Green Eagle's Election Wrapup

So the Dems only won one out of three high media profile elections, and the press is going right along with the Republican talking points, claiming that this represents some huge repudiation of Obama. Funny how, when the Republicans lose, we hear over and over again the old saying, "all politics is local."

Here are the messages that Green Eagle took away from the events of last Tuesday:

First, the biggest wakeup call for Democrats: New Jersey. What we learned there is that, even though Republicans represent a small minority at this point, if the Dem canditate has worked as hard as Corzine did to make himself out to be a total fool, he can still be knocked off by a Republican. Strange as it seems, people don't want just Democrats, they want good Democrats.

Speaking of which, we have exhibit two: Mr. Deeds in Virginia, one of the most pathetic politicians I have ever seen. This bozo started out running way to the right of the coalition of voters that put Obama into the White House and gave us both houses in Congress, and every time polling showed him sinking further in the polls, went further to the right, running away from the winning positions from 2008, in some sort of lunatic attempt to lure nonexistent Republican moderates. And then people wonder why so many people who voted for Obama stayed home this time. The lesson? To the unbelievably stupid people who make up the Washington press, no one wants Obama's agenda. To rational human beings, the large majority that voted for Obama's agenda can not be counted to vote for any jerk with a (D) after his name, unless he to supports Obama's (i.e. the American people's) agenda. People want health care and economic recovery. Apparently Deeds didn't, so goodbye to him. There really is a lesson there.

Finally, the upstate New York congressional race in which a Democrat had not won since the 1870's. With big financial support, a right wing lunatic managed to destroy the chances of the Republican nominee, only to be rejected himself by the electorate.

Honestly, I don't think there is much of a lesson here at all, except that, when you let stupid people run things, stupid things happen. However, there is one big loser in this race: the wingnut candidate's strong supporter, Ms. Sarah Palin. Palin just went a long way to demonstrating her inablility to deliver votes for the Republican party, and thereby helping insure her well-deserved future irrelevance. No one seems to want to point that out, but I thing it makes her the biggest casualty of this off-year election.

My Score: Republican 0; Democrats 0; Palin -10.

Update: This, from Katherine Lopez, one of our very serious conservative voices, at National Review Online:

"Watch it be spun as a defeat for Sarah Palin and the hateful extreme right-wing of the Republican party"

You got it, girl. That's just what it was. Too bad.

Comments

Derek said…
"we hear over and over again the old saying, "all politics is local.""

Depends on the election. This is something Obama was banking on, and he campaigned in NJ and VA. Cristie especially used the public's discontent with Obama's policies against Corazine. Corazine buddied up with Obama to try and stir up some support, but no, he still lost. A REPUBLICAN won the GOVERNORSHIP of NEW JERSEY. Change I can believe in ;)

Of course, some R's are trying to make this out to be some huge deal, when in reality it is just on par with growing discontent for the uberliberal policies presented by Obama and Democrats in general. In my opinion, this is more of a knock on Democrats than Obama, but Obama is definitely in the mix.
Anonymous said…
Corzine was not a good candidate.
He's an ex-Goldman Sachs guy, not a popular thing to be right now.
There were also other reasons for NJ voters not to be enthusiastic about him. He definitely did have his faults, but in addition to the recession,he was also saddled with budget problems that were due to previous administrations, both Dem and Repub, including the use of some creative accounting.
He didn't inspire the usual Democratic support here and he especially couldn't get the young vote out like Obama did.
Obama made an appearance here a week or so before the election, but people did not really seem to connect Corzine to Obama.
At my polling place, it looked like I was the only person under 70. They all appeared to be retired senior citizens. I did not see ANY young people or people dressed as if headed to work.

I don't expect much from Christie.
If he can make it to the end of his term without a scandal coming out, he'll be doing ok. He's seems to play loose with the rules. He definitely fits the mold of a Jersey politician.
New Jersey is an equal opportunity corruption state, all can participate regardless of party affiliation or ethnicity.
Green Eagle said…
Derek,

That's Corzine, not Corazine. I think Corazine is some sort of antipsychotic drug. You might want to check up on it.

I follow NJ politics because my wife is from there. Corzine took several opportunities in the last several years to make himself look like a fool, and he has paid the price.

By the way, may I thank Anonymous for a very good comment that I think presents the facts of this race far better than Green Eagle's usual cheap shots.
Anonymous said…
I know outsiders are not that interested in Jersey politics, but there were two interesting items in this morning's paper that blow away that Rep-Dem ideology thing.

One of the first things Christie did after being elected was to reach out to Democratic politicians and it's reported today that Corzine is going to push a budget cut of $400 million.
So much for Democratic tax and spend.
One analysis contributed Corzine's loss to his having the personality of an accountant rather than a politician, in addition to his bonehead moves. Christie on the other hand campaigned on lowering taxes without really detailing exactly how he's going to pull that off.

Interesting sidenote:
Well known mobster Tino "The Animal" Fiumara was a regular at Christie family gatherings when Christie was growing up.
Christmas Eve with 'Uncle' Tino.
Only in NJ.
Green Eagle said…
"Only in NJ"- you got that right, Anonymous.

Thanks again for a good comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Wingnut Wrapup

It's Okay, Never Mind

Hamas