Return Of The "But-Heads"

That's "but-heads," not "buttheads," famed in song and story. Well, famed in a few movies --- Back to the Future, to be specific --- anyway.

You know the type. You hear them frequently on talk radio, and on C-SPAN. They're the Democrat seminar callers, the ones sent forth to create a false impression that Republicans are leaving the party and abandoning its principles because of ... well, whatever is ticking off Democrats lately.

They're the ones who declare, "I'm a life-long Republican, but I now support Democrat [whomever]." Or "Everybody hates taxes, but I support [whatever the latest tax increase proposal to come along]." Or "I'm not a socialist, but I support Socialized Medicine."

Or "I'm a Republican, but now I support Barack Obama for President."

That's the latest one, advanced in today's Washington Post. There, we read about "Republican Laura DeBusk," a Glen Allen resident who says she voted for President Bush twice, but is now supporting Barack Obama for President. The title of the article? "In Virginia, a Longtime Republican Votes for Change."

Sure. And a monkey just emerged from the lower end of my alimentary canal. Sure, sure: there are probably some --- even a few with a public record of support for GOP candidates --- who may do the same thing. Certainly, a journal with the resources of the WaPo should be able to find someone whose claims to being a Republican are more than self-verified.

Here are some of the "gems" from the article:

DeBusk likes a lot about Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), too, but it's not enough to overcome her disenchantment with a Republican Party she thinks is adrift and uninspired, both in Virginia and nationally. She voted for President Bush twice and regrets where he has taken the country and what she thinks he has done to the good name of the United States of America. She's tired of what she sees as a lackluster string of Republicans that have run and, lately, lost in a Virginia that seems more liberal by the day. And she watched with particular dismay as Republican Sen. George Allen's 2006 reelection campaign went up in flames after he uttered a remark perceived by many [and sold by the WaPo] as racist.

The Laura DeBusks of the country are just the kind of voters that Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) has courted -- sick of what they've been offered, tired of where things are headed and willing to try something, anything, new. Exit polls from elections across the country last week showed that Obama won the majority of independent voters. DeBusk, like many voters, worries about Obama's lack of experience, and she disagrees with him on a handful of issues, particularly his tax policies. But her desire for change is so great, she's willing to take the chance.

The problem, of course, is that the article is one step removed from voter fraud. You see, there's utterly no proof whatsoever that DeBusk is or ever has been a Republican. To the contrary: the article itself contains evidence that large portions of piece are contrived frauds.

The tip-off, in black-and-white, is the claim that DeBusk's husband "husband, Chris, 38, ... is also a registered Republican...."

You see, we don't have "registered Republicans" in Virginia. As national Democrats swung over into the "moonbat" column, Virginia Democrats for years prevented registration by party (unnecessary when Virginia was a virtually one-party state), and allowing parties to limit voters to those identifying themselves with either respective party. Republicans, terminally insecure, and in the last six years, facing Democrat Governors, have failed to move forward to allow voter registration since the GOP gained control of the state legislature.

Anyone marginally informed about Virginia politics knows this. So how is it that DeBusk is as active/informed/engaged as she claims to be? The obvious implication? She is not, nor never has been. At least, not as a Republican.

Nevertheless, she claims that "She has been a member of the party all her adult life...." Really? How? Neither VPAP.org, nor OpenSecrets.org lists her as a contributor to, well, anything. Either under her married name or under her maiden name. And she grew up in Annandale and attended William & Mary, graduating in 1992. Perhaps she's newly engaged in the political process, but nothing more than her self-serving (or Obama-serving) claims support the notion that she is "a life-long Republican."

I'm certainly willing to be educated. But nothing publicly available sustains the notion that Laura Barchi DeBusk is or ever has been a Republican. "Googling" her name produces little beyond but comments about today's articles. And if one is going to be the subject of a feature article in one of America's major newspapers, one would expect to find more evidence than unverifiable claims.

But of course, the far Left is all over the notion that Republicans are defecting from the party to support a raging Socialist like Barack Obama. One asks "How Many are Like Laura Barchi DeBusk?"

Assuming the truth of the facts stated about Laura Barchi DeBusk, the question might be rephrased as "Real Republicans voting for Obama?" My guess is few.

But drawing a few reasonable conclusions from the misrepresentations made in the article, the questions is appropriately rephrased as "Lying Democrats?"

Oh, Hell! That's easy: Lots.