I’ve mentioned before that I think John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin to be his running-mate was the single most irresponsible political act since a lame-duck President James Buchanan did nothing while half the country seceded from the Union. And it is still having negative consequences. One of those consequences is the creation of a new kind of candidate. The Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Nevada is Sharron Angle. Ms. Angle announced she was having a press conference yesterday, but she gave a three-minute speech and then refused to answer any questions. She has announced that she intends to only answer questions from right-wing media because right-wing media outlets are the only ones that allow her to solicit donations.
The Republicans’ candidate for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, Rand Paul, is pursuing a similar media strategy. Basically, we now have a breed of candidate that is unashamed to admit that their ideas are so radical that they cannot withstand the light of day. And, yet, they’re still running for office and have a chance to win. It reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld where the media executives asked Jerry and George why the public would watch their proposed sitcom about nothing, and George said “because it’s on teevee.” Why would anyone vote for Paul or Angle? Because they’re on the ballot. That’s what they’re counting on. And, thanks to John McCain, it just might work.
