voter-registration margin has elected a Democrat – and Republicans have a huge edge in the 50th, with 44 percent of voter registration compared with 30 percent for Democrats. Bilbray's campaign was so carefully focus group-tested and scripted that there was never much of a chance he would make a catastrophic mistake that would negate this advantage, and he didn't.

Bilbray is a former congressman from South San Diego, where he also served in city government and on the county board of supervisors. Essentially, Bilbray has never lived in the district he is running to represent. In fact, his legal residence is in Virginia, where he has carried on his lobbying practice since he lost his congressional seat.

The fact that 50th District Republicans are set to elect Bilbray tells you everything you need to know about Republicans.

Republicans hate America. They hate the idea of government as public service and, in fact, thanks to wackos like Ronald Reagan and Howard Kaloogian, Republians hate the government itself.

Since they hate this country, Republicans have no qualms about sending crooks like Duke Cunningham or toadies like Brian Bilbray to congress. It gives them more reason to hate the country.

On Tuesday, Republicans will once again stick it to the United States.