Some things speak for themselves. Jon Stewart examines the new winners, O’Donnell and Paladino.
He then goes on with the team to see how the Democrat will blow any chances they have of taking advantage of the situation.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Tea Party Primaries – Beyond the Palin | ||||
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DC mayor Adrian Fenty has won as a write-in candidate for for the Republican Party. That’s the good news. The bad news is Fenty is a Democrat and just lost the primary to rival council Chair Vince Gray. Fenty has until 4:45 this afternoon to accept the Republican nomination.
With all the criticism of party switchers, it makes one ponder what Fenty is going to do. He has brought in some terrific people. Michelle Rhee has turned DC schools around. There’s a long way to go, but she accomplished the turn around. Police chief Cathy Lanier has been a winner also. Under her leadership, the DC Police Department has acquired a more professional image and Lanier is always a visible presence. Will Rhee and Lanier be fired under Gray? Or will they leave voluntarily? Both of these women are 2 really good things that have happened to DC.
Many of us hope Fenty will stay on. Whose cares what label he uses. But can a Republican be elected in Democratic DC?
Senator Scott Brown is impressive. He was ushered in to take the Massachusetts Senate seat held by Edward Kennedy for decades. Brown also was supported by the local tea party from that region. He ran as a Republican and appears to be his own person, which is refreshing.
Sharron Angle(NV) , Carl Paladino(NY), and Christine O”Donnell (DE) are NOT impressive. The women mentioned are far right social extremists who simply do not reach the mainstream voter. O’Donnell has some fairly well documented ethics problems. She is not new to politics. Carl Paladino comes out of the gate with pornographic email issues and a problem with racists remarks and jokes. Angle performs so poorly in front of the media her handlers kept her away from it just to preserve her campaign. She has said she will debate Harry Reid.
If the tea party wants to convince the American voter of its prowess and concern for the country, it will have to do a better job offering up candidates. From an outsider’s point of view, it looks like the tea party is trotting out old, well used, candidates like O’Donnell who appeared on the Bill Maher Show in the late 90’s. Frankly, the set of three winners look ridiculous. If they manage to pull off a win and actually go to the Senate, then the American people will look ridiculous. Right now, it appears that Beck and Palin are the leadership and the chosen are Angle, O’Donnell, and Paladino. That selection might appeal to the tea party masses but it doesn’t to the people who aren’t part of a special interest group. In fact, most I have talked to laughed, and then got very quite because of their concern for their country.
If the tea party wants to reach American voters, they are going to have to throw in behind candidates who are properly vetted by someone, anyone, and they are going to have to offer up candidates who address fiscal responsibility issues as a main platform, rather than these extremist social conservatives who just talk the talk about fiscal conservatism. Regardless of the mood of the country, we need more Scott Browns and no people who are just jokes. These lastest ‘winners’ are a sure fired way to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
Probably no one is happier this morning than Democrats. They know that winning a primary is a whole lot different than winning in a general election. DNC Chairman Tim Kaine has compared the GOP to cannibals, saying that they are turning their energy and ferocity on each other.
According to the Huffington Post:
What we’re seeing in the Republican Party is that they invited the Tea Party in and it’s turning into the Donner Party, in some instances, because they’re turning the energy and the ferocity against each other,” said Kaine in response to a question by the Huffington Post, referring to the infamous group of 19th-century American pioneers who eventually had to turn to cannibalism to survive. He added that the divisions have given Democrats “some great opportunities in races that we wouldn’t have absent the Tea Party candidates.”
Perhaps the person to really watch is Karl Rove. Probably no one knows more about king-making than Karl Rove. Palin is a flash in the pan. Karl Rove knows how to do it for keeps and has built a career on doing just that. Karl Rove has spoken out against Christine O’Donnell and he is furious that Michael Castle has been ousted. Castle was expected to be the candidate who took back the Senate for the Republicans.
Rove to Sean Hannity, as reported in Politico:
“It does conservatives little good to support candidates who, … while they may be conservative in their public statements, do not evince the characteristics of rectitude and sincerity and character that the voters are looking for. … There’s just a lot of nutty things she’s been saying. … I’m for the Republican. But I gotta tell ya: We were looking at eight to nine seats in the Senate [of the 10 needed for the majority]. We’re now looking at seven to eight, in my opinion. This is not a race we’re gonna be able to win.”
Division in the ranks can be a good thing or a bad thing. Division can redefine a party or it can divide and conquer, much like the Ross Perot movement did to catapult Bill Clinton in to the White House. Republicans need to decide if they want to try to usher in a new brand of arch conservatism or if they want to get rid of President Obama in 2012 and Democrats. I doubt if they can accomplish both missions under the same banner.
Some of these fire-brand uber-conservatives who are winning these primaries have won because it is easy to get out a special interest base in a primary. Joe Liebermann is living proof. He lost the primary because of his pro-Iraq war sentiments. The anti-war group came in and tossed him out. Liebermann, a main stream Democrat showed them. He ran as an Independent and retained his seat.
‘Jaws Beach’ in the Bahamas was the site of where part of Jaws the Revenge was filmed back in 1987. Now it seems that Jaws has had his revenge. On August 29, Judson Newton and friends developed engine trouble. They called for help. Before it arrived, Newton and a friend tried to swim ashore, leaving 3 of their crew with the disabled boat. Newton and friend were never seen again, despite a massive search effort by officials.
Well, never seen again in one piece. An local investment banker hauled in a 12 foot tiger shark who still had part of a leg in its mouth. Upon further inspection, other parts of limbs were found in its stomach. Finger prints matched those of Judson Newton. Officials are awaiting DNA tests before declaring this New-Jaws the killer. It is unknown if Judson was alive at the time he was eaten.
Jaws Beach might have a tourist problem after this grizzly discover.
The VA Tech black light impressionist group, Defying Gravity won 3rd place in America’s got talent in the season finale last night.
The group are fraternity brothers–Pi Kappa Alpha and got their start performing in a school talent show. Pretty impressive. Hokies continue to amaze us.
They have been asked to play at the Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas on New Years Eve. When asked about returning to Tech, the answers were iffy.
Now if the football team could only do that well. sigh.
