A Texas-size Teabag Fail

The results are in and Rick Perry has won the GOP gubernatorial primary.  No big surprise here.  The only surprise will be how much stimulus money Perry will demand.  Poor KBH.  She will have to go back to that horrible D.C.  But the biggest loser, in more ways than one, is Teabagger Debra Medina with 18% of the vote.

Many Texas Teabaggers thought Debra "Truther" Medina was going to come out on top and teach those establishment types a lesson.  But just like her kindred spirit, Doug Hoffman, Medina was more fluff than substance.  If we consider Rick Perry to be the Republican in this race and Kay Bailey Hutchinson to be the metaphorical Liberal, I would argue that Debra Medina’s Teabag insurgency actually hurt Perry more than it did Hutchinson.  With Medina not in the race, Perry may have won by an even greater margin.  Perry is popular in Texas for the same reasons that George W. Bush was. Texans like swagger and straight talk like "we’re gonna’ smoke ‘em out!"  And of course, KBH is no Ann Richards.

Of course, Teabaggers nationwide consider Medina’s double-digit showing a victory of sorts.  One wonders that if she hadn’t brought up that 9/11 conspiracy crap, maybe she would have broken 20%. But the lesson here is that Teabaggers will generate more heat than light in the 2010 elections because they are but a noisy, under-informed minority.  In the media echo chamber, they sounder greater than reality.  Taken as individuals, they come across as wacky, Sarah Palin types.  Empty barrels, after all, make the most noise.

The true test will come this August in Arizona when J.D. Hayworth challenges John McCain.  McCain is ahead in the polls, but something inside me wishes that wingnut Hayworth will win the primary, thus forcing McCain to run as an independent.  This could be good news for the Democratic challenger in November.