When I first saw the numbers in Publicola, that Clint Didier had raised $593,000, my initial thought was wow… that’s not bad for a fringe candidate polling in the single digits. But when I read the details elsewhere, that this represents his total to-date, that he raised a not so spectacular $220,000 in the previous quarter even with Sarah Palin’s endorsement, and that he only has about $100,000 cash on hand, I wasn’t so impressed.
Even assuming he’s in the midst of another gangbuster quarter — you know, by Didier standards — that means he’ll only have a couple hundred thousand dollars or so to spend between now and the August primary… and yet the ballots drop in another couple weeks. Let’s just say, when it comes to insurgent Tea Party campaigns, Didier is no Rand Paul.
And, if his goal really is to get through to the November election, shouldn’t he be campaigning against fellow Republican Dino Rossi instead of Democratic incumbent Sen. Patty Murray?
Throughout his six-page fundraising letter, apparently sent cold to a Seattle address, Didier focuses almost exclusively on attacking Sen. Murray, with only 38 words dedicated to “my Republican opponent” (who, in case you’re wondering, is an “establishment” “RINO,” “recruited by D.C. power brokers,” who “fails to tell people where he is on the issues”). That’s not much of a strategy for defeating Rossi in August, let alone raising money in Seattle.
It is, however, a good strategy for raising money from the teabagger crowd, to be spent helping establishment Republicans elect Rossi.
I’m not saying that’s Didier’s D.C.-P.O.-Box-based strategy. I’m just not saying it isn’t.
It really is no surprise this asshole played for the TEAM FROM WASHINGTON D.C.
That Murray has very few defensible positions from a progressive standpoint, making the derision and condecension of her opponents the only viable strategy in her election, merely feeds into the populist/libertarian/right wing narrative that liberals are a bunch of elitists. This is the crucial error being made, which is why Murray is going to lose. It’s sad, but true. Maybe we’ll get a real progressive to vote for when the 1-term wonder incompetent Republican wears out. Flame me all you want. It’s the achilles heel of this Senate race. The giant sucking sound of Murray’s fave WTO is now the sound of her faux sincerity on bank reform, the last nail in the coffin of her political career.
Didier says Rossi “fails to tell people where he is on the issues?” A rare moment in which he is lucid!
BTW, tpn @ 2, Senator Murray voted for the recent financial reform bill. Included in the Bill was an amendment offered by Murray to specifically prevent taxpayer money from being used in future bailouts. Not included in the final bill was an amendment supported by Murray that would have capped the size of Federally insured deposits for any one bank (blocked by Republicans and conservative Democrats in the Senate). I don’t know what you mean about “faux sincerity” and I think that could use a little expansion, but I do know which of the candidates will:
(a) Stand up to big business
(b) Help homeless veteran mothers living on the street with small children
That’s Patty Fucking Murray.
@ 2…
Another “WTF” moment from the peanut gallery.
That “financial reform bill” did not address the fundamental problems of legalized fraud in the top echeleons of finance. We still have a shadow off-balance sheet banking system. We have a regulatory body that will be run by the Federal Reserve, which is beholden to private interests, not public interests. The funding of “winding down” large institutions when they default will be borne by the taxpayers; most of the securitization reforms have been gutted. Yes, indeed, a WTF moment. The icing will be when our Treasurer pushes out Liz Warren once and for all as one of the few sane voices.
Keeping in mind that Murray oversaw the set up for the financial mess our country faces, and neither she, nor her supporters will take responsibility for that. Oh, but she’s pro choice, so move along, nothing to see here.
Take a look at where your pension funds are invested and get back to me.
The real question is: can Didier actually operate that machine he’s sitting in? I bet not.
Now that financial reform has passed, Republicans are saying they want to repeal it.
Why do Republicans hate consumers and like depressions?
More to the point, why would anyone vote for Republicans? I mean, really, why would they? If you vote Republican, you need to see a mental health professional.
tpn @4 & 5,
Look, your desire for a more progressive government with more progressive legislators leading to more progressive policies is admirable. Your lampooning of Sen Murray though is ridiculous.
You do realize that Murray is one of one hundred in a body where the real power lies in preventing change, not bringing it?
While the FinReg bill should do more along the lines you suggest, this is the best we could hope for given the obstructionist BPublicans. Murray’s efforts on the bill made it significantly better.
Regarding Clint’s campaign, the SOB never had much of a chance and obviously took too many head slaps in the career he made his name in before sucking at the public teat for his livelihood.
One doesn’t need to be a genius strategist to realize that as a 3rd place candidate in a top two primary that his arrows need to be aimed at #2, especially given he is cash poor. Isn’t it wonderful when our electoral system works? :-D
All Teabaggers like Didier run against reason, reality, and responsibility. Teabaggers are selfish children who have not yet matured to the point that they recognize that the world does not revolve around them.
SIX PAGES??? I can’t imagine many of Didier’s potential supporters having enough of an attention span to get through all that–unless the print’s really, really big and the words are really, really small.
It appears that Diddier’s only got the individual Tea Bag money, and that well’s beginning to run dry. Additional attempts to tap that resource will be met with diminishing returns. I’m assuming that those sources paid for all the big signs on the rural stretches of major highways.
When Rossi entered the race, he pretty much sucked up all the big money available – PACs, lobbyists, big donars, national Republican party money.
With such a limited supply of cash left, Diddier won’t be able to do any TV or radio advertising. He’ll just have to make do with small appearances, lots of traveling to Tea Party events, etc. He will be hard-pressed to get above 15% of the primary vote. He will need to get into the mid-20% in order to get Rossi’s atention.
Right now, Rossi’s doing the smart thing, in ignoring Diddier completely. If he attacked Diddier, he would risk alienating his supporters for the general election, and also risk his “centrist” position he tries to project for the general election.
Remember that the Democrats barely can cobble together a 60-vote majority in the Senate. One less Democratic Senator means that everything in Congress comes to a halt until the next election, unless it matches the right-wing ideology of the Republican leadership.
If we insist on being ideological purists and refuse to support Murray in the primary or the general election, we would get – Sen. Rossi. Or more accurately, a Republican-controlled Senate, in that they could block anything they wish. It’s bad enough now, it would be immeasurably worse then.
Imagine the impact over the last four years if Nethercut had beaten Murray in 2004, or McGavick had beaten Cantwell in 2006, or if both had occured – only because we insisted on a candidate which matched our litmus test completely.
Art @ 9
I think it includes a lot of pictures. Teabaggers like pictures.
Considering the top-two primary, then Didier’s strategy here makes some sense, although this letter is more for fund raising, not vote getting, so he has to make Murray the ogre in any case.
That said, Didier exemplifies the Tea Party mentality…government and government spending is bad! Irrigation programs and crop subsidies are good (’cause I benefit from them)!
11. rhp6033
There are pretty surely going to be fewer Democratic Senators and fewer Democratic House members after this election. The combination of the “normal” off-year losses by the majority party, slackened Democratic enthusiasm after the truly historic peaks of 2006 and 2008, and the really crappy economy and disastrous unemployment levels pretty much guarantees that.
What worries me is that the long-term prospect of continuing near-10% unemployment makes us vulnerable (as any nation would be and many now are) to extremist demagoguery.
More stimulus now!
@7: lambast me all you want; just address the actual points I raised. Call me any name you want. Make all kinds of inferences about my political motivations or ambitions. Just do not do so without answering the points, because, otherwise, it appears that you have no defense.
Clint is running against ObaMao and the Democrat Elite like Murray–
Good strategy considering today’s poll…and the Dow being down 261 points!!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Gee Cynical, you are awfully quick to jump on a down day on the Dow, but pretty quiet when it rises.
For decades we had to endure the Republican rantings about Carter’s economic performace, which was a loss of a mere eight points over four years.
When the DJIA posted a 135% increase over Reagan’s eight years in office, he was proclaimed by Republicans as an economic genius.
But there was deafening quiet from the Republicans over the 225% gain during the eight years of the Clinton administration.
And even more silence when after eight years of the BushII administration, the DJIA had lost 21.78% of it’s value (and the nation had lost 20% of it’s net worth, overall).
Even with today’s drop, during the mere 1-1/2 years of the Obama administration we still have a 21.94% rise in the DJIA.
The DJIA would have to drop to 6,528 to match Bush’s performance. When it gets there, you can complain about any drop in the DJIA under the Obama administration. Until then, your complaints aren’t worth noting.
Cynny @ 16: “Just 23% now believe the federal government has the consent of the governed. Sixty-eight percent (68%) believe the nation’s Political Class doesn’t care what most Americans think.”
Those numbers, if accurate, would indicate that (a) Americans are hopelessly stupid; (b) Americans are sheep who are led by the Republican fearmongering machine; or (c) our rightwing media needs major revamping.
One thing they never separate out in these polls is how many of the negatives actually believe that Obama and the Dems in Congress have been TOO CAUTIOUS in their approach.
Besides, this is a Rasmussen poll, and that guy is well known for his right-wing bias.
I knew Obama was a Centrist going into all this, so I’m not too surprised (although I did have some hope that he would step up). But I’m positively disgusted at the spinelessness that has been shown by Reid, Pelosi, et al, especially since 2006.
Pale Rider @19 speaks for me:
I participate in the Zogby online poll (yes, I know it’s utter crapola), and I’ve been answering “wrong track” in recent editions for that very reason.
19. Pale Rider spews:
Prove it. And no, seeing on the DailyKos or Huffpo is not proof.
Rasmussen is the most accurate poll the past 5 years running. It is based on Likely Voters.
If anything it is Democrat leaning as evidenced by the Massa2shits Senate Race where Rasmussen called it Even and Brown ended up winning by 5.
The rootless Atheist Progressives are in denial.
ObaMao has hit rock bottom. He has all kinds of KLOWNS hitting the talk show circuit with the RACIST allegations for folks who disagree with ObaMao. I just saw John King on CNN ask the leading question of some racist Black Guy about whether there would be a Tea Party if Hillary were president. Of course the ObaMaoite said NO.
What a bunch of fools.
Today’s Rasmussen–
Patty needs to get more support than then dozen or HorsesAss.org regulars!!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Of COURSE there’d still be a Tea Party. Instead of being blatantly racist they’d be blatantly misogynist.
Becuz ya dumb bunny trillions are gonna go to to continually bail out Fannie and Freddie which were never covered in this bill by the two thugs who championed this fiasco; Bawney My Partner Likes Prostitution Fwank and Chwis Half a Waitress Sandwich Dodd.
Hey GBS, since you claim the Tea Party is blatantly racist prove it.
Also how do you like dem wanna-be cracka baby killas who think like you do? Isn’t Odumba a cracka baby? So these fools would have off’d Odumba if they had there way. Those are the real racists GBS!
Pale Rider is upset Research2000 folded, the ex-favrit polling service of the Head Kook ad Daily Kook-aid. Of course it was proved Research2000 fudged their polls. The libtardo class is still trying to figger out how Rasmussen is right. Now that WaPo and CBS finally released accurate presidential approval polls this week, Rasmussen is right again.
Now that’s
Tooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Funnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny
I don’t think patty is even going to get past the primary. Gonna be Didier .vs. Rossi in Nov.
Will be fun to watch the D’s wail and nash their teeth about that.
27
Where do people like you come from? What world do you live in?
When I see how ridiculous the opposition is, I get pretty confident that this country is, inevitably, headed in the right direction.
@27
Lay off of the Jack Daniels and meth. If you really believe this why don’t you ask Sen. Chandler, Sen. Smith, and Sen. Nethercutt how theo elections went.
27.
a) Whatever you’re smoking, post a link.
b) Clint Didlier thinks our war with terrorists in Afghanistan is illegal – http://nwdigest.com/politics/0.....after-911/ He’s also no Marummy, doesn’t have one but wants a human weapons system.
c) Our state deserves Mary Lane Strow instead of a pair of old, dumb and weak d**ks and a dyke dumbo who thinks Osama bin Laden “makes lives better” to pick for the US Senate. Or preferably Marummy vs. Goldy :-).
@25
Proving the Tea Party is racists. This was posted by Mark Williams, Tea Party leader only yesterday.
Dear Mr. Lincoln
We Colored People have taken a vote and decided that we don’t cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!
In fact we held a big meeting and took a vote in Kansas City this week. We voted to condemn a political revival of that old abolitionist spirit called the ‘tea party movement’.
The tea party position to “end the bailouts” for example is just silly. Bailouts are just big money welfare and isn’t that what we want all Coloreds to strive for? What kind of racist would want to end big money welfare? What they need to do is start handing the bail outs directly to us coloreds! Of course, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the only responsible party that should be granted the right to disperse the funds.
And the ridiculous idea of “reduce[ing] the size and intrusiveness of government.” What kind of massa would ever not want to control my life? As Coloreds we must have somebody care for us otherwise we would be on our own, have to think for ourselves and make decisions!
The racist tea parties also demand that the government “stop the out of control spending.” Again, they directly target Colored People. That means we Colored People would have to compete for jobs like everybody else and that is just not right.
Perhaps the most racist point of all in the tea parties is their demand that government “stop raising our taxes.” That is outrageous! How will we Colored People ever get a wide screen TV in every room if non-coloreds get to keep what they earn? Totally racist! The tea party expects coloreds to be productive members of society?
Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room and board, all our decisions made by the massa in the house. Please repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments and let us get back to where we belong.
Sincerely
Precious Ben Jealous, Tom’s Nephew National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Head Colored Person
Ooops, “Proving the Tea Party is racist”
Who’s the alternative to Patty Murray?… “Whose Shoes Will You Choose?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0QOt7u-cHM
PAUL AKERS.
Oh the political rhetoric – how about electing an innovator, job creator, small business man, father, husband, an enlightened man who empowers his employees.
He is not a politician by any means. What a breath of fresh air. His name:
PAUL AKERS.
Visit his web site at http://www.akersforussenate.com. If you like what you see, host a meet and greet in your neighborhood and he will come and speak and have a question and answer period. Democrats and Republicans alike are supporting him. He doesn’t look at parties to divide us, rather he treats each person as having something valuable to say. He empowers people. He is full of common sense to ensure that we work together to get results.
Polls show that he is closing the gap – again, check out his website at http://www.akersforussenate.com.
@33 Just another teabagger wingnut. Why vote for that ding-a-ling when we can vote for that other nutcase Didier? Why vote for either when we can vote for the failed banker and foreclosure vulture Dino Rossi?