Poor Republicans. Nothing seems to be going well for them. President Bush is having a rough second term; Bill Frist is under investigation for insider trading; Tom DeLay was forced to step down as House majority leader after being indicted by a Texas grand jury; Karl Rove may soon be indicted for his role in the CIA leak; the war in Iraq isn’t going too swimmingly; the federal response to Hurricane Katrina was a disaster in its own right… and this just scratches the surface. The entire horde of Republicans is fully retreating as scandal after scandal rocks the party. For the last three years, Republicans—with clear majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, control of the White House, and a right-leaning Supreme Court—have overwhelmingly dominated the federal government. Now, for the first time in several years, their dominance is under serious threat: not by the Democrats, but by themselves. With Congressional elections a year away, the Grand Old Party has already begun the countdown to self-destruction. And all the Dems have to do is watch and wait.

Republican woes only begin with President Bush, who, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, currently has the lowest job rating since he first took office in 2001 – with only 39% public approval. The numbers follow a trend, showing a steady decline in approval ratings since he began his second term earlier this year. Although due to a combination of factors, the underlying long-term cause is Iraq. As the American public grows increasingly restless and weary of the continuous flood of bad news from Iraq, a CBS poll shows that 64% of Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of Iraq and a similar percentage now believes that going to war wasn’t worth the human or monetary costs. Although the situation in Iraq is now largely out of Bush’s hands, he is finally being held accountable for leading us there in the first place – better late than never.

Bush has also been widely blamed for the failures of the federal government to respond quickly after the Gulf Coast was hit by Hurricane Katrina (in a rare moment of accountability, he held himself responsible for the Federal failures). A lot of this blame is undeserved, since, in reality, there is little he could have done. Countless failures on the state and local levels probably exacerbated the crisis more than anything else. Bush did, however, commit two glaring errors. The first was his appointment of Michael Brown as the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Brown, the former head of the International Arabian Horse Association (seriously) and a friend of a friend of Bush, was clearly unqualified for the job, and his appointment was seen largely as an example of cronyism. Bush’s second error was standing by Brown when he clearly wasn’t doing his job well. Soon after the disaster response and relief effort was widely identified by the press and the public as a debacle, video clips of Bush saying to Brown “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job” surfaced all over news stations and the internet. And I’m pretty sure “heck of a job” wasn’t supposed to be sarcastic – if it was, it sure went over all our heads, because the public was outraged to see Bush openly support such poor management. This led Bush and his administration to distance themselves from Brown, prompting Brown’s resignation soon after.

Bush’s problems don’t stop there. Earlier this year the US Army released a 2000-page report confirming the torture of two civilian Afghan prisoners at Bagram Collection Point in Afghanistan by US forces. Both prisoners, one of whom whose interrogators believed was completely innocent, died as a result. Seven soldiers have been charged with various crimes of such nature and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command has concluded that there is probable cause to charge 20 more. As if this weren’t enough to stir up a public outcry, the recent conviction of Lynndie England and Co. served as a sharp reminder of the Abu Ghraib scandal. It’s quite probable that we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg; more and more memos from the FBI, CIA, and Armed Forces that condone or even explicitly call for the use of torture are emerging. It has yet to be seen exactly how responsible Bush and his close advisors are for these scandals. After all, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales called parts of the Geneva Convention “quaint.” It’s only a matter of time before all these individual scandals add up into one big “Torture-gate” and explode in the face of the administration.

The President’s advisors aren’t doing so well either. Karl Rove, Bush’s senior advisor, chief political strategist, deputy chief of staff, and general right hand man, is under investigation for leaking classified information. “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff is under investigation for the same reason. “Plame-gate,” as it is sometimes called (“gate,” apparently, is another word for scandal nowadays, if you haven’t already caught on), is the complicated story of how Valerie Plame’s identity as a CIA agent became revealed to the public. Valerie Plame’s husband, former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson, was sent to Niger on behalf of the CIA to investigate the claim that Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase enriched uranium from the country. Upon returning from his trip, Wilson discredited the claim, which had been instrumental in Bush’s case to invade Iraq. Wilson now maintains that the Bush administration deliberately exposed his wife as a CIA agent in retaliation for his speaking out. Both Rove and Libby are prime suspects.

The administration has vehemently refused to comment “on an ongoing investigation,” even though before Rove or Libby became suspects Bush had clearly stated that he would fire anyone in his administration found responsible for the leak. And that statement had been made during the ongoing investigation. The public views Bush’s backing down as a weakness, their convictions reinforced by heavy media scrutiny of the issue. Even if neither Rove nor Libby is found guilty of any sort of criminal charge, their actions are widely viewed as unethical. If Rove is indeed found guilty, and Bush is forced to keep his word and fire him, Bush would find himself in a rather precarious situation, as Rove is one of the most influential members of the administration – the fellow who “made him President.”

If the White House foible weren’t enough, Republican power is showing cracks in Congress as well. The very leadership of the Republican Party is in serious danger all of a sudden. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist could find himself in a rather Martha Stewart-esque bind: he is currently being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading. If Frist were forced to follow in his predecessor’s (Trent Lott’s) footsteps in resigning from the senate majority leadership amidst scandal, it would leave a rather nasty stigma on the position. Frist has promised to retire from the Senate after his term expires in 2006, so he doesn’t have to worry about reelection, but rumors run rampant that Frist plans on running for president in 2008. The outcome of this investigation will play a large role in determining his political future.

Things are worse in the House, where Tom DeLay has had to step down as majority leader, albeit temporarily, because of Republican Caucus rules regarding indictment. DeLay was indicted last month on one count of conspiring to violate Texas state election law and one count of conspiring to launder money. And he's accused of illegally channeling corporate contributions to Republican candidates in state legislative races.

This alone should be enough to tarnish DeLay’s name for a long time, but the plot has thickened even further. DeLay received numerous gifts from conservative lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a good friend, who had been hired to lobby for various Indian casinos. DeLay then voted, presumably at the behest of Abramoff, against gambling legislation opposed by some of Abramoff’s Indian clients. Abramoff has since been indicted for giving illegal gifts in return for political favors. He has also been indicted by a grand jury in Guam, and by a grand jury in Florida, in two unrelated affairs. Simply being associated with a man so corrupt will undoubtedly damage DeLay’s public image further.

It is far too early to say whether or not this sudden collapse in the Republican Party will have a lasting impact on the face of politics. It is reminiscent, however, of a similar blight that plagued Democrats in the early 1990’s. Democrats had had control of the House of Representatives for 40 years until finally, after a flood of scandals, the public grew weary of the increasing corruption and elected a Republican congress. Since 1994, Republicans have controlled the House. For Democrats, 2006 could prove to be a similar turning point—they simply have to capitalize on the Republicans’ mistakes. Another NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll shows that 48% of Americans would prefer a Democrat-controlled congress, with only 39% favoring a Republican congress. If these trends continue, the Democrats should be able to easily regain control of the Senate for the first time since 2002. The House is more difficult to predict: the Democrats could make some gains if they went on the offensive, but gerrymandering will preclude any power transfer. So far, the Democrats have simply watched the Republicans crash and burn, offering no real plan or agenda of their own. If they are to take advantage of their opponents’ misfortune, they must arrive on the scene with bold ideas and propose sweeping reforms. In 1994 the Republicans famously unveiled their Contract with America; it’s time for the Democrats to do the same.