Chicago humorist Finley Peter Dunne coined the phrase “Politics ain’t beanbag” long ago. But, sometimes in politics no matter what you throw, beanbags in the dirt are all you get.

We don’t know what type of nasty Karl Rove/Newt Gingrich campaign to expect from our local GOP candidates this year. It’s possible they’ll change course. It’s possible they’ll grow up. It’s possible a wacky out-of-state third party will choose not to spend $500,000 or more in October. It’s possible they won’t have the money to do what they want.

But if it’s true that past performance is the best predictor of future behavior, we can expect the worst. After all, Andy Harris & Friends just hit a popular incumbent in the back with a hardball in the nastiest campaign we’ve seen in decades. And that’s how he treats a member of his own party.

Yet, that’s SOP for many GOP campaigns. This year they’ve spent millions in 3 so-called Republican districts with typical Republican attacks designed to jam Republican fears into the heads of mostly Republican voters. They used taxes, liberals, government, “less” freedom, white flags, failing the troops, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, illegal immigrants and the new faux hot-nasty on the block, “San Francisco liberal” Nancy Pelosi.

See for yourself.

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Louisiana Sixth District

The Club for Growth

National Republican Campaign Committee #1

National Republican Campaign Committee #2

National Republican Campaign Committee #3

Freedom’s Watch

Winner: Democrat Don Cazayoux

Mississippi 1st District

Freedom’s Watch #1

Freedom’s Watch #2

National Republican Campaign Committee #1

National Republican Campaign Committee #2

Candidate Ad #1

Candidate Ad #2

Candidate Ad #3

Winner: Democrat Travis Childers

Illinois Fourteenth District

National Republican Campaign Committee #1

Candidate Ad

Winner: Democrat Bill Foster

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They were trying their level best to throw hardballs in friendly “home” stadiums. They got goose eggs. It seems the Republicans have lost their “good stuff.”

Now we hear about the bickering and the “reassessing” of the message. The GOP is even burning their losers saying, “We had terrible candidates while the Democrats had good ones.”

That excuse probably has the added value of being true. No word yet on how they plan to address “GOP failure” and “GOP out of touch” issues.

But, what’s the difference between those “bad” Republican candidates - on which millions were spent - and the Republicans running in Maryland’s 1st and 6th - on which millions won’t? What’s the difference between the winning Democrats in those three districts and Frank Kratovil or Jennifer Dougherty?

To the naked eye, not much. Not in 2008. Not with the Republicans “good stuff” falling like beanbags in the dirt.

In fairness, Democrats – especially the winners mentioned above - are no strangers to hardball campaigns. If you’re a Republican does that make you feel better or worse?