Did Cooter bring down Eric Cantor?

[Ravi]

"Open primaries" is a remarkably stupid idea, frankly, but it does allow for that possibility.

why? People should be allowed to vote for whomever they please. Especially in a gerrymandered district where there is little to no chance that their party will win.

 

[manifold]

"Open primaries" is a remarkably stupid idea, frankly, but it does allow for that possibility.

why? People should be allowed to vote for whomever they please. Especially in a gerrymandered district where there is little to no chance that their party will win.

I'd go a step farther and say that closed primaries are remarkably undemocratic and unAmerican.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The GOP establishment is stupid like that. Sounds very much like the kind of blathering bullshit offered by Fakey, in fact.

Silly reactionary, you.

There is no infighting, there is an insurgency in the Party that is being stamped out.

Very few victories of note have gone TP: Dan Patrick, Thad Cochrain, Scat Brat (who is not nearly as reactionary as the TP folks think).

Graham, McConnell, Cornyn easily turned back challenges in hard red states.

Listening is wrong to think the Party has been dragged right: the budget, debt, Cruz fiasco, etc., has shown the party is will to govern not obstruct.

 

[kwc57]

Did Cooter bring down Cantor? ? CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

One of the most powerful Republicans in Washington lost his seat Tuesday to an upstart political novice named Dave Brat. Cantor spent ten times the amount Brat did in an attempt to retain the seat he has held since 2001.

But maybe it wasn’t the breakout popularity of Brat or the unpopularity of Cantor that led to his defeat. Perhaps it was Cooter from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Last week former Rep. Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport in the TV series, issued a public appeal to urge Democrats to vote for Brat in Tuesday’s primary.

“By voting for David Brat in the Seventh District Republican primary, we Democrats, independents, and Libertarians can make a big difference in American politics. It is your right to cast that vote,” Jones wrote

In the low-turnout open primary, where Democrats can vote in Republican races, the idea is not so crazy. A little more than 10% of the electorate voted. Brat received 36,000 votes to Cantor’s nearly 29,000

But Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Brat also played a role in getting Democrats to vote against Cantor.

“You had Brat operatives going to Democratic Party committees, even on election eve, asking them to go to the polls to get rid of Eric Cantor,” Sabato said on CNN. “It had nothing to do with Dave Brat. There were robocalls to Democrats in that district, telling Democrats come out to the polls.”

Open primaries should be against the law.

 

[JakeStarkey]

NOW we see the liberal Democrat aparatchik, The New York Slimes, headlining a story about the GOP worrying that Party "infighting" may take a "toll" on them down the road.

The GOP establishment is stupid like that. Sounds very much like the kind of blathering bullshit offered by Fakey, in fact.

The establishment GOP is determined to NOT see the "message" from the voters who eject guys like Cantor.

But the message is rather stark and clear just the same:

We already HAVE a liberal Democrat Parody.

We do not NEED for the GOP to be a weak-ass pale imitation and duplicate of the fucking liberal Democrat Parody.

Not only do we not NEED it, we flat out don't WANT it.

Liberal Democrat policies (as enabled all to often and for far too long by a rudderless GOP) have taken us to THIS point in our history:

• People cant get jobs.
• A proposed "solution" to a health care "system" problem is making the problem vastly worse and more expensive and inefficient.
• We have a tax system that has taken us to the edge, if not OVER the edge, of socialism.
• We have a fake economic policy complete with devalued money and a printing press for more valueless money.
• We have weakened our military and the rest of the world HAS taken notice and reacted accordingly.
• We have no foreign policy worthy of the name, but we project weakness to our allies and enemies alike.
• We have pretty completely abandoned the required notion of a LIMITED Government of ENUMERATED powers.
• We have a President who thinks he can RULE with a pen and a phone.
• We have a pathetic excuse for a Legislative Branch that offers the Executive almost no opposition.

We don't need more of the same. Fuck. We can't AFFORD more of the same. We NEED to prevent the liberal Democrat policies from progressing ANY further. THEN we need to retrench. We NEED to move BACK to the fundamentals that HAD taken us to more lofty heights.

For every tiny step that some socialist Alinskyite community organizer takes to move America even deeper into the morass of what we laughably call "progressivism," we need to make sure that we position ourselves to take a giant step BACK toward the fundamentals and AWAY from their hideously inept "vision."

[youtube]g4bftQ4xxFc[/youtube]

^ the sophisticated level of unmanli's debating prowess is always entertaining.

And accurate.

 

[rightwinger]

Did Cooter bring down Cantor? ? CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

One of the most powerful Republicans in Washington lost his seat Tuesday to an upstart political novice named Dave Brat. Cantor spent ten times the amount Brat did in an attempt to retain the seat he has held since 2001.

But maybe it wasn’t the breakout popularity of Brat or the unpopularity of Cantor that led to his defeat. Perhaps it was Cooter from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Last week former Rep. Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport in the TV series, issued a public appeal to urge Democrats to vote for Brat in Tuesday’s primary.

“By voting for David Brat in the Seventh District Republican primary, we Democrats, independents, and Libertarians can make a big difference in American politics. It is your right to cast that vote,” Jones wrote

In the low-turnout open primary, where Democrats can vote in Republican races, the idea is not so crazy. A little more than 10% of the electorate voted. Brat received 36,000 votes to Cantor’s nearly 29,000

But Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Brat also played a role in getting Democrats to vote against Cantor.

“You had Brat operatives going to Democratic Party committees, even on election eve, asking them to go to the polls to get rid of Eric Cantor,” Sabato said on CNN. “It had nothing to do with Dave Brat. There were robocalls to Democrats in that district, telling Democrats come out to the polls.”

Open primaries should be against the law.

I agree

You should not be able to show up at a primary and decide whether you should get in the Democratic line or the Republican line

 

[manifold]

Did Cooter bring down Cantor? ? CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

One of the most powerful Republicans in Washington lost his seat Tuesday to an upstart political novice named Dave Brat. Cantor spent ten times the amount Brat did in an attempt to retain the seat he has held since 2001.

But maybe it wasn’t the breakout popularity of Brat or the unpopularity of Cantor that led to his defeat. Perhaps it was Cooter from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Last week former Rep. Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport in the TV series, issued a public appeal to urge Democrats to vote for Brat in Tuesday’s primary.

“By voting for David Brat in the Seventh District Republican primary, we Democrats, independents, and Libertarians can make a big difference in American politics. It is your right to cast that vote,” Jones wrote

In the low-turnout open primary, where Democrats can vote in Republican races, the idea is not so crazy. A little more than 10% of the electorate voted. Brat received 36,000 votes to Cantor’s nearly 29,000

But Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Brat also played a role in getting Democrats to vote against Cantor.

“You had Brat operatives going to Democratic Party committees, even on election eve, asking them to go to the polls to get rid of Eric Cantor,” Sabato said on CNN. “It had nothing to do with Dave Brat. There were robocalls to Democrats in that district, telling Democrats come out to the polls.”

Open primaries should be against the law.

I agree

You should not be able to show up at a primary and decide whether you should get in the Democratic line or the Republican line

I couldn't possibly disagree more.

But then again I'm a fan of democracy.

 

[Interpol]

It wasn't because of Cooter. It was because Cantor lacked the personal touch with the voters in his district.

Some folks say it's because of his immigration stance. But even when polled, the voters in his district give an 84% to the idea of fixing immigration and having some kind of comprehensive reform.

Other GOP stalwarts have all won their primaries. Cantor is the only thing the Tea Party has really scored so far this election season.

Cantor never really campaigned. Why? Because his dumbass pollster, the same guy who said Romney was going to crush Obama by 5 points (nobody got 2012 more wrong than Cantor's pollster) said that Cantor was going to win by 34 points. He lost by about 12.

Even on the morning of his eventual defeat, he was gathering lobbyists to raise money for other candidates in the fall.

He lost because of his cluelessness. One thing that runs through the blood of all voters, either lib or con, is that they at least want to feel like you're sincerely courting their vote. Cantor failed when it came to retail politics and over the last little while I think his district began to see him as an empty suit.

Of course, Republicans will take all the wrong things away from Cantor's defeat, like how this means the country doesn't want immigration reform even though Cantor's own district polls at 84% on fixing immigration instead of doing nothing.

I think this does mean it's open season on a number of people who have served more than a couple terms. The target this fall seems to be an overall contempt of incumbency, and the one other key race where we're seeing that play out is in Kentucky, as Mitch McConnell's favorability has gone to record lows. Cantor and McConnell seem to not generate much excitement out there on the stump.

I don't know how big the wave will be in November, but it seems a number of people, perhaps on both sides of the aisle, who seem to be perceived as career politicians, will have the fight of their lives in the fall.

 

[Ravi]

Did Cooter bring down Cantor? ? CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

One of the most powerful Republicans in Washington lost his seat Tuesday to an upstart political novice named Dave Brat. Cantor spent ten times the amount Brat did in an attempt to retain the seat he has held since 2001.

But maybe it wasn’t the breakout popularity of Brat or the unpopularity of Cantor that led to his defeat. Perhaps it was Cooter from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Last week former Rep. Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport in the TV series, issued a public appeal to urge Democrats to vote for Brat in Tuesday’s primary.

“By voting for David Brat in the Seventh District Republican primary, we Democrats, independents, and Libertarians can make a big difference in American politics. It is your right to cast that vote,” Jones wrote

In the low-turnout open primary, where Democrats can vote in Republican races, the idea is not so crazy. A little more than 10% of the electorate voted. Brat received 36,000 votes to Cantor’s nearly 29,000

But Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Brat also played a role in getting Democrats to vote against Cantor.

“You had Brat operatives going to Democratic Party committees, even on election eve, asking them to go to the polls to get rid of Eric Cantor,” Sabato said on CNN. “It had nothing to do with Dave Brat. There were robocalls to Democrats in that district, telling Democrats come out to the polls.”

Open primaries should be against the law.

I agree

You should not be able to show up at a primary and decide whether you should get in the Democratic line or the Republican line

Why not?

 

[manifold]

Any voter who takes his/her civic responsibility seriously and shows up to vote on primary day should be allowed to cast a vote for the candidate they like best, regardless of party affiliation.

 

[Ravi]

Any voter who takes his/her civic responsibility seriously and shows up to vote on primary day should be allowed to cast a vote for the candidate they like best, regardless of party affiliation.

Or even vote for the lesser of two evils.

 

[rightwinger]

It wasn't because of Cooter. It was because Cantor lacked the personal touch with the voters in his district.

Some folks say it's because of his immigration stance. But even when polled, the voters in his district give an 84% to the idea of fixing immigration and having some kind of comprehensive reform.

Other GOP stalwarts have all won their primaries. Cantor is the only thing the Tea Party has really scored so far this election season.

Cantor never really campaigned. Why? Because his dumbass pollster, the same guy who said Romney was going to crush Obama by 5 points (nobody got 2012 more wrong than Cantor's pollster) said that Cantor was going to win by 34 points. He lost by about 12.

Even on the morning of his eventual defeat, he was gathering lobbyists to raise money for other candidates in the fall.

He lost because of his cluelessness. One thing that runs through the blood of all voters, either lib or con, is that they at least want to feel like you're sincerely courting their vote. Cantor failed when it came to retail politics and over the last little while I think his district began to see him as an empty suit.

Of course, Republicans will take all the wrong things away from Cantor's defeat, like how this means the country doesn't want immigration reform even though Cantor's own district polls at 84% on fixing immigration instead of doing nothing.

I think this does mean it's open season on a number of people who have served more than a couple terms. The target this fall seems to be an overall contempt of incumbency, and the one other key race where we're seeing that play out is in Kentucky, as Mitch McConnell's favorability has gone to record lows. Cantor and McConnell seem to not generate much excitement out there on the stump.

I don't know how big the wave will be in November, but it seems a number of people, perhaps on both sides of the aisle, who seem to be perceived as career politicians, will have the fight of their lives in the fall.

To me it makes some sense that voters would lose their love for Eric Cantor. He has never been a warm and cuddly guy and lacks that good ole boy persona.

But why would it reverse seemingly overnight? What was the turning point that made the voters swing so radically?
If Brat were a charismatic rising star I could see how he could unseat Cantor. But with a $200,000 campaign chest, he was below the radar. If he had such a good message, how did he get it across? He is not a mesmerizing public speaker

 

[kwc57]

Any voter who takes his/her civic responsibility seriously and shows up to vote on primary day should be allowed to cast a vote for the candidate they like best, regardless of party affiliation.

No. No they shouldn't. If several Republicans are running against each other, Republican voters should get to vote and decide on who their candidate will be in the general election. Same for Dems. Primaries are a culling process for party candidates in the general election which is then open to anyone voting for whoever they wish. Open primaries give rise to voting against an opposing party's candidate you don't like to keep them out of the general than voting for a candidate to represent your party in the general.

 

[manifold]

Any voter who takes his/her civic responsibility seriously and shows up to vote on primary day should be allowed to cast a vote for the candidate they like best, regardless of party affiliation.

No. No they shouldn't. If several Republicans are running against each other, Republican voters should get to vote and decide on who their candidate will be in the general election. Same for Dems. Primaries are a culling process for party candidates in the general election which is then open to anyone voting for whoever they wish. Open primaries give rise to voting against an opposing party's candidate you don't like to keep them out of the general than voting for a candidate to represent your party in the general.

You can take your mind-reading horseshit and shove it back up your ass.

Let me guess, you're also a huge fan of hate crimes laws, right?

 

[BlindBoo]

LOL. If a Tea Party backed candidate wins over an establishment Republican, it couldn't POSSIBLY be that the Republicans in a Republican district were sending a message to the GOP that the direction of the GOP is all fucked up.

Oh no.

It HAS to be that some liberal/Democrat/"independent" organized a cross over vote in the primary to oust the mainline establishment Republican.

So the outcome of a GOP primary is a mark of success for the ever-devious Democratics.

Yes. Yes.

Certainly. That MUST be it.

The way their propaganda arm is portraying it as a huge schism in the GOP (when really the Teabag factions influence within the GOP is waning). Also, the vote totals are higher in a off year primary than they were during a Presidential election in 2012? The pollsters got it so wrong because they didn't include many democrats. Yes I think there is a good possibility that it was Democrats that unseated Cantor.

>>snore<<

My prior post (citing the Washington POST piece) seems to refute that baseless speculation of yours.

How many other primaries have the Teabag faction won this year so far?

 

[kwc57]

Any voter who takes his/her civic responsibility seriously and shows up to vote on primary day should be allowed to cast a vote for the candidate they like best, regardless of party affiliation.

No. No they shouldn't. If several Republicans are running against each other, Republican voters should get to vote and decide on who their candidate will be in the general election. Same for Dems. Primaries are a culling process for party candidates in the general election which is then open to anyone voting for whoever they wish. Open primaries give rise to voting against an opposing party's candidate you don't like to keep them out of the general than voting for a candidate to represent your party in the general.

You can take your mind-reading horseshit and shove it back up your ass.

Let me guess, you're also a huge fan of hate crimes laws, right?

I have no interest in engaging in your ass fetish honey.

As for your out of left field mind reading blurt, a Republican primary and a Democrat primary should be exactly what their name implies and should be limited to the registered members of those parties. It's called commonsense. Otherwise it's called an election. If everyone can vote on everyone, cut to the chase and just call it the general election and the guy with the most votes wins.

Hate crimes laws? WTF, do you have interwebs tourettes? I'm libertarian, so no.

 

[manifold]

No. No they shouldn't. If several Republicans are running against each other, Republican voters should get to vote and decide on who their candidate will be in the general election. Same for Dems. Primaries are a culling process for party candidates in the general election which is then open to anyone voting for whoever they wish. Open primaries give rise to voting against an opposing party's candidate you don't like to keep them out of the general than voting for a candidate to represent your party in the general.

You can take your mind-reading horseshit and shove it back up your ass.

Let me guess, you're also a huge fan of hate crimes laws, right?

I have no interest in engaging in your ass fetish honey.

As for your out of left field mind reading blurt, a Republican primary and a Democrat primary should be exactly what their name implies and should be limited to the registered members of those parties. It's called commonsense. Otherwise it's called an election. If everyone can vote on everyone, cut to the chase and just call it the general election and the guy with the most votes wins.

Hate crimes laws? WTF, do you have interwebs tourettes? I'm libertarian, so no.

Your reason for opposing open primaries is because it allows people "cross-over" and undermine the interests of a particular party to which they don't belong. That presupposes the notion that you know why they're voting the way they do... i.e. mind-reading. Locking people out of primary elections does nothing to further the cause of democracy or government by the people, for the people and of the people. In fact, all it does is give the two major parties an even stronger stranglehold on the political process. You might consider that a good thing, to which we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[birddog]

I still think Cantor got ambushed by the Dems

Polls have a margin for error but the swing with Cantor was close to 40%. Something happened behind the scenes and it wasn't voter disgust

Just another example how sneaky and unethical the dems are!

Seems ethical when Rush tries it

First, when Rush did it, he was open and honest about it.

Secondly, Rush was not running for office.

 

[rightwinger]

Just another example how sneaky and unethical the dems are!

Seems ethical when Rush tries it

First, when Rush did it, he was open and honest about it.

Secondly, Rush was not running for office.

Brat was running for office and he urged Democrats to cross over and vote for him

But Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Brat also played a role in getting Democrats to vote against Cantor.

&#8220;You had Brat operatives going to Democratic Party committees, even on election eve, asking them to go to the polls to get rid of Eric Cantor,&#8221; Sabato said on CNN. &#8220;It had nothing to do with Dave Brat. There were robocalls to Democrats in that district, telling Democrats come out to the polls.&#8221;

 

[manifold]

Seems ethical when Rush tries it

First, when Rush did it, he was open and honest about it.

Secondly, Rush was not running for office.

Brat was running for office and he urged Democrats to cross over and vote for him

But Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Brat also played a role in getting Democrats to vote against Cantor.

“You had Brat operatives going to Democratic Party committees, even on election eve, asking them to go to the polls to get rid of Eric Cantor,” Sabato said on CNN. “It had nothing to do with Dave Brat. There were robocalls to Democrats in that district, telling Democrats come out to the polls.”

I remember when the early Tea Party rallies were said to be comprised of concerned citizens from all political parties and walks of life.

And now we have sour-grapes conservatives bemoaning the notion that democrats might actually support a Tea Party candidate.

Good stuff.