Just when you think that the national Democrat party can sink no lower, they reach down into the mud and mire in their bag of political tricks and come up with a new and slimier example of their utter shamelessness.

Not content with merely undermining the valiant efforts of our servicemen and women risking and sometimes losing their lives fighting international terrorism around the world, the Democrats have now produced a video commercial exploiting the deaths of American soldiers and Marines in order to raise money and win votes.

Their new fundraising video shows some 12 flag-draped coffins of dead American servicemen inside a cargo plane. This shocking scene is followed by an image of a soldier staring at a helmet propped up by a machine gun that is stuck in the ground, obviously marking the spot where an American died defending his country against a vicious enemy.

The disgusting commercial goes on to show pictures of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, successive photos of President Bush (who “obviously” caused the hurricane), a mug shot of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Tex., disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Vice President Cheney.

Apparently there never was a hurricane before Katrina – it was America’s first. Elect Democrats, the ad suggests, and there will be no more hurricanes, no more dead American servicemen, and no more lobbyists (except for former Sen. Tom Daschle and his wife) – if only the American people can be fooled into voting for Democrats in the fall elections, or coughing up money to pay for more slimy commercials exploiting our dead.

What the ad should say is: Elect Democrats and there will be no more America – the whole nation will be transformed into scandal-ridden, bankrupt New Jersey.

Says Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., the National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman (NRCC), the Democrats are trying to “blatantly exploit the sacrifices made by the men and women of our Armed Forces” for political purposes. “Regardless of what your views on the war may be, this crosses the line,” he said in a statement released by the NRCC, adding that Democrat Congressional Campaign Chairman Rahm Emanuel “owes our troops, their families, and the families of the fallen an apology.”

Contrast this with my Dad Ronald Reagan’ s campaign slogans about “Morning in America,” that drew a bright picture of the shining city on the hill, a nation filled with good, decent hardworking people whose promise is still being fulfilled. The Democrat version is more “like nightmare in America’ – an imaginary and dismal picture of a nation that is in fact enjoying the strongest economy on the face of the earth.

Americans voted overwhelmingly for my Dad because he made us feel good about America. Why would anyone vote for Democrats who insist on painting a dismal, sordid picture of an America in decline?

Where is the media outrage over this sordid money-grubbing commercial? According to the Media Research Council, the liberal media only get upset when Republicans use ads to cite the war on terrorism.

When a campaign ad for the re-election of President Bush in 2004 showed images of the 9/11 attacks on America, the media were then quite outraged. Said ABC’s Charles Gibson: “The President, as you probably know, used scenes from Ground Zero in his first campaign ads that were broadcast. That ignited a debate about whether it’s appropriate to use such images in an election campaign.”

Tom Brokaw said: “The President today also shrugged off critics who’ve complained that he’s politicizing the September 11th attacks … The Bush campaign is using an image of the World Trade Center in another television ad. And NBC’s Ann Curry said: “More fallout expected today from President Bush’s re-election ads that feature images from 9/11. Family members of some of the victims of the World Trade Center attacks say they will protest the President’s attendance at a groundbreaking ceremony for a 9/11 memorial on New York’s Long Island.”

Asked the MRC: “Should we expect the same outrage from the press concerning this campaign video by Congressional Democrats, or are such images only verboten when used by a politician the press despises?”

©2006 Mike Reagan. If you’re not a paying subscriber to our service, you must contact us to print or web post this column. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc. Cari Dawson Bartley email Cari@cagle.com, (800) 696-7561.