Remember the Kentucky/Michigan State game from the NCAA Tournament?

At the end of the fourth quarter, Kentucky's down by three with about 11 seconds remaining.  They come out, and tries the three with less than eight seconds left.  Misses.  Gets the offensive rebound and takes another shot.  Misses again.  Finally, they're able to get the ball back again, the kid takes the three just before the buzzer goes off, bounces around a bit, and finally goes in.  Overtime.

You see, any other team would have been told to wait on that shot until there was maybe three seconds left on that clock, and then took the shot on the basis that if they hit it, there wouldn't be enough time for the opposing team to score themselves.  But taking the shot with eight seconds to spare gave them enough time for two more chances to hit the basket. 

The moral of this story?  If you get the chance to get something done, take it.  Don't wait until the last minute, and don't be afraid to take the shot.

That message needs to be given to the Senate Republicans.

The Republicans have clear majorities in the House, the Senate, and they have the White House.  They handled the Democrats in almost every way in Election 04.  So why are they acting like the losers?  And why does it seem as if they are anticipating losing?  They don't seem sure of themselves at the moment.

Right now they are in danger of losing the Social Security reform battle.  John Bolton's nomination is about to be killed.  They failed at saving Terri Schiavo.  They're in danger of losing the filibuster battle.  For a party that now has an 10-seat advantage in the Senate, there is no way this should be happening.  With the Republicans allowing everything to be obstructed - something they campaigned on and won with in 04 - the Democrats look like the ones who are in control of the Senate.

We can blame the Lukewarmers in the Senate - and that blame would be right on target - but the problem lies deeper than that.  These are men that lack conviction and backbone.  A number of them simply don't believe in the principles they campaigned on.  You can't wait until campaign time to become a conservative.  You need to become one as soon as you get into Washington.

There is a growing section of the electorate that isn't willing to wait until their elected representatives are ready to do something.  They want change now.  The Minuteman Project, the reaction to the Schiavo affair, the reaction in North Carolina to the illegal alien in-state tuition bill; these are signs that people are tired of waiting for their politicians to do what they elected them to do.

As I said earlier this week, the Republicans will only lose the House and Senate through self-destruction; failure to maintain the confidence of the voting populace because they couldn't get anything done.  Since November, what reasons have the Senate Republicans given the electorate to vote for them in 2006 or 2008?  None.  If they continue acting like a bunch of wimps and won't stand up for the conservative principles and issues upon which they were elected, they won't have a majority to waste.