Scott Rigell: The Anti-Tea Party Candidate?

Tale of the Tape in the 2nd District Race (0.00 / 0)

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by: Dan Sullivan @ Thu May 20, 2010 at 21:04:40 PM UTC

I feel I got up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday, and again today. (0.00 / 0)

Hearing Rand Paul with Rachel Maddow last night, reading here about Scott Rigell's outrageous effort to increase Hampton Roads sales tax by 22% in 2002, and reading most days about Attorney General Cuccinelli's actions, makes me wonder if I'm in the funny house.  Wow, while I'm writing this, Rachel is talking about the secret nonprofit charity having been run by Bobby Thompson that donated quite a bit to Virginian politicians especially to AG Cuccinelli.

I grew up in segregated Virginia, began when I was 12 years old to understand about inequality because I saw it all around me.  Folks acted more "civilized" in the 1950s before the Supreme Court decided Brown v Board of Education. Then all hell broke loose and for about 20 years, a lot of US citizens behaved very badly.

We've watched Wall Street practice economic injustices and those are all around us still as Scott Rigell recently demonstrated; actually, the Senate Republicans continued to support them tonight when 37 voted against cleaning Wall Street up.

I hope I won't get up on the wrong side of the bed tomorrow because I want to believe America is maturing. I keep reminding myself that we could have two women from North Carolina and a progressive Democrat from Arkansas in the US Senate next January.  I do believe America is maturing and I'm going to keep my head out of the funny house, starting tomorrow morning.

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by: walkabout @ Fri May 21, 2010 at 01:44:31 AM UTC

Hard to believe, but (0.00 / 0)

Glenn Nye is still viable.  6 months ago I wouldn't have given 5 cents for his chances of re-election.  But the state and national GOP has glued itself to Rigell, and there are pretty clearly some problems b/t him and the Tea Party.

Kenny Golden in particular seems like a potential Perot-style spoiler.

The trouble for Nye is, in the end I think the TP's bark is far louder than its bite.  It's not an actual third party, and it's questionable (Rand Paul notwithstanding) how much the TP voters will really separate from the GOP in November in races (like this one) where the GOP isn't kowtowing completely.

In my view the TP is in truth an identity marker, not an organization: it's a phenomenon that primarily allows angry members of the Republican base a greater sense of melodrama in their opposition to Obama.

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by: dgjudy @ Fri May 21, 2010 at 15:21:46 PM UTC