One of the reasons the Republican Party can't have nice things.
The Georgia Senate primary has been a slow-motion train wreck for a while now, on the Republican side, what with contenders like Paul
Lies-from-the-Pit-of-Hell Broun;
Todd Akin-supporting, "
proper gender roles"-advocating Phil Gingrey, currently "
stuck here" in Congress complaining he only makes a measly $172,000 per year; and the
Susan G. Komen foundation-destroying Karen Handel. It's quite the crop, and Republicans themselves are gnashing their teeth that they might be well on their way to
throwing away that Senate seat.
Democrats have drafted an unusually strong candidate in Michelle Nunn, whose father Sam Nunn is still revered here for his 25-year career in the Senate.
“What a lot of people don’t understand about the Republicans in Georgia is that up to 2002 a lot of them had a ‘D’ next to their name,” Erick Erickson, the Red State founder who briefly flirted with running himself, said. “They’re very comfortable with names like Carter and Nunn.”
Erick Erickson was thinking about running for office as the sane and reasonable one, you see. And I think we're all still a bit disappointed that we missed out on that.
Please read below the fold for more on this story.
Republicans are bracing for a rough ride, knowing their candidates will battle each other through the primary and likely July 22 runoff while Nunn soaks up a deluge of cash and attention unimpeded.
“One of the people on this stage tonight is going to be your Republican nominee, and after this primary and the runoff they are going to be bruised, battered and broke,” conservative radio host Martha Zoller told the audience at a Republican Senate debate in Macon earlier this month.
Even the pep talks sound grim.
Well, they might still pull this one out—if every single Republican candidate springs for a roll of patent-pending gaffe-preventing duct tape formulated especially for the face-hole, it's possible they could make it through the rest of the primary season without mucking things up too badly. Not likely, mind you, but possible. Voters have short attention spans when it comes to past gaffes, so long as you don't keep rubbing new ones in their faces.
But remember, the Republicans have a very good Senate map this year, and could very well take back the Senate. If they miss out for a third election cycle in a row because their preferred candidates keep saying things that scare the holy bejeebus out of voters, they will ... they will ... oh hell, let's be honest, they won't change a damn thing. The RNC will probably write up another report lamenting how misunderstood they are and call it a day.