Earlier in the week, we wrote that Jim Bunning was so hopping mad at the not-so-subtle attempts of Republican leadership to push him into oblivion that we half expected Bunning to barricade himself inside his Senate office with a shotgun, defending his rightful territory against any would-be usurper.
Well, it seems Bunning's latest trick is to point the gun on himself and blow his own head off, since that would clearly give him the last laugh.
Yes, in order to prevent John Cornyn and the NRSC from torpedoing Jim Bunning and stealing the Senate seat which is rightfully his...Bunning might resign from the Senate early, and let the Governor appoint his successor, just to stick it to Big Bad John!
That's right! You can't take my seat away from me...I'll give it away! Chew on that, Johnny Boy!
The most hilarious aspect of this thoroughly bizarre strategy is that the Governor of Kentucky is a Democrat.
From PageOneKentucky:
Rumor has it that Jim Bunning is so spitting mad that he’s telling people he’ll just resign and let Steve (Beshear) appoint someone.
How bout them apples?
And can you even IMAGINE?
Oh, come on. Stop it. Nobody is that stupid. Not even Jim Bunning is that stupid.
Ah, but he is. PageOne was spot-on:
The Kentucky Republican suggested that possible scenario at a campaign fundraiser for him on Capitol Hill earlier this week, according to three sources who asked not to be identified because of the politically sensitive nature of Bunning’s remarks.
The implication, they said, was that Bunning would allow Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, to appoint his replacement — a move that could give Democrats the 60 votes they need to block Republican filibusters in the Senate.
"I would get the last laugh. Don’t forget Kentucky has a Democrat governor," one of the sources quoted Bunning as saying.
Ha ha! It's so hilarious! I can resign, see, and then I'll be out of a job, and the Republican Party will be screwed, and the Democratic appointee will have incumbency and will probably win reelection...but I get the last laugh!!! Muhahahahahaha!!!
So why would Bunning say such a stunningly stupid thing? Why would he further damage his already disastrous relationship with the Republican Party, and virtually ensure he will have nothing but the most tepid support in any political endeavor for the rest of his life?
Because he's crazy, that's why.
"The problem I see with all this media attention is, it just makes him more stubborn rather than make him ready to make a rational decision," the source said.
Perhaps Bunning never actually realized that such a controversial comment would make national news - even if he did, it's never stopped him from making idiotic statements before. In any case, he backtracked almost instantly:
"It's not true," Bunning said in a statement. "I intend to fulfill my obligation to the people of Kentucky. If you are going to write something like this, you'd better make your sources known because they are lying."
The problem is, as PageOne says, 25 sources don't lie.
Bunning has always been the source of high comedy in his short unhappy life as a United States Senator.
With his latest screwup, however, he seems poised to become the Republican love-child of Joe Lieberman, Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris.