Signs Of The GOPocalypse
Posted on October 10th, 2008
by Daniel Larison |
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In what may be another signal that the troubled economy is forcing John McCain’s campaign to play electoral map defense, Sarah Palin has scheduled a bus tour for Sunday through West Virginia [bold mine-DL], a state that’s been leaning red throughout this presidential race. ~CNN Political Ticker
Obviously, if the campaign is trying to hold West Virginia, which should be far out of reach for Obama, the GOP ticket’s position is even worse than it appears. In other Palin-related news that seems likely to spell doom for the McCain campaign, the investigation into her alleged abuse of power determined that she had, in fact, abused her power as governor. The full report (.PDF) is here. In addition, a FoxNews poll confirms that Palin has become a significant liability: 40% of independents are less likely to vote for McCain because of her versus 28% who were more likely.
P.S. As an aside, the public still opposes the bailout 53-34.
Filed under: politics
He was always a mediocre candidate. Once the economy tanked, he had little chance. West Virginia’s always been a bit of a swing state, not least because most of its population is broke or struggling and are traditional New Deal Democrats. I’m not sure why it’s so obvious that it should not be contested.
That all said, I find the political campaign increasingly boring compared to the complex, fascinating, and ever-changing economic news, which sadly neither candidate seems well equipped to address in a way that won’t lead to a significant and larger meltdown down the road.
West Virginia hasn’t voted for a Democrat since 1996, and it went to Bush with double-digit margins in both of his elections. After the primaries showed how hostile people were to Obama there, it was widely assumed that there was no chance of a Democratic pick-up there. Obama was on track to win without carrying WV, which virtually no Democrat has done in modern elections, and everyone took it for granted that he would not be competitive there. Whether or not it is boring, it is quite unexpected.
It’s hard to say what’s weirder, the GOP fearing Obama, who tanked in the primary, might win WVa, or W leading a socialist revolution from above.
I think Obama winning WV is far more unexpected and still more unlikely. It’s not that strange that the so-called “compassionate conservative” signed off on the latest measures. After all, I think it’s the comp-con motto: when investment bankers are hurting, the government’s got to move.
The dictatorship of the bondholders.
“Arise, ye prisoners of deflation. . .”
I read elsewhere that one of the reasons they’re sending Palin to West Virginia is that they’re now sending her places where she can do the least harm. If they keep her holed up, or send her to deep red states, it will show they realize what a disaster she is. If they send her to places that matter, like Florida or Ohio, where she can rally up the pitchfork and white sheet crowd, they risk turning off independents. But if they send her to small, McCain-leaning states, she can’t do much harm one way or the other.
A plausible explanation.
Could be. She certainly hasn’t helped in Florida or Pennsylvania. However, her trip to Omaha the other day was widely interpreted as a sign that the electoral vote for NE-02 is up for grabs or at least that the McCain camp is worried that it is. She lamely claimed that she just wanted to go to Nebraska, but based on that and now this WV episode I think she is being sent to put out fires in places where McCain ought to be safe. Some polling does show WV tilting towards Obama, so they have some reason to start worrying. If they start losing WV and central Nebraska, though, we really could be looking at total meltdown.
The Bush Internationale:
GOM wins the thread and match.