On Politics, We Can Always See the Whites of Their Eyes.
Virginia Dems wonder: Maybe we should have gone with McAuliffe
by: Bill Dupray posted: 2009-10-13 09:41:00
Viewed 409 times. 3 Comments.
The body is not even cool yet. Hell, the election hasn't even happened yet, and the Democrats are already trying to figure what went is going to go wrong. Now this is my kind of campaign.
Some may remember that Clinton White House Hotelier and Barista Terry McAuliffe ran for Virginia governor this year and lost in the primary to Creigh Deeds. Deeds had 50% of the vote with McAuliffe at 26% and Brian Moran at 24%.
The New York Times thinks that maybe the Virginia Democrats drew the short straw with Deeds.
But with this closely-watched election less than a month away, and Mr. Deeds struggling against Robert McDonnell, the Republican former attorney general, it is hard not to forgive some Virginia Democrats for thinking that they might have been better off with Mr. McAuliffe at the top of the ticket. This is no small thing since a defeat for Democrats in Virginia would be a decided setback for this White House, particularly after President Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state last year since 1964. Democrats have held the Virginia governor’s seat for eight years.
Make a mental note here that the New York Times says that a Democrat loss in Virginia would be a 'decided setback' for the White House, because you sure as hell won't hear that from any lefty after the election. It will be all about the weakness of Deeds as a candidate, it was the Republicans' turn, Virginia has local issues that differ from national politics, blah, blah, blah. When Deeds loses, it will be a referendum on Obama, pure and simple.
Anyway, back to the Saturday morning quarterbacking on the Deeds/McAuliffe thing. The Times laments Deeds' inability to slickly lie and conceal his liberalism. McAuliffe, they know, would have had no such trouble.
But based at least on his own performance as a candidate in the three-way Virginia Democratic primary — not to mention his years as a television and campaign surrogate for the Clintons — Mr. McAuliffe might well have had a decided advantage over Mr. Deeds in money and campaign skills, a view expressed by Democrats and Republicans alike.Consider this: Perhaps the single most politically devastating moment for Mr. Deeds was when he gave a halting and fumbling answer, in a cluster of reporters and television cameras, about whether he would raise taxes to pay for repairing the state’s transportation system. Republicans have used clips from it to produce two of the most devastating advertisements of the campaign, raising questions at once about his views on taxes and his basic candor.
Mr. McAuliffe was given to his excess. But years of doing television interviews, on forums ranging from “Meet the Press” to scrums of local reporters — first defending the Clintons and than advancing himself and his party — paid off in producing a candidate who was an assured television presence.
Mr. Deeds seemed baffled by the question of whether he would raise taxes to pay for highway repair, one of the most fundamental questions of this campaign. Mr. McAuliffe, ever the student of the Clintons, had spent months evading the question with bland proclamations about having to find a revenue source.
Who knew that the Democrats' problem was that they didn't have enough liars?
Creigh Deeds seems to be a good, honest man. He will lose to McDonnell, to be sure. But the Democrats do themselves no favors listening to the likes of the New York Times and Terry McAuliffe. Because while Deeds may lose by 5-10 points, McAuliffe would have lost by twice that.
Related Articles
- Contest: Win a pre-release copy of John Yoo's 'Crisis and Command' in time for Christmas delivery!
- Dems Said The Class Act “Ponzi Scheme” Strip It, But It Is Included In Final Health Care Bill
- Novel idea: It is Time for Republican Leaders to Step Down - on Principle
- Excellent one-click tweet and contact page for important Senators - Please RT
Links to this post
Trackback url: http://patriotroom.com/article/virginia-dems-wonder-maybe-we-should-have-gone-with-mcauliffe/trackback
Comments 3
They seem incapable of assessing/confronting why they are losing. I voted Deeds in the primary because he was the least of all dem evils, and I still prefer him to the alternatives of McAuliffe or Moran. Now I'm going to vote McDonnell in the general. Completely agree that McAuliffe would lose by twice as much.
And many folks will be switching sides next year in the midterms. Barack Obama is going to end up making Bill Clinton into an even bigger god in the Democrat party than he already is. Clinton was more moderate, and therefore appealed to a wide scope of people. Obama, Pelosi and Reid are radicals and I think Clinton fans thought they would be getting something similar. Boy must they have buyer's remorse. The overrreaching of radicals always comes back to bite them.
Have an opinion?
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
Publius' Newsstand
-
Without Murtha, Dems now one vote short of pass...
Didn't realize the implication's of Murtha's passing today, which include the following...Back in November, the House passed its health care bill by a narrow 220 to 215 margin, with 39 Democrats voting against it. Since then, the one Republican who voted for it — Joseph Cao — has indicated that he would not support the bill a second time around given the weaker language on abortion in the Senate version. In addition, Florida Rep. Robert Wexler already retired prematurely. Factor in Murtha’s death today, and Pelosi is down to 217 votes — one short of passage. To pass the bill at some point in the next few months, she’ll need to flip a Democrat who is already on record voting against the bill.
Views: 117 Comments: 0
-
Republicans and the Populist Temptation could T...
A warning from my favorite economic analyst, Donald Luskin.Don't think that Republicans can't be sucked in when an anti-Wall Street lynch mob gets its blood up. Recall that Sarbanes-Oxley, the devastating antigrowth response in 2002 to the Enron and Worldcom scandals, was passed with virtually unanimous support by Republicans in Congress, and signed by a Republican president. Recall that last year 85 House Republicans voted for a 90% tax on bonuses for any employee of any bank that took more than $5 billion in TARP money. Investors got some good news last Friday. Stocks resisted following through on Thursday's sharp plunge after (Congress) reached an impasse on bank re-regulation. That's a nice down payment on what investors need a lot more of now: proof that the GOP won't join Democrats in a populist rush to seek revenge against Wall Street.
Views: 77 Comments: 3
-
Message to Democrats: Wall St. Sends Cash to GO...
Great news, but these guys were a little late in realizing that Obama wants to destroy all their corporations and confiscate their money. Not quite sure how they missed that.Just two years after Mr. Obama helped his party pull in record Wall Street contributions — $89 million from the securities and investment business, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics — some of his biggest supporters, like Mr. Dimon, have become the industry’s chief lobbyists against his regulatory agenda. Republicans are rushing to capitalize on what they call Wall Street’s “buyer’s remorse” with the Democrats. And industry executives and lobbyists are warning Democrats that if Mr. Obama keeps attacking Wall Street “fat cats,” they may fight back by withholding their cash.
Views: 78 Comments: 2
-
Dow closes below 10,000 for first time in 3 mon...
The Dow sinks below a major psychological threshold.The Dow, down almost 104 points, had its 10th triple-digit move in 16 trading days. Shares of big banks pulled the market lower, extending a slump that has led to four straight weekly losses.
I can't, for the life of me, understand why bank stocks would be dropping. Inexplicable.Views: 57 Comments: 2
-
Poll: Special interests more influential under ...
Voters are now categorically rejecting every claim or promise made by this guy.... including democrats:Contrary to President Obama's promises, voters say special interests have more influence on the political process now than they did a year ago, according to a new poll. The poll, paid for by groups looking to curb the Supreme Court's recent campaign finance ruling, found that majorities of both Republicans and Democrats say special interests have increased their influence since the president took office, and they say Mr. Obama has not done enough to fight back.
Views: 59 Comments: 1
-
GOP leaders: Don't use current health bills for...
Boehner and Cantor say the Pubs aren't going to be a part of any Presidential photo-op/dog-and-pony show:If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate,” the pair explained in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. They also said President Barack Obama should remove reconciliation from the table. Using budget reconciliation rules to move healthcare reform in the Senate would mean Democrats would only need 51 votes on procedural measures instead of 60... On Sunday afternoon however, Obama refused to say he would start from scratch.
Views: 65 Comments: 2
-
Jack Murtha (D-PA) Dead at Age 77
Sad news. Prayers and well wishes to his family and loved ones.An announcement from his office said Murtha died at 1:18 p.m. at the Virginia Hospital Center, where he had been admitted last week after having his gallbladder removed at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
Views: 166 Comments: 6
-
I thought of killing myself, says climate scand...
He doesn't need to go that far. But a lengthy jail sentence for the fraud-of-the-century would go a long way.The scientist at the centre of the “climategate” email scandal has revealed that he was so traumatised by the global backlash against him that he contemplated suicide. Jones, 57, said he was unprepared for the scandal: “I am just a scientist. I have no training in PR or dealing with crises.”
Actually, he's using the term "scientist" loosely there, given that real scientists don't do what he did. And while he may not have any training dealing with crises, he sure was good at generating one: it was called the global warming crisis.Views: 146 Comments: 3
-
Yet again: China Renews Opposition to Iran Sanc...
And for Obama's next act, he will, um, wait for it ... >> Reflecting a growing catalog of disputes between Washington and Beijing, a senior Chinese official said Thursday that pressure for tighter sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program could block chances of a diplomatic settlement on the issue. The official, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, was speaking in Paris less than a week after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton rebuked China over its opposition to stronger measures against Tehran, saying Beijing’s position was shortsighted. <<Views: 112 Comments: 3
-
Franken feeling his oats: Rips into Axelrod ove...
Smile. Gnawing on each others' legs: >> Five sources who were in the room tell POLITICO that Franken criticized Axelrod for the administration’s failure to provide clarity or direction on health care and the other big bills it wants Congress to enact. The sources said Franken was the most outspoken senator in the meeting, which followed President Barack Obama’s question-and-answer session with Senate Democrats at the Newseum on Wednesday. But they also said the Minnesotan wasn’t the only angry Democrat in the room. “There was a lot of frustration in there,” said a Democratic senator who declined to be identified. “People were hot,” another Democratic senator said. <<Views: 124 Comments: 3
Get Your PR Button!
More Articles By Bill Dupray
- I thought of killing myself, says climate scandal professor Phil Jones
on 2010-02-07 with 146 views - Poll: Believers in man-made global warming rapidly dwindling
on 2010-02-07 with 607 views - Obama's never-before-seen 2010 strategy
on 2010-02-07 with 595 views - Classic liberal headline: New Orleans elects first white mayor since 1978
on 2010-02-07 with 139 views - In Full: Palin's Tea Party Speech
on 2010-02-07 with 235 views - Video: Dems cheer after raising Americans' debt limit to $14,294,000,000,000
on 2010-02-04 with 383 views - Mark Kirk puts Blago front and center in new campaign ad
on 2010-02-04 with 129 views - Scott Brown's 41st vote already giving Reid fits
on 2010-02-04 with 278 views - Obama jokes about his citizenship at Prayer Breakfast
on 2010-02-04 with 206 views - House faces tough vote on $1.9 trillion more debt
on 2010-02-04 with 81 views
"Who knew that the Democrats' problem was that they didn't have enough liars?"
Too funny!