Jackson Jambalaya

Jere Nash had this to say in the Clarion-Ledger a few days ago:

"For much of the past month Andy has been saying that the only suspense left in the 2010 election season is whether Republicans will take control of the U.S. Senate. His side of the aisle got more suspenseful this week when Christine O’Donnell won his party’s Senate primary in Delaware. She and Kentucky’s Rand Paul and Nevada’s Sharron Angle constitute the Republican Party’s gift to us Democrats. It is because of these nominees that we will maintain our majority in the Senate" Jere's blog

Hate to tell you this Jere, but Rasmussen put the Paul-Conway battle in the solidly Republican column on September 8. Rasmussen also reported a few days ago Angle and Reid were tied at 48%. Reid has failed to get above 50% in the polls- a fact that is bad news for an incumbent. Then there is Ms. O'Donnell. I'm going to give you some advice Jere. I hope the Democrats for your sake don't go overboard with the attack ads as you did when you handled Mabus's campaign against Fordice.

Christine O'Donnell. Should be target practice for pros like Jere, right? Well, there is a trap for the Democrats in this race if they are not careful. We all know what the playbook is going to be: she's a nutjob, she's a liar, she hates women, is a member of the radical religious right, blah, blah, blah. She's even given some ammunition to use against her. Not a particularly strong candidate either- yes, I said it. She's a weak candidate.

I never saw her on tv until Wednesday. I watched several of her interviews as well as some of her speeches on Youtube. Guess what? She came off as a very attractive, articulate, and likable candidate. The Democrats can completely blow it by going too far and presenting ads bearing little resemblance to the candidate herself. They need to remember sometimes the enemy doesn't always cooperate. Reagan of course was the master at using that type of campaign against his opponents. She is obviously no Reagan, but the history lesson is worth noting. Such ads won't work if Ms. O'Donnell doesn't look or sound like a kook,. Keep in mind Delaware is a small state where the voters have ample opportunity to meet the candidates for themselves.

There is also the issue of whether Castle was more electable than O'Donnell. Mr. Castle probably had a better chance at beating Coons in the election but there is one thing most discussion on this topic are failing to mention. It does not matter how moderate the Republican is, he is going to be demonized no matter how liberal his record is. Arnold's record as Governor aside, he probably was as liberal on social issues as any Republican. Pro-choice. Environmentalist. Gay rights. He's right there with the Democrats. Did it matter during the election? Nope. They literally called him a Nazi, the son of a Stormtrooper, racist, and rapist. John McCain. The media's Republican darling for standing up to the so-called religious right in 2000. Conservatives call him RINO. He is the Democrats' best friend when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration. Wrote a campaign finance law favoring the Democrats. Worked with the Democrats to keep the Republicans from using the "nuclear option" in passing Bush's judicial nominees. Did any of this collaboration matter when he ran for President in 2008? Nope. They still trashed him and even attacked his war record. Its about time some so-called Republican "strategists" started realizing the Democrats will smear and distort the record of any Republican candidate regardless of how liberal or conservative he is. Castle's vote for cap and trade and other liberal causes wouldn't have mattered because he is a Republican.

Jere Nash finds the tea parties quite amusing as he regularly lampoons them on his blog. Perhaps he should take a break from his literary laughter and read something Kristen Powers, yes, a Democratic columnist and strategist wrote last week in the Dallas Morning News:

"It's time to stop mocking the tea party.

Whether they are loons, principled conservatives or a mix of both, they are a potent force that won't be intimidated off the national stage by snarky media coverage and clueless attacks from the establishment.... Column

The Washington establishment has its nose out of joint because a rag-tag group of misfits have deigned to challenge the entitled incompetents who run the U.S. Congress. Somehow, because a few of the tea party candidates support abstinence training, or other garden-variety right-wing notions, they are more dangerous than the people who were actually in charge of our country as it was being run into the ground economically..."

Ms. Powers goes on to compare the treatment of the Tea Parties to Goldwater and his followers. The Jere Nash's of their day made great sport of them up until they actually won the Senate and the Presidency. Something Jere Nash and others like him would do well to remember every time they feel the urge to sneer at the tea parties.