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Archive for the 'Primary fights' Category

Joe Versus the Volcano

Published by William Beutler on August 8, 2006 in Campaigns, Election Night, Lamont v. Lieberman, Midterms '06, National Politics and Primary fights. 2 Comments

Hear that? That’s the sound of the “anti-incumbent mood” becoming CW talking point #1 through November. The three primaries lost by incumbents tonight, in Connecticut, Michigan and Georgia had almost nothing at all to do with one another, but maybe that only reinforces the argument.

Also, here lies the end of the political media’s perception that the netroots haven’t won anything, although conservative bloggers will probably hold them to a win in November. That seems likely enough, if not in Connecticut, then also very possibly in Montana. Not getting a dozen unknown congressional candidates into the group of 435 over the last couple of years will fade from the public consciousness, and probably from the blogospheric one, as well. Of course, no blog can “win” an election — their contribution to GOTV efforts is not as notable as their contribution to the framing of political debates. And that much they’ve done.

I always get in trouble with predictions, but I don’t think Joe Lieberman is a lock for the fall — as the primarhy winner, Ned Lamont will be legitimized to non-primary voters, while Lieberman may indeed start to look like a Sore Loserman. Yes, some Republicans might cross over to support him in the fall — but wouldn’t this anticipation send more Democrats into the Lamont camp? If I was a lefty blogger, I’d say so. [Update: Already one has gone the other way, but I get the impression he wasn't old enough to be registered in Conn. when he lived there.]

The lights went out for another incumbent, Cynthia McKinney in Georgia, which wasn’t very surprising. The leftosphere didn’t want to claim her, while the rightosphere openly encouraged her opponent, Hank Johnson. That’s about what happened when Denise Majette bested McKinney in the primary four years ago, when conservative bloggers cheered on the anti-McKinney. Both Majette and Johnson campaigned as moderates, though Majette all but gave McKinney the seat back during her Katherine Harris-esque run for the Senate two years later.

And lastly, moderate Republican Joe Schwarz got bounced in Michigan. It’s a win for the reconfigured Club for Growth, and I suppose you could say the reconfigured Red State is already 1-0. Sorry, GOPProgress.

P.S. And about that picture… is that more this The Kiss or this The Kiss?

Elective RINO-plasty

Published by William Beutler on August 1, 2006 in Internecine Battles, Midterms '06, Netroots, Online Fundraising, Primary fights and Republicans. 3 Comments

Red State is one of the few conservative blogs to specialize in Republican activism, and now, guided by newly-minted CEO (but longtime contributor) Erick Erickson, the site has moved into territory only the liberal activist blogs have traversed: Supporting a primary challenge. In their first outing, Erickson & co. are teaming up with the veteran primary fight encouragers at Club for Growth to support former state Rep. Tim Walberg against liberal freshman Rep. Joe Schwarz in Michigan’s 7th district.

Red State, like almost all conservative blogs, has questioned the wisdom of Ned Lamont’s challenge to Sen. Joe Lieberman (not to mention the liberal blogs for supporting it). But they share a few things in common: First of all, both seats are assumedly safe for the squabbling side. Second, both incumbents are talking up their experience, their ability to bring jobs to the state, and their endorsements from traditional interest groups close to the party. This might work with the wider electorate in each race, but it isn’t working with the online activists. For Lieberman, his Democratic opponents just don’t care: His support for the Iraq war and his palling around with Bush dwarf all other issues. For Schwarz, his Republican critics are in no mood to hear it, either. His RINO tendencies are numerous, though there isn’t an issue as galvanizing as the Iraq war [Udpdate: In the comments, I'm told the major fault here line is abortion. I can believe it, but it's still not the issue that Iraq is]. The closest thing might be the conservative bloggers’ conscious crusade against pork barrel politics. But Schwarz has generally voted the right way on taxes, and is in fact trying to attack Walberg as a tax-raiser. They aren’t buying that either, but also, Tim Walberg’s internet profile is in no way comparable Lamont’s.

Since Erickson first threw down against Schwarz on July 27, he’s been working his way through 10 reasons why Red Staters should get behind Walberg: Schwarz’s opposition to drilling in ANWR, support for Medicare-subsidized Viagra, association with an anti-Republican gay rights organization, and pro-Kelo position on eminent domain, as well as his reliance on Democrats for support.

But there’s little excitement about Walberg evident on the site. Erickson’s first post collected just 27 comments and only two pledges to donate modest sums (and the Club doesn’t make fundraising figures immediately available). The subsequent posts have averaged about four comments each, well below what most front-page posts accumulate. Of course, starting 11 days out from the primary is just too late to have any kind of real impact. The lefty blogs were about a month out when they got involved in Ciro Rodriguez’s challenge earlier this year, and that wasn’t enough.

Republican blogger activists have a long way to go in catching up to their Democratic counterparts, and today they took a big step (more on this later) [Update: It's here]. But after hitting the liberal netroots over and over with their poor electoral track record, are the Republican netroots prepared to respond if they start going 0-fer themselves?

When Not To Blog

Published by William Beutler on July 25, 2006 in Blogging Officials, Democrats, Midterms '06 and Primary fights. 2 Comments

Don’t look now, but Cynthia McKinney — who having been bounced from Congress in 2002 is facing the very real prospect of becoming an ex-member once again — has herself a campaign blog. More than a few public officials have tried their hand at blogging over the past few years, and with a few exceptions, most probably would be better off if they hadn’t. It’s not that they shouldn’t blog, it’s that they should only do it if they’re willing to do it right. I’ve seen many an inept campaign blog in my day, but Rep. McKinney sets a whole new standard.

For example: Although this particular page on her official campaign site does bill itself as a “blog,” and indeed has permalinks, it fails one particular test of blogginess that frankly, I can’t recall ever having seen failed before: The posts are in chronological, not reverse-chronological order.

In other words, the first thing you see when the page loads is an entry from April 20. At the bottom of the page is the latest post, on July 20. You could be forgiven for thinking the site had been abandoned, but no, if you scroll down from the top, the next post is June 17. And that one’s a doozy, responding to the hullabaloo over McKinney’s confrontation with the Capitol police earlier this year:

The good ol’ boy cracker-crats of the Republican party are having themselves a regular hootenanny over allegations that congresswoman Cynthia McKinney landed a punch on a security guard at the Capitol.

To be fair, that post appears to have been authored by a caucasian, although if black-on-black racism is a problem, then white-on-white racism cannot be discounted entirely. The self-described “white boy” is Greg Palast, a journalist whose investigations could be called controversial at best. Perhaps Palast is behind the campaign’s primary day efforts to play on her constituents’ fears about voting machine manufacturer Diebold’s rumored pro-Republican programming tendencies.

But it’s worth asking: If Diebold was certain that ousting McKinney is a good idea — and some prominent Atlanta conservatives want her to stay — then why not install DeKalb Co. Commish Hank Johnson without the trouble of a runoff?

And if you head to the most recent entry of McKinney’s pseudo-blog, she prepares her supporters for the primary fight ahead:

I will be pitted against a mostly unknown and unproven opponent, who will nonetheless have the unanimous backing of big national media and national money. The media and money behind my opponent will do their utmost to polarize the election along racial and party lines.

Indeed, Rep. McKinney would never tolerate, let alone disseminate or seek to gain from, racial or partisan polarization. Right?