For Lefties, A Great Disturbance In The Force

It's just another day on Atlanta's freeways

This morning OTR happened to catch a radio interview with pollster and pundit, Matt Towery. The immediate subject was the defeat by metro Atlanta voters of a one cent, ten year long sales tax devoted to funding transportation. The proposal lost by a landslide, 67% to 37%. The campaign led to some unusual alliances. Most notable were Republican Governor Nathan Deal joining with Democrat Mayor (Atlanta) Kisim Read to support the plan while the Sierra Club of Georgia, the NAACP, and the Georgia Tea Party linked in opposition. Towery pointed out that pro-tax forces ran a miserably ineffective, detached  $7,000,000 campaign, blowing almost all of it on television ads. On the other hand, the opposition had around $25,000 and thousands of ground pounders willing to go door-to-door, wave placards at intersections, and rally at every opportunity. Granted this isn't the best economic environment in which to propose a tax increase, still the proponents must have believed the perceived traffic gridlock would save the day. Early on, polls showed they would have a steep uphill battle, but they persisted with the delusion of victory to the very end. Toward vote day, their message shifted somewhat to describe the proposal as an economic stimulus AND traffic plan. OTR suspects this only muddled the message and hardened the opposition.

Two more events entered the Towery interview. First was the overwhelming and unexpected victory of Ted Cruz in the Republican Primary Election in Texas. Cruz is an outsider and a Tea Party favorite. His defeat of the Republican establishment's - Rick Perry's - candidate, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, assures that there will be another conservative voice in the Senate. That Cruz won by 13% of the vote is remarkable.

The last subject was yesterday"s lunch date at Chick-fil-A. Just a week ago, Mike Huckabee, the politician, writer and media host, called for Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A as a show of support for the company's respect for conservative values, both religious and political. His proposal stormed across the World Wide Web, thanks in part to nation-wide support from the grassroots of the Tea Party . Corporate officials told their store managers to expect an increase of 15% to 20% in business. By lunch time yesterday, traffic jams, long lines, and parking overflows all pointed to something more than a blip for sales. The increase at many stores was closer to 200%. Although Chick-fil-A does not release daily sales data, they have stated that record sales of $17,000,000 did occur on one Friday after Thanksgiving. Unofficial folks in the know said that yesterday's sales exceeded $30,000,000 and the impact of Appreciation Day enthusiasm would boost sales for weeks.

Taken separately, these three happenings may not provide pundits with much excitement. Together, they indicate three points: distrust of those in office, respect for fundamental cultural and political values, and the surprisingly strong impact of right and possibly center right/independent forces in this election cycle.

Strange bedfellows, the opposition, and chicken power all reinforce the thinking that it's going to be an interesting hundred days until Tuesday, November 6.