The Pink Flamingo :: Dirty Politics

Let’s be honest about something here. If a candidate can’t win their home state in a low-turnout primary, they’re not much of a candidate. Fox is hyperventilating this evening, positively giddy over a Romney victory. I am so glad I no longer listen to Rush, Sean, or Michael Reagan. I subscribed to Medved today. He’s reasonable, rational, and is fully engaged over the problems that we are facing today with Lemming Conservatives. Romney out-spent McCain and Huckabee by a tremendous amount.

Somewhere this week I read that if McCain finishes second, he will not receive the kind treatment other second place winners have received. It will be played as a significant defeat. I don’t know how the hell a person reads home state win as a significant victory.

From the NYTimes: Don’t look at this as a ‘CONSERVATIVE Victory.

“…Early reports of sluggish voter turnout may also have helped Mr. Romney’s cause. Freezing temperatures, an early morning snowfall, and a dearth of Democratic contenders on the ballot may have affected turnout, according to a state official. In exit polls, more than half of Republican voters in Michigan said their vote was driven by overwhelming economic concerns. A majority of those polled after they voted said a candidate’s position on the economy was more important than the war in Iraq, illegal immigration or terrorism. The exit poll was conducted by Edison/Mitofsky for the television networks and the Associated Press. While the voters said a candidate’s position on the issues was more important than a candidate’s personal qualities, more than 4 in 10 voters said it was more important to them that a candidate share their values than be able to win in November against a Democrat or have the right experience. About a quarter of the voters said it mattered a great deal to them that a candidate shared their religious beliefs. On the issues of abortion, about 10 percent of Republican voters said it should be legal in all cases, 25 percent said abortion should be legal in most cases, about 35 percent said it should be illegal in most cases and about 25 percent said abortion should be illegal in all cases. A plurality of voters said immigrants should be deported to the country they came from rather than be allowed to stay as temporary workers or offered a chance to apply for citizenship. A majority of voters approve of the war in Iraq. When asked to describe their feelings about the Bush administration, they were closely divided….”

From ABC NEWS – just crunch these numbers:

“…Sixty-eight percent of voters were Republican regulars, and they supported Romney by 40-26-25 percent over McCain, with 18 percent for Huckabee. McCain won independents by 10 points; but as 25 percent of voters, vs. 35 percent in 2000. He also prevailed by 10 points among Democratic crossover voters. But there were fewer of them, too; suggestions that they'd vote in the Republican race given the lack of a real Democratic contest were not borne out. Just 7 percent of GOP voters were Democrats, down from 17 percent in 2000. Ideology told a similar story: Conservatives upped their share of the turnout to 56 percent, 11 points higher than in 2000, and they, too, went for Romney, 40-22 percent, with 21 percent for Huckabee. McCain won moderates, 41-31 percent; again there were too few….”

From The Seattle Times: Ron Fournier

“…Mitt Romney's victory in Michigan was a defeat for authenticity in politics. The former Massachusetts governor pandered to voters, distorted his opponents' record and continued to show why he's the most malleable _ and least credible _ major presidential candidate. And it worked. The man who spoke hard truths to Michigan lost. Of all the reasons John McCain deserved a better result Tuesday night, his gamble on the economy stands out. The Arizona senator had the temerity to tell voters that a candidate who says traditional auto manufacturing jobs "are coming back is either naive or is not talking straight with the people of Michigan and America." Instead of pandering, McCain said political leaders must "embrace green technologies," adding: "That's the future. That's what we want." Romney jumped all over McCain, playing to the fears of voters in a state with the nation's highest unemployment rate. "I've heard people say that the auto jobs are gone and they're never coming back," Romney told his audiences. "Well, baloney, I'm going to fight for every single good job."

Of course, he'd fight for every job. So would McCain, or any future president. But how? Judging by the brief campaign in Michigan, one candidate would flail away at the problem with empty rhetoric while the other would ask Americans to come to grips with the harsh realities of global competition, a tech-based economy and the urgent need to retrain a generation of workers. Those aren't easy things for a politicians to say, but the truth is, the days are gone in Michigan and elsewhere when a high school graduate could land a factory job and count on a comfortable, stable middle-class life: a nice home, two cars, college tuition, health insurance and a pension. Romney didn't talk about any of that.Instead, he told voters what he thought they wanted to hear….”

And god on high has decreed that if McCain or Huckabee get the nomination it will destroy the GOP – or read that he – god – Limbaugh will do his best to see that it happens.

IT IS ALREADY GETTING DIRTY IN SC
As I’ve said before, South Carolina politics are down and dirty, pure hard ball. I think the first overt shot was fired this evening when Romney completely upstaged McCain in what was a very bad display of sportsmanship. It’s the same way Romney used a sham front group to slam McCain on the enviroment.

“…To hit McCain, Romney has relied on an anti-environment front group, the American Environmental Coalition (AEC) to do the work for him. Last week, George Landrith, the co-Chairman of the group, likened McCain to Al Gore and compared the senator to a wolf in sheep’s clothing: When it comes to climate change, John McCain and Al Gore are far too much alike for my comfort. John McCain has been sponsoring legislation for the past several years that would give Al Gore much of the regulatory control and power he sought when he and Bill Clinton tried to get America to sign on to the UN’s Kyoto global warming treaty. […] When listening to John McCain, it would seem that evangelicals should remember the biblical warning found in St. Matthew 7:15 to “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

It turns out that AEC is closely tied to the Romney campaign — something Landrith apparently didn’t think to disclose. A scan through AEC’s member rolls reveals the group’s links to the Romney campaign:

Gary Marx, who holds the registration to the AEC website domain name, is “charged with handling conservative outreach for Romney.” Jay Sekulow, an AEC member, serves as “the co-chair of Mitt Romney’s Faith and Values Coalition.” His son, Jordan, is “a Romney staffer.” Paul Weyrich, a prominent leader in the social conservative movement who is listed third on AEC’s list of members, endorsed Romney in November. Lou Sheldon, an AEC member and chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, endorsed Romney and serves as “one of the co-chairs of the ‘Romney for President Faith and Values Steering Committee.’Gary Jarmin, seventh on the AEC list, is a vice-chair of Romney’s National Faith and Values steering committee….”

These are the usual conservative pandering far far far right sources. Strange how it never seems to change.

From Jay Cost:

“…Last night, the McCain campaign was spinning its loss as a consequence of the fact that Romney is a "favorite son." There is evidence to support this claim. 41% of respondents in the exit poll reported that Romney's ties to the state were important factors in their vote choice. Romney won those voters decisively, 56% to 16%. Meanwhile, 56% of voters said that his ties to the state were not important factors. Interestingly, McCain won those voters 39% to 21%.
I think this data should induce restraint. We should be careful not to over-interpret these results. Clearly, Romney's win was decisive enough to keep him in the race. But it is also clear that he received a sizeable boost from his ties to the Wolverine State. How much of a boost - we cannot say. Accordingly, we cannot say whether these results are an omen of results to come, or how they might help him in South Carolina, Florida, and Super Tuesday….”

Eye on 08 about the “Insincere Romney”

SOUTH CAROLINA CATTLE CALL
Chuck Dunn thinks Huckabee is going to win. Naturally he would. Chuck Dunn is a hard core BJU Baptist who has little tolerance of anyone who is not of his specific spiritual leanings. Trust me. My father ran afoul of him many years ago when they attended the same church. Anyone who has their name in a banner headline letterhead at least one inch tall is pure ego. I think maybe Huckabee has rubbed his ego. Trust me, there is plenty of it to rub. To verify my memories of Chuck Dunn I called my mother, asking her if she remembered him. I think the term "Self-righteous, egotistical..." was used.

WILL THE TRUTH SQUAD FIGHT BACK
Someone has sent out a vile and malicious flyer about McCain’s Vietnam POW days.
Race 42008
Washington Post

“…The flier, which came from a group called "Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain" and attacked the Arizona Senator's time spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was roundly condemned by a group of McCain supporters that including former P.O.W. Orson Swindle as well as South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell and state Attorney General Henry McMaster. Harrell called the flier "absolutely despicable" and predicted it would have no negative impact on McCain's chances in the Palmetto State. "The people of South Carolina have gotten to know John over this campaign and back in 2000 as well," said Harrell. "We know know the man, we know what he stands for....we recognize this mailing for the garbage it is." Swindle dismissed the group as "a few very zealous conspiracy theorists" that was "intended to be harmful" to McCain's political chances in the state. The McCain campaign said the flier had been handed out to roughly 100 local journalists….”

The State

"...The flier, which came from a group called "Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain" and attacked the Arizona Senator's time spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was roundly condemned by a group of McCain supporters that including former P.O.W. Orson Swindle as well as South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell and state Attorney General Henry McMaster. Harrell called the flier "absolutely despicable" and predicted it would have no negative impact on McCain's chances in the Palmetto State. "The people of South Carolina have gotten to know John over this campaign and back in 2000 as well," said Harrell. "We know know the man, we know what he stands for....we recognize this mailing for the garbage it is. Swindle dismissed the group as "a few very zealous conspiracy theorists" that was "intended to be harmful" to McCain's political chances in the state. The McCain campaign said the flier had been handed out to roughly 100 local journalists….”

A QUICK MINI-RANT
I am a Republican. If Mitt Romney is the nominee I will hold my nose and vote for him. I will do the same thing with Mike Huckabee. But – I don’t think the GOP has faced the likes of a Clinton style candidate like Mitt Romney. I find it quite ironic that John McCain was defeated in 2000 by dirty tricks. It looks like the same thing is happening to him once again. That says something about John McCain and maybe about the GOP voter.

I also want to go on record to see how long it will take the usual conservative Lemmings to pick up this deplorable lie. When Rush Limbaugh tried it 8 years ago he was castigated. I wonder how long it will be before Limbaugh goes at again. I swear he will destroy himself if he can take McCain down with him. When a person hates someone as much as Limbaugh hates McCain, no good can come out of it. He will also destroy the GOP in the process if necessary.