Election Fallout

The 2010 election brought a satisfactory feeling to most conservatives. About 70 new right-thinking faces will soon be on Capitol Hill. Beyond the Washington Beltway, there will be more republican governors and almost 700 new state legislators who will influence the reshaping of congressional districts. The Tea Party movement enlivened an already energized election and won many contests of national interest. At the same time, the party ideology, vested in some less than stellar candidates--O'Donnell, Angle, and Buck-- snatched defeat from the hands of easy victory, at least in Delaware and Nevada.

One would expect the socialist-democrat bloodbath on Tuesday to be of some concern at the White House. After all, a brief analysis of the outcome showed a broad rejection of candidates who embraced legislation and policy touted by Barack Obama. That did not seem to register with the president at his Wednesday Presser. Although he looked extremely uncomfortable, Obama danced with the probing questions for almost an hour before admitting that, yes, there could be more to the rejection than the peoples' discontent with the economy. OTR thinks this is very telling, a forecast of what to expect for the next two years as the electorate holds the blame for not recognizing deity when it is manifest.

As for the recent election, the experts will be dissecting it for weeks and readers will be able to enjoy their fruits at every turn. Readers may not be so fortunate seeking guidance of the mind engine at work in the White House. For that story, OTR suggests his readers have another session with Dr. Sanity and her link to a Victor Davis Hanson analysis.

Vote Power

OTR wants to encourage everyone who has not yet voted to exercise your right tomorrow. This year's Republican runoff election for governor of Georgia was an object lesson in the significance of every vote. When all the votes were in, the better candidate, Karen Handel, had lost by only 2519 votes out of a total of 579,551 cast statewide. It was a huge disappointment to come so close to victory in such an important race. Here is the story of just how close it was.

Georgia is one of those American states that took advantage of its English roots and rural identity by establishing many counties in its 278 years. The current count is 159. By doing so, it has ensured that local governments and their local citizens would have a large voice in the state's management as well as being near a courthouse. Handel, a metro Atlanta officeholder, ran a good campaign in most of those counties, but there were flaws. One of the biggest was essentially ceding her opponent's rural home county from the outset of the race. That gave Nathan Deal, a "seasoned" politician and former Member of Congress, an extraordinary advantage. If Handel had been able to find seventeen more votes from each county in Georgia, she would have won her race to face off with Roy Barnes, a trial lawyer, rather disliked former governor, and amateur state flag designer. [OTR has no use for Barnes]

Although Nathan Deal could be considered a slightly better opponent in this race, OTR thinks the Handel risk would have been worth it. Now, with her defeat, citizens have lost the opportunity to strike out on a more savory path to responsible government. Surely the people would have responded--especially independents--to her personality and message. This was a hard defeat to accept. And it should be a lesson that voters should never ignore an opportunity to cast a vote for better government. Every vote really does count.

If you think about staying away from the polls this year, think again about the power of those seventeen votes and their impact here in Georgia. Two years from now, we will have another election. In it, your vote could very likely determine whether or not the nation survives as the republic its founding fathers envisioned. Does OTR have your attention yet?

First, The Republicans Came For The Jews

OTR writes often about what he calls the "Weimar Effect," the growing political similarity between our current world setting and that experienced during Germany's Weimar Republic, 1919-1933. Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP, has added somewhat the the "Effect" by declaring that our current situation in the U.S. resembles the days before "Kristallnacht" in Nazi Germany in 1938. We're not sure where Jealous puts our nation on the five-year time line between the day Nazis took control of the government and the night that began their extermination of Jews. On the other hand, we're quite sure that his statement, made from a church pulpit and rallying against Tea Party types, was designed to equate conservatives with Nazis.

There are scores of learned folks who study the Nazi comparison phenomenon. They are quick to state that it almost always appears as a tipping point. Once used, the phenomenon marks the end of the "clean" persona, the reasoned argument, the sensible campaign. OTR believes such remarks also signal the end of confidence and the world of the possible in the upcoming election. Watch the Jealous video here.

Far too many--maybe most-- elections follow on the heels of hasty campaigns. We all knew this one would get dirty, but didn't expect it to get that way so soon. Here's another example from the Jim Clyburn, the House Majority Whip. And here's an amazing story and video featuring race-baiting California Representative Loretta Sanchez and her fears about her Republican opponent, Van Tran and the threat his Vietnamese ancestry means to her constituents.

Vetting For Loonies

Sometimes the dream is just too good to be true. In the rush to embrace new fashion, be it granite counter tops, neon neckties or political candidates, the probability for error always increases. When it comes to politics it is, unfortunately, far easier to change your necktie than change your candidate. It is for this reason that vetting for loonies should be foremost in the minds of those seeking new directions in politics. This brings OTR to the subject of Christine O'Donnell, Republican candidate for Senator from Delaware.

Though not yet certifiably loony, new direction candidate O'Donnell brings plenty of personal, well-publicized baggage into the campaign. There's no need to make a list here; let's just say it's broad and colorful and somewhat odd. Unfortunately, with so much baggage comes the nagging question that there could be more, and if so, what it could reveal. And guess what! There is more baggage, and Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time and a popular left-wing mouthpiece, is ready to reveal it. It seems that O'Donnell made several appearances on Maher's earlier show, Politically Incorrect, in the late '90s. The subject matter could easily turn this campaign into a circus. Here's a link with the details.

O'Donnell may survive this madness and become a senator. If that's the case, OTR should be pleased because he likes to see balance on Capitol Hill. And Dennis Kucinich could use the company. If O'Donnell loses, it will be a lesson for any political movement or party that thorough vetting is an essential ingredient of successful politics.

Story and link source: John Hinderaker, Powerline Blog

UPDATE: Vote For Viable

Another thoughtful post on the Buckley Rule, the Limbaugh Rule, and the viable candidate debate has appeared on Powerline. Here is your link.

Vote For Viable

This year is rapidly shaping up as a test of the so-called Buckley Rule. That rule, put forth by the late William F. Buckley Jr., states that conservatives should vote for the most right-leaning viable candidate in order to win elections in the United States. The rule emerges out of our long-standing national penchant for rejecting candidates from the ideological fringe, both left and right. To win most elections in our two party system, candidates must appeal to centrist or independent voters. Candidates who appreciate and understand the appeal of "softness" will win out over ideological purity every time. Many years ago during my training in federal service, I was taught that "softness is not weakness." I witnessed those words in practice as a petite self defense instructor threw an opponent three times her size into submission and left him begging for mercy. Never underestimate the power of softness.

Barack Obama was portrayed as a soft transformer and the voters were only too happy to buy into his candidacy. I am convinced that, had the national press done its job of vetting him as the European-style socialist he is, he never would have survived the primary election process. Can't do much about that now; however, the upcoming mid-term election offers conservatives a golden opportunity to avoid this ideological pitfall. And though I welcome the Tea Party movement into the political arena, it is making an appeal to the centrists somewhat of a challenge. This is especially important because there will be no leftist media effort to provide cover for one's fringe ideology. In fact, the leftist press will be delighted to focus on "right-wing extremists" whenever possible.

That brings us to two Senate primaries, Nevada and Delaware, where Republican voters have nominated the more "extreme" candidate to face a Democratic challenger in the general election. In both cases, the nominations have potentially jeopardized almost certain "pick-ups" in the Senate for the Republican Party. To me, winning the Senate is significant because the Senate confirms Supreme Court nominations. The pending Republican take over in the House will shut down the budgetary side of Obama's socialist agenda. It would be a joy to shut down his court appointments as well.

Will the people side with the Buckley Rule and elect viable conservative candidates? Will the revolutionary fervor of anti-incumbency, and the new party with its ideological "purity" also carry new candidates to victory? Or will that same ideological "purity" be turned into right-wing extremism and drive the "soft" vote into the hands of the Democratic Party and a continuing majority in the Senate?

For more on this issue, check out The Corner-September 14 and 15, at National Review Online, Powerline-same dates, and today's entries at Urgent Agenda.

Senate Toss-Up In The Making?

Here is an updated assessment of the 2010 Senate elections by Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

The illustration: Senator Jack S. Phogbound, from the pen of the great American cartoonist, Al Capp (1909-1979)