Showing posts with label loser. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loser. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Super Tuesday Hangover

Forget the Monday morning after Super Bowl hangover... this is the Wednesday morning after Super Duper Tuesday hangover! Though I would say that it is less of a hangover, and more of a bloggers buffet! There are so many stories to discuss, it is hard to know where to start.

We could discuss the Clinton Spin. How she won only 8 of 22 states up for grabs in the Democratic Campaign, though claimed that because she carried New York and California that she won the day! Let me put it this way, Hillary: You lost big time, yesterday! You lost Middle America in a HUGE way. And if you can't carry those states in the primary, you clearly have no chance of swinging those states from red to blue! And I want to mention the numbers: Where Obama won, he won by HUGE margins. Where Clinton won, she eeked out a victory over Obama. That is very telling that Clinton is in very serious trouble.

Next, we could discuss the Republican strategy. If Clinton is in as much trouble as we could imagine, the GOP strategy is in shambles. Dick Wadhams, Colorado State Party Chair for the GOP, has declared that his plan to retake the state is to make Hillary a monkey on the back of everyone running at the lower level on the ticket. But without Hillary at the top of the ticket, could the GOP be in trouble?

What about Obama's stirring speech, and the trouble it could bring for the GOP. A pundit said it best last night on CNN... "it is easy to beat a man, but near impossible to beat a movement". The very movement that is undoing the Clinton inevitability is a danger to the GOP.

It is necessary to discuss the tactics of the conservative talking heads. Out of one side of their mouth they decry the Huckabee campaign of dirty politicking with push polling, while at the same time, and to national audiences no less, they were using fear tactics of "a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain" while challenging callers on the national stage who where Huckabee supporters... They also went as far as to declare Huckabee's campaign an insurgency campaign, directly accusing anyone who supports Huckabee as being a terrorist! There is not an American, or human for that matter, alive who does not make the following association: Insurgent = Terrorist. It's the war, stupid! Such actions are repulsive, and hypocritical.

What about discussing the news desk's reaction to the GOP race. Very strong statements like: Tonight’s biggest loser is clearly Romney; We were wrong, this is clearly a three man race; Is McCain the breakaway nominee for the GOP?
  • Romney was a big loser yesterday. In every state that was actively challenged, he lost. He outspent, but was outvoted. This is sending shockwaves through the campaign, and through the pro-Romney pundits. Bill Bennett exclaimed this morning: Romney is the right guy, I don't know why America is not getting our message. Dr Bennett, perhaps it is the candidate, perhaps the message, perhaps even the tactics. The American people wholly rejected your talking points, and Romney suffered in this contest.
  • I told you some time ago that this was a three man race. Huckabee is the true and consistent conservative on issues like 2nd amendment, life, marriage, and 10th amendment. There is something to be said for a consistent record... and Huckabee is a clear choice, not just a way to vote against Romney... it is a vote FOR these conservative principles. This is, and will continue to be a three man race to the finish.
  • McCain is going to be hard to catch at this point. The best we can hope for now is a Howard Dean yell... There are some big contests coming up. Texas, where Huckabee had been strong until after SC. Perhaps yesterday can provide a Huckabounce to stop McCain in Texas. Washington state, which is a MCCain stronghold, may be up for grabs if other campaigns can spend some time and money there. McCain is not a lock for the GOP, but he is clearly and undeniably the front-runner.
Today is a great day for political junkies! There are headlines abound. What we need to look for is what stories the press go with, what spin they apply, and which candidates they are favoring or crutching. Stories are abound... like I said, a blogger's buffet!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Sour Grapes

Romney supporters across America, and especially on FoxNews and Talk radio, are blowing West Virginia WAY out of proportion.

Looking at the numbers, McCain and Paul had 334 votes between them. With Paul out of the race, that left 118 voters up for grabs. McCain's 176 votes were in jeopardy as a potential third round would likely count him out altogether.

Huckabee gained 192 votes. That means that some Ron Paul supporters also came to Mike Huckabee.

Romney gained 57 votes. Suppose for a moment that some of those votes came from McCain supporters... That is most likely.

73 voters walked out of the convention, opting not to vote more than once.

In the West Virginia convention process, we all need to understand that a non viable candidate, like McCain and Paul in the first vote, will require that their delegates have a legitimate second choice. Their motivation to vote should not be called into question. That is called poor sportsmanship. That is being nothing more than a sour grape!

Romney gained votes on the second choice, but Huckabee gained more. It may be that some delegates were undecided as to their second choice, and were instructed that they should support Huckabee. That is the process in this type of venue.

To quote Romney himself: Quit Whining!

A loss is a loss, and that is what Romney took in West Virginia. Learn to lose with dignity, learn to lose with grace. Stop being sour grapes!