Mitch McConnell and his crony, big donor buddies are estimated to have spent $10 Million in Alabama (I have also heard $30M) because they preferred one Republican candidate over another Republican candidate. They lost their bet, and squandered millions of dollars that would have been helpful in next year’s senate races.
As a senator, Ray Moore is not my cup of hot chocolate. Too old and too cozy with an authoritarian state for my preferences. That said, I didn’t care about the Alabama race because I would have expected Strange and Moore to vote the same way almost all of the time. OTOH, I can hope this is a harbinger of a senate without the McCains, the Collinses ,the Flakes and their like that have spent their entire careers thwarting conservative reforms and Constitutional Government.
I suspect the GOP really doesn’t really want a 57 or 58 seat senate majority. I think they like it better that they can pretend to forward conservative agenda items and then blame their failures on the defection of a handful of left-leaning Republican senators.
If Republicans don’t like that the people rejected their chosen candidate, then they should repeal the 17th Amendment. I am actually in favor of that. Since it’s enactment, the US Senate has become a parliamentary body emphasizing the desires of the national parties rather than the interests of states. And I don’t like it.
Not crazy about Moore either, too theocratic in my opinion but this was a message President Trump needed to be reminded of. It’s not all about him and what he wants, it’s about us, we the people and what we want. He should have understood it’s not all about the money after the election he just won.
“That said, I didn’t care about the Alabama race”
I don’t have a horse in this fight, either.
Still, this is a potential turning point, and reinforces just how scared the Establishment really is.
For a few years, now (longer, I suppose, but I’ve only been paying attention since 2010), we’ve watched the GOPe devote more blood and treasure to fiercely beat down any non-Establishment candidate eyeing one of their seats — more fiercely by far than they fight either their D opponents or than even what they actually fight for on the Senate floor. They’ve lost some ground in the House, and of course That’s How You Got Trump, but their line has held fairly well in the Senate.
“I suspect the GOP really doesn’t really want a 57 or 58 seat senate majority.”
More of us agree with you every day. Right now they’re not only on track to get one anyway, but far more horrifically (to them), a dozen or so might do a lot of “damage” advancing Republican goals before their Keepers can be attached.
There’s sort of a theme here. I don’t and didn’t like Trump, and I don’t like Moore. But sometimes, it takes an imperfect vessel to accomplish something that needs to get done.
Since Rex ninja’d my First spot 🙂 let me add:
A lot of people who’ve claimed to know what the President “thinks” or “understands” have been consistently wrong.
Put me in the 11-Dimensional Chess camp on this one: I think he played both sides masterfully. He gave “Support” to the candidate that he needed to politically, and got the candidate he wanted. Buckle up, we’re gonna’ be seeing a lot more of that play for the next seven years.
Bannon was handcuffed in the White House. Now, the cuffs are off just in time for the mid terms. I bet he has hit list of Establishment Senators who have viable true conservative primary candidates he can back.
This is the same Party-first idiocy that is going to cost the GOP the New Jersey Governorship for the next 12-16 years after Christie departs. Instead of choosing someone with name-recognition who could at-least put up a good fight for the Governor’s mansion, the county Party Bosses decided to run the current Lt. Governor ole’ What’s-her-name-again?; a North Jersey party hack who is the first Lt. Governor in NJ history, but whom no-one yet remembers her name — or anything she’s ever done other than a few really ugly, very ignorant comments — despite being the Lt. Governor for the 8-years…or that we even HAVE a Lt. Governor here in NJ.
Former Ambassador Phil Murphy is currently leading What’s-her-name-again? 58% to 27% despite being from Goldman Sacks, and being basically unknown in NJ political circles or to the general public. (Rumor is he basically made a deal with the Dhimmicrats that he’d pay for the entire state-wide campaign out of his own pocket, and they could keep all the Party funds for themselves, in exchange for the nomination.)
Meanwhile all the GOP Party nomeklatura and GOP apparatiks are madly-billing the Party for millions in fees, expenses and whatever….
Me?, I’m voting for Goldman Sacks.
Whoa whoa whoa….Are you saying we have a Gubernatorial election coming up here in NJ in a month? This is the first I’m hearing about it!
Seriously, admittedly I don’t watch TV ads, but beyond that there has been such minimal news, chatter and discussion about either candidate that I’m wondering if they’re trying to hold the election in secret so that voters don’t accidentally show up and screw with the results.
In other news, I think one of our senators is trying to contest a speeding ticket or something. Haven’t heard much about that one, either.
As someone put it, this election demonstrated that “Trumpism” isn’t about Trump. Trump’s endorsement of Luther Strange (that should be the name of DC Comics villain) didn’t help him.
Trumpism is about the rejection of an out-of-touch and ineffectual, Democrat-Lite Republican Establishment.
Republican voters are like people who stuck with American cars for years even after the Japanese had surpassed them in value and quality out of loyalty and patriotism. But after they had to take the Chevy back to the dealer for the eighth time, they finally broke down and bought a Toyota.
Soon-to-be-felon Menendez will hang-in until either after Murphy wins or more likely after Murphy is sworn-in before resigning from the Senate; this the interim-Senator will be a Democrat. Otherwise Christie will appoint a Republican — or himself — to the balance of Menendez’ term.
Weird result in Alabama, Ted Cruz lost in the primary to a candidate whose Christianity is light, at best. Yet Roy Moore is more Ted Cruz than Ted Cruz supposed reputation. Strange that. (pun intended)
Moore is crazy (and I’m beginning to think DJT is, too. Why can’t we have a president that doesn’t need to be the center of attention all the time? You’d think we’d have learned with the last one. The NFL war was entertaining for a while – now it’s ridiculous. What’s the point?)
We The People have ourselves to blame. With few exceptions, everyone in politics is a psychopath. No normal person will submit themselves and their friends and family to the ordeal that is public life these days.
V the K: “But after they had to take the Chevy back to the dealer for the eighth time, they finally broke down and bought a Toyota.”
And, they will never buy a Chevy again.
Unfortunately, we down here are involved in these races. I have voted for Mo Brooks in the first round, against Roy Moore in the second, and will be voting against Roy Moore and making my mark with Doug Jones the Dem in the final vote later on this year. People don’t understand how corrupt this guy is. I don’t use the term loosely after Strange and Bentley affair. Moore thinks he’s Jesus, is not an understatement by any means. The way his son has been arrested 8 times and not seen jail time is not divine intervention. This is one of the very few times my circle of friends are going to vote along the same lines. But they say politics makes strange bedfellows.