Bring it on, Karl baby. Bring it on, doughboy. Bring on your little whiteboard.Leading conservative Mark Levin on fellow leading conservative Karl Rove. The remark is emblematic of the civil war brewing in the GOP: On the one side are pragmatists like Rove, who believe the Republican Party needs to nominate more moderate candidates in order to win elections; on the other side are idealists like Levin, who would rather see radical right-wingers lose elections than moderate Republicans win ‘em. The Tea Party contingent of the GOP is outraged at Rove’s newly-unveiled Conservative Victory Project, which seeks to intervene in Republican primaries to make sure that would-be Todd Akins don’t wind up with the nomination. source
If 2010 was the year the Tea Party cost the GOP several winnable seats, then 2012 could be the year Republicans’ own candidates cost them control of the Senate.The Atlantic’s Josh Kraushaar • Commenting on the slew of weak GOP candidates running for the Senate this year. Kraushaar makes a subtle but important distinction between now and 2010, when Republicans lost several winnable Senate seats by nominating weak candidates (here are two examples). In 2010, many of the candidates in question were insurgent Tea Party types who—to the chagrin of party elites—ran against establishment Republicans in the primaries and only gathered reluctant, late support from the party. This year, however, it’s the establishment’s own hand-picked candidates who are underperforming in polls. The first candidate profiled in the piece, 31-year-old Josh Mandel, is a good case study of why being young and sharp doesn’t necessarily translate to political skill. A refreshing read for election buffs tired of presidential coverage. source (via • follow)
I want to apologize for being so late, I know that’s not respectful of your time, so please accept my apology. We started out at about five o’clock in the morning at Fox and Friends and we’ve gone nonstop until the final stop at CNN a few minutes ago.Christine O’Donnell • Talking to the Women’s National Republican Club in NYC on Wednesday night — a meeting she had apparently double-booked with the taping of “Piers Morgan Tonight” — you know, the one she walked out on after being asked a question about gay marriage. Sounds like someone made up a mini-controversy in an effort to get out of something. source (via • follow)
Welcome back, Christine! Piers Morgan asked Christine O’Donnell about gay marriage, and she wouldn’t discuss the topic because it wasn’t relevant to her book. She’s gonna talk about what she wants to talk about, and that ain’t gay marriage. “We turned down another interview,” she says. Hey Piers, ignore the comments about you being rude. You’re always charming in our book. Christine O’Donnell, meanwhile, is now on the same level as Carrie Prejean. source
And the ball continues to roll: Earlier this year, a spat of polls showed, for the first time, majority support for same-sex marriage. Last weekend, New York state passed the Marriage Equality Act, granting equal marriage rights to all New Yorkers. Now, thirteen US Senators have filmed an “It Gets Better” video. When you think about the political prospects for gay rights even five years ago, this is kind of astounding — these thirteen individuals (all Democrats; Republicans apparently weren’t asked to participate) are amongst the most powerful people in the most powerful country in the world. Much respect to Senator Chris Coons for posting this; Coons, you’ll recall, was the 2010 candidate everybody wrote off until the Republicans nominated Christine O’Donnell to run against him. So, in a weird way, we have O’Donnell to thank for this video. Thanks, Christine! (via gaywrites, thegayrepublican) source
I want to congratulate Conan O’Brien and his crew. They’re back on television tonight. I don’t know when… son of a bitch! They’re on the same time as me. Now I’ll never be able to watch me.Jon Stewart • Making a hilarious but well-placed commendation of Conan O’Brien’s return to late night on last night’s “The Daily Show.” Letterman, George Lopez and Craig Ferguson also made some pretty good send-offs to the returning late-night host. Note that none of those guys are on NBC. Just saying. (On a side note, Leno’s getting fellow pariah Christine O’Donnell later this week. Fitting?) source (via • follow)
No, we don’t think there’s anything wrong with what Christine O’Donnell did on Halloween three years ago. We think there’s something wrong with what she’s done every day since, though. And we’re happy to expose the hypocrisy.A post from “The Staff of Gawker.com” • Explaining their rationale for the Christine O’Donnnell one-night stand piece. While one might consider this a fair rationale (and there’s a lot of explanation here backing up their point), we’re not so sure. Who does it benefit to inform the world of this woman’s grooming options? And like we said earlier, it’s not like this is going to change anything. O’Donnell is already unpopular among voters. Know when to pick your battles, Gawker Media. The iPhone 4 thing was impressive, and a perfect example of when your paying-for-stories method almost kinda works. The Brett Favre thing, while not particularly classy, came at the nadir of his popularity and made sense from an coverage standpoint. This just feels wrong, and dirty. source (via)
We’re asking the National Republican Senatorial to help us shine a spotlight on my opponent’s negative record. We’re hoping that the National Republican Senatorial Committee will help us. But it’s two and a half weeks left, and they’re not.Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell • Talking on ABC’s “This Week” about how she can’t get help from the national GOP in fighting Chris Coons. But the same day as the interview, she had this to say to a local rotary club: “If you want a senator who has had to fight her own party and is still fighting her own party, please vote O’Donnell for U.S. Senate.” Hmmmmmmmmm. One point to make here is that she’s kicking Coons’ butt when it comes to spending, including getting the maximum donation from the NRSC. But she’s still losing. source (via)
OH GOD. WE LOVE THIS MAN. Could we get your autograph or something, dude? This is a viral video classic in the making, friends. (via villagevoice)
“I’m You” parody: “America is a 300-pound bearded diabetic man”