Conservatives, take heart—you're better off than the pit-bull-rights movement.

Friday, Nov. 17, 2006

Cats:Democrats in Congress would do well to forget the last 100 hours and get back to work making the case for their "100 Hours Agenda." According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans are not only glad Democrats won, but eager for them—not Bush—to take the lead in setting the agenda.

With such a welcome audience, the next month is a crucial time for Democrats to explain their ideas. Most Americans will like the Democratic agenda but don't really know what's in it. On Election Night, my 11-year-old son may have spoken for much of the country when we were half-listening to CNN crosstalk about Democrats putting caps on prescription-drug costs. In the spirit of Emily Litella, he asked, "Why do the Democrats want to put cats on prescription drugs?"

It sounds like a pretty good idea to me. But I'm a dog person.

Dogs: Yesterday's House leadership contest confirmed that the big winners in the midterm elections were the Blue Dogs. Other dogs were big losers.

Republican attack dogs had a bad year, led by New York Senate candidate John Spencer, who used his 15 minutes of fame to accuse Hillary Clinton of having undergone plastic surgery. Rick Santorum's overwhelming defeat in Pennsylvania suggests that the man-on-dog issue has no future, either.

The only things faring worse than attack-dog politics are actual attack dogs. Mel Martinez, take heart—at least you're not taking over the pit-bull-rights movement. Just before the election, pit bull owners marched in six cities to oppose "breed discrimination"—in other words, bans on pit bulls. An organization called ROVERlution sponsored the nationwide protest, its "second annual Luv-a-Bully March."

Dr. Paula Terifaj, who calls herself the packleader of ROVERlution, put candidates everywhere on notice: "Dog owners comprise 48 percent of the voting population, therefore politicians need to be aware of policies that affect us in a negative way."

If the marches are any sign, the ROVERlution has about as many true believers as the Gingrich Revolution has left in Congress. The Colorado Springs Gazette counted "about 15" marchers, in a state that has led the way in imposing urban pit-bull bans.

Still, every revolution has to start somewhere. Pit bulls may be an even tougher sell these days than George Bush and Tom DeLay. But Frank Luntz could have written the ROVERlutionists' Contract with America, the "Dog's Bill of Rights":