Markos notes that conservative partisans pushed the Rev. Wright (manufactured) controversy hot and heavy in the deep red, Deep South Mississippi 1st Congressional District special election, with the NRCC spending $1.3 million it can barely afford and other conservative 527s and PACs spending gobs more.
The conservatives’ hypocritical, borderline-racist and anti-Christian efforts to demonize a black Christian pastor had no effect.
Dem Travis Childers won the special election by a healthy margin in a Republican district that is normally R+10 and that Bush won in 2004 with 63%. That makes the Dems 3 for 3 in red seat special elections this year. The wave began with now-Cong. Bill Foster picking up former GOP Speaker Denny Hastert’s seat right here in Illinois and was followed by strongly-R open districts in Louisiana and now Mississippi also switching to Democratic hands.
As the saying goes, a lot can happen between now and November … but wow … and ouch.
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May 14, 2008 at 2:20 am
goodtimepolitics
Oh it had an effect just didn’t last long enough, it will last alot longer in the general election! Its going to get ugly soon.
May 14, 2008 at 8:54 am
robnesvacil
Good Time…
It is indeed going to get even uglier, which leads me to think the American people are going to get even more disgusted with the conservative partisans peddling such ugliness (as opposed to those honest conservatives holding true to their conscience).
May 14, 2008 at 8:56 am
robnesvacil
PS Good Time,
Polls have shown Pres. Bush to be a much heavier weight on Republicans — from McCain on down — than this Christian pastor.
Thinking any sort of “effect just didn’t last long enough” is a pipe dream.
May 14, 2008 at 11:54 pm
dan l
Off topic: Rob this is too funny to not show you.
Remember how Dan Proft is posting as a college co-ed who’s just obsessed with loving Dan Proft?
http://julianajohnson.blogivists.com/
It’s just too funny.
May 15, 2008 at 6:28 am
robnesvacil
Hi Dan,
I noticed that a while ago.
Ms. Johnson now declares she’s officially “working” for him. They’re like bobbsey twins, replete with dull, outdated plots.
She/he/it crossposted that same “Archimedes-in-a-pantsuit” half-ass tripe at ILGOPNET and Illinois Review, perhaps others as well.
I covered it, and the lies contained therein, here earlier last week.
May 15, 2008 at 6:34 am
robnesvacil
PS Dan,
This is even funnier. It just goes on and on and on.
I’ve heard of crossposting, but Mr. Proft is actually paying Ms. Johnson to sit there and copy-and-paste his flotsam all over the net. Apparently good work, if you can find another who is equally desperate for such self-promotion. Must be compensating for something….
May 15, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Chris
Just a quick question, is Bill Foster relatively conservative? Not that there’s anything wrong with being “conservative” per se. I’m just wondering since I don’t know much about the guy. I’m from Illinois but deep south Illinois and we don’t get any coverage of that stuff down here. And to be honest I didn’t follow that race at all. It’s my understanding that Foster is not conservative, at least certainly not in the Republican, drug addicted Limbaugh, Fox News sort of way. Just curious.
May 15, 2008 at 2:49 pm
robnesvacil
I’d say more moderate than anything. He ran on strongly opposing the cons’ attempts to shred the 4th Amendment through their Protect AT&T Act, among other issues. But he’s also recently voted counter to the party in Congress on a few issues.
In other words, he’s independent and moderate.
That said, the 14th had been represented by Hastert for quite some time and is (on paper) an R-leaning district; similar to the 8th represented very capably by Rep. Melissa Bean.
May 15, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Chris
Cool! Thanks! I knew it was a huge pickup for the Dems, especially considering it’s Hastert’s home base. It’s just that I followed the race none and really only knew that Foster had won without knowing much about him. Plus, I had a friend in Sfield tell me that the only reason Foster won was because he ran like a Republican. Of course I find that hard to believe, and write today on my blog about the GOP trying to convince everyone that Dems are only winning because they are stealing their issues.
May 15, 2008 at 3:40 pm
robnesvacil
Considering how many Republicans want to give AT&T and other Telcos blanket immunity for violating the 4th Amendment just because Pres. Bush ordered them to break the law, I’d say running on a vocal platform opposing such BS is not running “like a Republican.”
What a bunch of baloney. Apparently, your friend needs to wake up to the fact that voters no longer like what Republicans stand for and that is why these special elections are seeing one seat after another change to Dem seats.