AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REPUBLICANS

What a scene it was yesterday....there was Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the House, sitting in the back row of the chamber as Nancy Pelosi was handed the gavel, just another member of Congress. This may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to the GOP...if they play their cards right. The failed regime who guided the Republicans to defeat last fall is now out of power. Better yet, their biggest critics are now in charge.

Which means they get to sit back and show us all how it's supposed to be done. No longer can the Democrats criticize the way Republicans do things. Now they get to be in charge. If the House was so unethical for the last 12 years, then let's see just how ethical it is for the next two. The GOP, if they play their cards right, can really hold the Democrats' feet to the fire here.

Every single time one Democrat or another gets into ethical trouble (and it will happen,) Republicans get to rail against the "culture of corruption." Imagine the campaign ads! Sooner or later, William "Cold Cash" Jefferson will go to trial. Will the Democrats expel him from the House if he is indicted, or will they wait to see if he can escape a conviction? Imagine the possibilities.

The Republican Party may have been defeated at the polls last November, but it just may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them.