Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Dems Sweep, Mitt Gets One Right

Dems Sweep Special Elections; Mitt Gets One Right

A six for six sweep last night in the Wisconsin senate recalls, as all the party-backed candidates defeated what even the objective media was calling "fake Democrats." (All six were GOP activists who ran simply to force a primary and delay the actual recall vote by four weeks. Some even said so on the record.)

WIsconsin is a fully open primary state, with no party registration (unlike the closed primary lite of Iowa, where you have to affiliate for a primary but can do so on the spot.) Since there were no GOP primaries, Republicans were free to cross over and interfere, so the results are a good leading indicator of which way the final recall votes will go next month.

And the news is good. Five of the six Real Democrats pulled between 64 and 70 percent. The sixth, the lone first time candidate in a Democratic field made up mostly of sitting state reps and other elected officials, won 54-46. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to take Senate control (they have to play defense in three of their own seats).

For good measure, Dems also won a California congressional special and an Arkansas legislative seat.



I really hate to have to say this, but good for you, Mitt Romney:
Romney “strongly supports traditional marriage,” but the oath circulated last week by the Family Leader “contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign.”

UPDATE: And good for you Tim Pawlenty.

Some of this is Romney's Screw Iowa lite strategy. Some of this is he's got nothing to lose anyway, as the famIly leader base and leadership finds him religiously unacceptable.

The Pledge is backfiring badly, literally becoming a national laughingstock. Stephen Colbert gave it a whole segment last night:

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But one quibble with most media coverage: Romney was not the first candidate to reject the BVPledge. That would be Gary Johnson. He may be trailing the asterisk in the polls, but he's won two statewide elections for governor, which is two more than Bob Vander Plaats.

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