May 19, 2010
Yesterday’s Primaries Proved Out That…
(here, we pause for a quick glimpse at the Obama National Debt)
…there’s a whole passel o’ voters in this country who are dadburn tired of the politicians in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, who have been not only ignoring the voice of the people, but also seem to have forgotten the very principles upon which our great country was founded (Constitution? Constitution!? We don’t need no stinkin’ Constitution!!!!)
Look, as a conservative, I’m happy that the Republicans have been standing up for those principles with all they’ve got — that is, those so vehemently spat upon by the far left controlled Democrats ever since the Pelosi/Reid takeover on the Hill in January of 2007, then powerfully reinforced by the onset of the Obama Dynasty in January of 2009, but given the GOP’s performance and the self seeking, “F–k what my constituents want” attitude of its members (y’know, the one that led to their downfall in the 2006 midterms), but, call me cynical, I wonder whether their primary intention is to take back America for the people, or simply grab back their majority so they can return to the pre-November, 2006 status quo.
That said, there were some good things yesterday, such as a direction taken in the results that did not bide well for Obamalosi, even though Democrats won in many cases. Several more conservative Democrats, rather than the ObamalosiReidmunist variety.
And though he was edged out by a Democrat, it was nice to see greasy turncoat/opportunist Arlen Sphincter Specter get his comeuppance. The riddance on that one is good, and a pox on the man.
The Washington order suffered big losses Tuesday, with establishment-backed candidates losing or facing a fight for their political survival in all three marquee Senate primaries on both the Republican and Democratic sides.
Insurgent candidate Rep. Joe Sestak toppled Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary, Sen. Blanche Lincoln was forced into a runoff in Arkansas’s Democratic primary and newcomer Rand Paul, riding “tea party” momentum, steamrolled to victory in Kentucky’s Republican Senate primary.
Democrats did get good news, keeping alive a three-year winning streak in House special elections when congressional aide Mark Critz easily held the Pennsylvania seat left vacant after the death of Rep. John P. Murtha, a towering figure among Washington Democrats. Republicans had tried to turn the race into a referendum on President Obama, but acknowledged that approach came up short in what many saw as a classic swing district.
Still, the message of the night was what Mr. Paul called “a day of reckoning” for those in power on Capitol Hill.
“I have a message — a message from the tea party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We’ve come to take our government back,” Mr. Paul, a 47-year-old ophthalmologist from Bowling Green and the son of Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican, said at his victory party after trouncing Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson by 24 percentage points.
Ron Paul’s son delivered what a large percentage of the country has been thinking for some time in words that were the equivalent of “both barrels”, G-d bless him:
“I have a message — a message from the tea party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We’ve come to take our government back,”
Mr. Rand triumphed despite his opponent’s heavy backing by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Vice President Dick Cheney and much of the Kentucky GOP establishment.
In Pennsylvania’s Senate primary, Mr. Sestak, a former Navy rear admiral, won in a decisive manner, topping Mr. Specter by seven percentage points with 85 percent of precincts reporting.
Like Mr. Paul, Mr. Sestak said his campaign was a strike against career politicians who are only trying to protect their jobs.
“Accountability has been missing for far too long, and I want to help bring it back,” he said.
His win sets up a general election contest with former Rep. Pat Toomey, a Republican who narrowly lost a primary to Mr. Specter in 2004 when the incumbent was still a member of the GOP.
Mr. Specter jumped parties last year after he voted for the economic stimulus package and realized it had hurt him so badly among Republican voters that he’d lose a primary rematch with Mr. Toomey. He acknowledged that his only chance at remaining in office was to run as a Democrat.
“Accountability has been missing for far too long, and I want to help bring it back,”
Fine, if you get in, make it happen!
The electoral waters have already been bloodied this year by incumbents thrown overboard by voters.
Sen. Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, failed even to qualify for a two-candidate runoff as GOP primary voters punished him for working on a health care bill with Democrats — even though that measure failed and he voted against the eventual health care overhaul package.
In West Virginia, Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, a 14-term Democrat and member of the House Appropriations Committee, fell last week in the primary to conservative Democrat Mike Oliverio by more than 10 percentage points. Mr. Mollohan had been dogged by ethics accusations.
Democrats on Tuesday eagerly pointed to the special election for Mr. Murtha’s seat in Pennsylvania, which they called the evening’s most important race. They argued that if Republicans could not win that swing district they were unlikely to win enough seats in November to take control of the House.
It was the only congressional district in Pennsylvania to vote for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 and for Republican candidate John McCain in 2008, and is seen as a key test of the GOP’s appeal to conservative Democrats.
We’ll see what happens in November, won’t we?
“Tonight’s result was undoubtedly disappointing, but we will take the lessons learned from this campaign and move forward in preparation for November,” said Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
He said Mr. Critz defeated Republican Tim Burns by running away from Mr. Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
running away from Mr. Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
That would seem to be the best basis, at this point, for any campaign strategy in any (D,R,I,L) party this year. By all indications the country if pretty well fed up with those two Kommie Klowns, and are ready not so much for “change”, but for a return to America as America is supposed to be.
The entire quoted Washington Times article is here.
http://hardastarboard.mu.nu/wp-trackback.php?p=1291
May 19th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Just thought I’d add James Taranto’s take on the primary results as well:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703691804575254273433025004.html#printMode
May 19th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Like you, Seth, I’m something of a cynic where both parties are concerned, and as a conservative rather than a Republican am equally suspicious as to what will happen if, and more likely when, the GOP regains the majorities in the House and Senate.
Will they listen, this time, to what those of us who elect them want, or will they go back to playing royalty?
What I do like here is that even on the left, voters are showing a preference for Democrats of a more conservative nature as opposed to the Obama and Pelosi variety.
Maybe, just maybe, after the next election we’ll find ourselves again, after so many years, having a Congress that works together as fellow Americans who, despite conflicting detail orientation, remember that they are on the same team, serving the same population.
May 20th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Harry
Filling in for Seth, I’ll have to say that his own thoughts, as he’s gotten me into his habit of talking politics as vociferously as he does at times and that we’ve therefore had some long chats on that subject, are pretty close to yours, if not exactly the same (mine, too, for that matter).
I don’t know how old you are, but I’m only a few years older than Seth and we both reminisce about the years gone by when despite their ideological differences, politicians back in the day placed America first and usually found ways to compromise on issues so that most of what they passed was palatable to all Americans.
Today, both sides are more “my way or the highway” and one side, not to mention any names except to say that it’s the one that falls to the left of the other, has forgotten, altogether, Article 1, Section 8 and the 10th Amendment, among other items. There are numerous other snippets of relative importance that they’ve also demonstrated a failure to recollect, which when placed in the collective makes it more difficult for the people to the right of them to come anywhere near common ground.
So as you say, let’s both pray for the coming midterm election to usher in a Congress that works together as fellow Americans who, despite conflicting detail orientation, remember that they are on the same team, serving the same population.
Fingers crossed.