About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

American Zeitgeist
Author: BobR    Date: 05/19/2010 12:32:33

Pundits love to pontificate on what they believe Americans think. To them, we can all be boiled down into just a handful of "types", and in their minds our feelings are easily read and our reactions easily predicted. There are specific segments that can certainly be counted on to have knee-jerk reactions to events (typically the arbiters of the left and right), but how most Americans will react is much more fluid. Like clouds they are always changing, and differ depending on where you are in the country.

The elections held yesterday tell a few tales, mostly of a "vote the bums" out variety, but not so much an anti-democrat or anti-liberal variety.

The biggest surprise is that Arlen Spector lost in the Democratic primary to Joe Sestak. I'll always respect Arlen for being one of the few Republicans (at the time) to stand up to Bush when Bush was trying to usurp Congress's power. However, his change of parties seemed disingenuous and self-interested, and I'm guessing the voters felt he might not be a "real" Democrat.

Blanche Lincoln also "lost" in that she didn't win a majority and is headed for a runoff against a more liberal opponent. After the counting, her lead is less than the statistical margin of error. A third candidate in the race siphoned off enough votes to be a "spoiler"; the runoff should be interesting to see which of the remaining two candidates get those votes.

On the other side of the ideological coin, Teabagger Rand Paul won the Republican primary over GOP-anointed Trey Grayson. This is also a loss for Mitch McConnell, who supported Grayson. Should McConnell be worried? Probably...

The Rand Paul victory should also be a wake up call to liberals and progressives who gleefully think the teabaggers are going to be spoilers for the Republicans. They are only going to be spoilers if they run as third parties in the general election. If they are winning Republican primaries in heavily Republican areas, things are only going to get uglier in Washington.

There are also the smaller races to consider. The Tea Party is doing something the Green Party was never able to do - build a foundation from the ground up. Perhaps because they understand that it takes work and dedication; simply running a presidential candidate every 4 years will not create a viable 3rd party. Keep an eye on your local races.

For now, the supporters of the tea party seem to be almost entirely the right-wing of the GOP, not "independents" or true Libertarians as they claim. The predicted demise of the Democrats in this election year has not gone as predicted. One of the races that Democrats were expected to lose was the special election for late Paul Murtha's seat. Democrat Mark Critz won that seat, and won it by a healthy margin (8 points). Given the political analysis of the American zeitgeist by the pundits, this should have been an easy Republican win.

To me, this all says that the voters are becoming a bit more polarized. With more liberal and progressive candidates winning, and the tea party candidates winning, it seems that the voters are tired of the squishy middle. They want action, and they want it now. What exactly that action should be varies based on their political ideology, but it seems that watered down legislation that emerges after months of negotiations is NOT making anyone happy.

Still to be determined in November: Whether the majority of voters want to shift Congress to the left or to the right. That's a mindset that no one can predict at this point. I'm hoping, though, that as ugly stories like this, this, and this become part of the discussion, that there will be a voter backlash against this kind of stupid hatred and suspicion promulgated by the tea partiers and right-wing pundits.


 

63 comments (Latest Comment: 05/20/2010 01:17:42 by trojanrabbit)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati

Add a Comment

Please login to add a comment...


Comments:

Order comments Newest to Oldest  Refresh Comments

Comment by wickedpam on 05/19/2010 12:53:44
MOrning



I'm not sure if the Teabaggers are so much building a foundation as they are stealing one from the GOP. They are going into GOP events, inciting crowds and taking their most right wing of bases.



If we are truely becoming a more polorized nation, I'm scared we are facing yet another civil war that may just break this county - it may just end up like what happened in RUssia where smaller nation/states break away. Maybe this is just the normal cycle of empires I don't know - but these people really do scare me with there anger and willingness to hurt people because of it

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:07:52
regarding Arlen Specter -- I don;t begrudge the President for backing an incumbent -- there is a really key issue here regarding the politics of it all.



We needed Specter for the Health care vote -- in return he got WH support.



The real Story here is Mitch MCConnel.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:09:03
Good Morning, BTW!





the other thing regarding all of these elections, that I want to see is what the turnout of Dems v Repubs were.



If more Dems came out to vote, that is a very very good thing.

Comment by wickedpam on 05/19/2010 13:13:57
agreed about Specter and the WH backing - its seems like a traditional DC deal - no harm no foul really

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:14:18
This is very good news for Kentucky --
Conway won a hard-fought primary with 44 percent of the vote to Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo's 43 percent. Mongiardo barely lost six years ago to retiring Republican Sen. Jim Bunning. Conway pointed out to supporters about his chances in the fall that he drew nearly 221,000 votes to Paul's 192,000 across the state.


Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:17:27
AND -- even taking the numbers of ALL the Senate primary candidates in both the Dem and Repubs-- MOre dems came out to vote in KEntucky -- It's also a closed primary state.



We can win a sit in kentucky friends!

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:19:30
Quote by wickedpam:

agreed about Specter and the WH backing - its seems like a traditional DC deal - no harm no foul really
Exactly -- the best person won that Primary --

I just don;t think this should be painted as a Obama failure at all.









Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 13:25:57
Morning, comrades!



This is all supposition; don't forget, the pundits wrote volumes about how Mass turned a little red....when in actuality the Dems put up a weak candidate that ran an ever weaker campaign. (BTW, she's running for re-election unopposed.)



You want to see something interesting locally, google "Tim Cahill" and the Republican Governor's Council sometime.





Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:26:57
A very good night for Democrats!
1. Joe Sestak beat Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. I think this makes the Democrats marginally more likely to hold the Senate seat. Toomey is a radical candidate, and Sestak's win strips him of the anti-incumbent sentiment that's his best shot. That's worth more to the democrats than Specter's superior political polish.



2. Democrats will run Jack Conway against Rand Paul. This puts the Kentucky Senate seat in play -- Rand is the favorite but Conway has a shot. I have a pet theory that a politician's name is a major factor -- I'd guess being named "Jack Conway" is worth several points more than being named "Daniel Mongiardo."



3. Democrats won the special election in Pennsylvania, seemingly by a large margin. I'm stunned. This is a district that voted for John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008 -- the only district in America that went for John Kerry in 2004 and flipped to McCain in 2008. It's also a district that Jack Murtha described as too racist to support Obama. It ought to be ground zero for an anti-Democratic backlash. Republicans failed to nationalize this race, and they failed to take advantage of the intensity gap in a special election.




Why I am feeling rawtha giddy!

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 13:34:04
Specter trivia:



He's been around long enough, he's the last surviving member of the Warren Commission.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:39:01
and here is the vote breakdown in Arkansas:



Lincoln ....................143,604



Halter ...................... 136,895



Morrison ...................41,824



Since it's going to a runoff, this could be very good news too for Halter. Halter lost by 6,709 votes....

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 13:41:10
Say, did you all catch the news out of Korea yesterday? If it's true, that's an act of war, and S. Korea would be fully justified to start shooting again.





Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 13:47:24
Quote by Raine:

and here is the vote breakdown in Arkansas:



Lincoln ....................143,604



Halter ...................... 136,895



Morrison ...................41,824



Since it's going to a runoff, this could be very good news too for Halter. Halter lost by 6,709 votes....
And no one is talking about the GOP results there but I think it's worth a look:



Boozman ...................... 72,094



Jim Holt .........................23,599



Gilbert Baker .................15,710



Conrad Reynolds ..........6,940



Curtis Coleman ............. 6,792



Kim Hendren .................5,247



Randy Alexander ...........4,130



Fred Ramey .................... 1,837



that is a total of 136,349 GOP votes -- The TOTAL of Dem Votes were 322, 323 --- I think that things are looking pretty good for Arkansas as well.



Comment by Scoopster on 05/19/2010 14:07:23
Morning all!



Let's keep in mind something about Rand Paul also.. He's a firm objectivist Libertarian, possibly moreso than his father. His support from the Tea Party movement comes not necessarily from all the anti-Obama & anti-incumbent wave that is developing, but from the fact that he was part of the real Tea Party movement before it was co-opted by a bunch of brainless twits, corportate goons and Republican party hacks.

Comment by BobR on 05/19/2010 14:14:37
and of course - the election results are all proof that Obama is tainted goods





Comment by livingonli on 05/19/2010 14:16:31
Good morning everyone. I have heard things indicating that turnout amongst Democrats was higher than that of the GOP in yesterday's primary. If that is true than despite the turnout of teabaggers in November, it might not be good news for them.

Comment by livingonli on 05/19/2010 14:18:38
I got the Hal Sparks stream on and I see Hal with Chris on the other side instead of Momma.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 14:18:41
Quote by BobR:

and of course - the election results are all proof that Obama is tainted goods



Wow. Just the headline is stupid.





Politics 101 -=- You endorse the incumbents. I'm fairly sure Obama knew how these 2 races would turn out.



No one is mentioning that we still have specter till next January - and that is going to be a lot of important votes.

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 14:37:56
Listening to the Keithcast....I'm a bit miffed at Chris Matthews getting the Titanic myth wrong. (I am a Titanic Geek.)



No man got off dressed as a woman; at least none that could be verified. The story is that a boy tried to get off on the starboard side, where Cmdr. Lightholler was enforcing a "women and children only" rule. None other than John Jacob Astor intervened; he took his wife's hat off her head, plopped it on the boy and said "Now he's a girl and he can go". His wife Madeline also got in the boat; Mr. Astor went down with the ship.









Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 14:38:36
I would really really like for people to start talking about the really big story here: Dems GOTV!

Comment by wickedpam on 05/19/2010 14:48:22
GOTV?

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 15:02:53
Quote by wickedpam:

GOTV?


Got Out The Vote

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 15:02:55
Say, was I being a big poopyhead by watching the Celtics last night instead of my other favorite sport?

Comment by wickedpam on 05/19/2010 15:06:22
Quote by Raine:

Quote by wickedpam:

GOTV?


Got Out The Vote






I like it

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 15:11:40
Isn't GOTV some Asian porn channel?

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 15:12:15
Quote by TriSec:

Say, was I being a big poopyhead by watching the Celtics last night instead of my other favorite sport?


Only if it makes you feel bad --



I know how you Bostonians like to beat yourselves up...

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 15:22:06
Oh, Rachel just mentioned it on the podcast...and I posted this to FB this morning.



We have crossed the 1,000 KIA mark in Afghanistan. (Yesterday.)





Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 15:33:27
Enjoying this Rita Cosby interview -- and I didn't really think I would....

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 15:34:45
Aaaand Adm. Thad Allen rather blandly said that BP seems to be on-target for their goal date of completing that relief well.....August 14.





Comment by livingonli on 05/19/2010 15:49:00
Quote by Raine:

Enjoying this Rita Cosby interview -- and I didn't really think I would....


I'm still waiting for the chopper.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 15:57:46
Conservative Women's Group: Souder Affair Shows 'It Could Happen To Anyone'







Yeah -- Except if your a Dem --- then you get impeached... Right?



Bunch of frackin hypocrites. And people still think they should be trusted to run Government????

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 16:05:22
Now I like this -- Thom sounds HAPPY!!!!!!

Comment by wickedpam on 05/19/2010 16:05:39
Failwhale is a whore - must be a republican

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 16:43:14
Just read in the Palm Beach Post....



We're all familiar with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, right?



Now there's one in the Atlantic, too.



Wall-e was right; we'll be overrun by garbage pretty soon.



Comment by Scoopster on 05/19/2010 16:53:02
Okay I think they're taking the save the planet thing a little too seriously now...



http://crispgreen.com/files/2008/11/image13.png


Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 18:07:32
In congress: Rep John Hall gets BP to reveal cost of BP's greenwash campaign: 10-12 million last year, 20 million this year.







And they Didn't bother with a 500 thousand dollar piece of equipment because they weren't required to.

Comment by wickedpam on 05/19/2010 18:07:40
Comment by livingonli on 05/19/2010 18:13:41
Quote by Raine:

In congress: Rep John Hall gets BP to reveal cost of BP's greenwash campaign: 10-12 million last year, 20 million this year.







And they Didn't bother with a 500 thousand dollar piece of equipment because they weren't required to.


It seems like they care more about their image than actually doing the right thing since they were too cheap to buy that part.

Comment by TriSec on 05/19/2010 18:37:09
Ya know, as much as I love the Palm Beaches, I think I could take seeing them fouled...just as long as it all comes ashore on Rush And mAnn Coulter's property...



I'd still cry, though. Lake Worth and MacArthur Beach sure won't be the same.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:01:48
Tri -- I added the petition link to you Blog from last nite.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:02:33
I also tweeted it.





Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:47:17
Cloture vote happening now. This is the Wall Street Reform vote, folks...

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:48:44
Quote by Raine:

Cloture vote happening now. This is the Wall Street Reform vote, folks...


So far Cantwell and Feingold have voted no.

Comment by Scoopster on 05/19/2010 19:49:13
Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:50:46
We need a few Repubs to start voting Aye -- otherwise this is going to get a big ass fillibuster...

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:51:07
Bennet Colorado : Aye



Good news.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:52:36
Susan Collins Aye

Tom Harkin Aye



(good news) I am pretty sure this is going to go foward.

Comment by Raine on 05/19/2010 19:54:54
Scott Brown: No



Blanche Lincoln: Aye