A simple plan

The State Senate Democrats' plan to take back the majority certainly contains no secrets.

Despite the front-page placement of the JS story, the TOP SECRET document, stolen by Republicans six months ago but kept quiet for a last-minute dirty trick, is elementary.

The campaign plan: Win enough seats so there are more Ds than Rs in the Senate. Focus on the seats that Democrats have the best chance to win. Raise a lot of money. Do some polling to help refine a good message. And recruit some decent candidates.

Republicans see all sorts of nefarious plans, of course, and say they want to ask the State Elections Board to see whether there is any illegal coordination between Senate Dems and friendly organizations who are helping them.

If you read the plan, the Ds are very careful to make certain they are following the law, even down to when they buy polls so they can legally get them at a discount rate. And, yes, it is perfectly legal for Progressive Majority to work with campaigns and candidates. That is what they are set up to do.

But that doesn't matter. Republicans will run to the Elections Board and complain about something, so they can say in the next two weeks that Senate Dems are "under investigation." There's no chance it will be done before Nov. 7 and they don't want it to be.

If there were evidence of any real wrongdoing or illegality, Republicans would have turned it over months ago to the district attorney, looking for indictments and charges against some sitting Dem Senators. In fact, they'd have an obligation to do that, since the days of the two parties covering up for each other's abuses in the Capitol are supposedly over since leggies on both sides were convicted.

This is nothing but a diversion, a last-minute ploy by the GOP to try to hang on to the majority that seems to be slipping from their grasp.

The news media, unfortunately, seem all too happy to play along.

Read the documents yourself, if you've already finished rearranging your sock drawer and getting the loose threads out of the carpet. If you make it through to the end, you are a political junkie extraordinaire. Tell me what you learn that you didn't already know.

The plan.

The strategy.

The agendas. (WARNING: For hard core only.)

UPDATE: Michael Mathias wonders: Are GOP aides stealing the lunches, too?