Christine O’Donnell’s supporters have no idea why we are laughing at them. Indeed, I’m not sure they even realize we are laughing at them.
For example, Jeff G. thinks that much of the leftie blogosphere has embedded the O’Donnell “witchcraft” video because we think it will end her political career. For example, Jeff G. writes at Protein Wisdom:
Wow. No, really, wow.
Christine O’Donnell’s candidacy is evidently dead because of something she said on “Politically Incorrect†(quick, take note of the show’s freakin’ name) in the 1990s — but only because Tea Partiers are evidently small-minded religious bigots who will be so OUTRAGED by this ANTI-CHRISTIAN DEMON WORSHIP that they’ll forget all about fiscal conservatism and smaller government and remain home election night, allowing an unrequited Marxist to win the state.
At least, that’s the argument — and it’s one that speaks poorly of the small-minded religious bigots who have essentially just KILLED O’Donnell’s candidacy with their small-minded religiosity. Meaning, those who backed her. The Tea Partiers.
But no, that’s not why I embedded it, and it’s not why I’m laughing at Jeff G. and other O’Donnell apologists. I’m laughing because they take her seriously at all. I’m laughing because they think she actually gives a hoo haw about “fiscal conservatism and smaller government.”
It’s obvious from her own history that O’Donnell is to fiscal responsibility what Charles Manson is to sainthood. The manager of a previous campaign said that O’Donnell used campaign money for personal expenses but did not want to pay her staff. Another former staffer from her 2008 campaign said she spent campaign money stupidly and was more interested in getting a media contract than winning the election.
Also in 2008, she blew a large part of her meager campaign funds on an expensive trip to the Republican National Convention, apparently believing she would be asked to give the keynote address. And she traveled to California for a fundraiser that raised less money than her trip cost. And then the campaign office phone was cut off because she failed to pay the phone bill, so she was making campaign calls from her parents’ home.
Yet because she is able to recite all of the right buzz words about cutting taxes and budgets, her groupies honestly believe she will be an effective force for fiscal conservatism in Washington.
This brings to mind what Delaware Republican Party chairman Tom Ross said of O’Donnell: “I could buy a parrot and train it to say, ‘tax cuts,’ but at the end of the day, it’s still a parrot, not a conservative.”
It’s blatantly obvious O’Donnell is a manipulative attention junkie who has been using election campaigning at a self-promotional tool and a source of personal income.
O’Donnell’s revelation that she “dabbled in witchcraft” (assuming she wasn’t making that story up on the spot just to get more air time), to me, is more evidence of her lack of seriousness than anything else. Face it; the woman is a walking sideshow carnival.
But Little Lulu is steaming with fury at Bill Maher, alleging that he somehow edited the video (which you can watch in the previous post) to leave out the “context” in which she says she opposes witchcraft because she tried it and rejected it. But the trying and rejecting part is in the video. What was left out is that O’Donnell had first said she is against Hallowe’en.
This makes her seem less of a flake, how, exactly?
And then Lulu says, “Focus on the campaign, the voters of Delaware, and the bearded Marxist opponent who’s the real out-of-touch extremist in the race.” Chris Coons doesn’t have a beard on his website (the only bearded candidate I know of is the tea party candidate for Senate from Alaska) and Coons is no Marxist.[Update: Now I know that Coons called himself a “bearded Marxist” in a college paper he wrote in 1985. However, righties, he is not a Marxist now, however much you have been brainwashed to believe he is.] But while Coons may be “out of touch” with conservative ideology, as most people with critical thinking skills are, O’Donnell is out of touch with Planet Earth.
Mice with fully functioning human brains? Wow. No, really, wow.
The being against Hallowween part is far scarier than the dabbling in Witchcraft. I’ve had Wiccan friends who are nice, kind, nature-loving people. That said, I think Wicca is about as authentic as other ad hoc belief systems, such as Mormonism or Scientology, but the practioners, are more to my taste.
I think the witchcraft thing COULD influence the election though, by itself. Certainly, Mitt Romney’s LDS beliefs allowed Grumpy mcCain to pull ahead of him the 2008 GOP primaries.
I wonder what numbers she played in the mouse/human brain lottery give-away?
I hope she wins one.
She needs one.
How did the networks or cable NOT have her on as a contestant on something like “Fear Factor?”
She would eat some slugs, other bugs, various rodents, a snake or two, and human body parts, and do basically anything she’s told, just to get on TV.
KUDO’S Madam! You made it. Yeah. Big-time! You’re a candidate for THE US SENATE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????
Somewhere, Andy Warhol wishes he’d committed suicide before he ever uttered his prophetic words about people and their 15 minutes of fame…
As soon as O’Donnell ‘got’ religion she could do no wrong. All was forgiven. She’d been saved. If I remember correctly didn’t somebody recently elect a
president who had also been ‘forgiven’, who’d also been ‘saved?’
The pregnant question is could a democratic candidate pull off the same ruse? Or, has one ever tried it? Which leads me to another question. The Tea Party was formed literally days after Obama’s inauguration. Republicans were angry that Dems now controlled the presidency and the Congress. There were plenty of ‘angry’ people following the ‘appointment’ of Bush to the presidency. So how come they/we didn’t form a party of rejection days after Bush was inaugurated. Anybody?
cundgulag – A quote from Warhol – “I am a deeply superficial person” were equally prophetic words given what’s running for office these days.
The left is getting increasingly desperate, apparently. Apparently is it worse to have rejected the occult than it is to have embraced bearded Marxism.
You know who I miss? Hunter S. Thompson.
Who, but he, ever figured that “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail” would be so literally prophetic?
Drat. Now that O’Donnell has spilled the beans, it’s just a matter of time before people find out that I am, in reality, a mouse with a fully-functioning human brain. (Remember, on the Internet, nobody can tell you’re a mouse.)
The GOP electorate traded a moderate, electable republican for an un-electable fringe lunatic. The mob that the GOP has become had a theoretical shot at a majority in the Senate and they gave it away by selecting O’donnell. (I expect they will do the same with a presidential candidate in 2012.)
This was Rove’s objection when he was speaking honestly. The bald political fact is that the teabaggers can put up rabid candidates in safe states like Alaska and Utah, but they have to take their best shot with moderate candidates in moderate states.
I love O’donnell. She may provide a string of ridiculous statements second only to moosewoman. But you see the dilema of the GOP establishment who created this monster of anger. In conservative states, they will elect kooks with (R) next to their name. In moderate states, safe GOP mideraters who might toe the party line are getting bumped by un-electable wingnuts.
The corporate bosses don’t care – as long as taxes don’t get raised. But the GOP bosses are concerned that the conservative crowd who will dominate the airwaves look like they were recruited by PT Barnum. What the elected tea party clowns will say & do WILL sell papers, but it won’t look make the GOP look pretty in 2012.
Felicity, I believe the answer to your question is “we” play by rules.
I believe it was Darrel Issa who led the recall of Grey Davis in CA.
Cheney shot his huntin’ pardner in the face and went missing ’till he sobered up,
Bush lost the election, but got the “velvet hammer” to overturn the election via the SCOTUS; it goes on and on: rules and fair play mean weakness to these sociopaths, they don’t give a damn about anything but winning.
Part of me wants to hand the whole schmeer over to them, then when they screw it up, organize the grand jury.
Frustrating, indeed!
[Comment deleted by Maha. For future reference, there are comment rules here, and the rules say you have to write something more than a juvenile insult, or I delete you message and call you a tool. So, you’re a tool. I realize it frustrates you that you cannot actually refute anything I’ve said, but that’s your problem, not mine. — Maha]
And then Lulu says, “Focus on the campaign, the voters of Delaware, and the bearded Marxist opponent who’s the real out-of-touch extremist in the race.â€
Poor little miss Lulu her normally elevated anger level seems to be escalating, it must be frustrating for her to see a dimwit like O’Donnell getting all this attention and actually being taken seriously as candidate. Though she must take some comfort knowing that the batshit crazy quotient seems to be moving in her direction, maybe she’ll be taken seriously some day as well.
“Apparently is it worse to have rejected the occult than it is to have embraced bearded Marxism”
What’s with the bearded Marxist thing? Must be a new FAUX news talking point, I guess being a clean shaven Marxist just aint scary enough. JD your such a useful tool thanks for reminding us all why we are laughing!
I guess it’s worse to laugh at you than to be stupid enough to believe Chris Coons is a Marxist, bearded or otherwise.
BTW, what’s with the “bearded”? I googled for photographs of Coons, and he doesn’t have a beard. Is a “bearded Marxist” a particular variety of Marxist, sort of like the “red-breasted nuthatch”? Although red-breasted nuthatches actually do have red breasts.
Apparently you folks do not even pay attention to your own leftist candidates. As long as they pledge their fealty to your version of social justice, redistribution, and collectivist ideals they are good with you. I did not make up bearded marxist, nor did Faux news. Hairy Reid’s pet Coons did.
Ah, I found it. Coons called himself a “bearded Marxist” in a paper he wrote while in college in 1985. Well, he’s not a Marxist now, nor bearded, any more than Dimwit O’Donnell is a witch.
I think the witchcraft video is pointless. It’s only going to further the “liberals are MEAN!” meme. Didn’t we all dabble in things when we were 19? When I was 19, I dabbled in telemarketing for an in-home commercial-grade meat freezer service. I tried it and I didn’t like it. Should that disqualify me from eventually seeking a career change as a used car salesman?
If all there was to argue against electing O’Donnell to the Senate is that she’s a hypocritical religious bully, then, yeah, post the witchcraft video everywhere, but there’s so much better stuff out there…especially the human brains-in-mice thing. That must be the human-animal hybrid that W warned us about in that one State of the Union.
Wait…that means W was right about something… *shudder*
I thought it was amusing, but it’s the Right who doesn’t get the joke.
“As long as they pledge their fealty to your version of social justice, redistribution, and collectivist ideals they are good with you”
Ahh what we have here is a victim of Glenn BecKKK mind control. So sad to see so many seemingly “normal” folks taken over by a failed morning Zoo DJ.
JD (is that for Juvenile Delinquent, or is that too sophisticated for you?),
If you’re wondering who we’re laughing at, it’s YOU, schmuck!
So, here’s a HAHAHAHAHAHA! aimed right at ya! Beard, or no beard.
But do keep trying, and then maybe in a few years, your humor will finally reach sophomoric.
Until then, go away little child, and let the adults talk in peace.
[Note: JD is blacklisted, but I pulled this out of the spam filter to make a point.]
MAHA IS INTOLERANT OF INTOLERANCE and started banning and deleting dissenting comments within an hour. You don’t want to discuss issues, you want a patchouli oil covered circle jerk. GOOD DAY, sir.
[First, yes, I am intolerant of intolerance. More people should be.
Second, note that the one comment I deleted had no discussion of “issues” in it; it was just a slightly vulgar insult. I see this all the time. Some guy will leave a message that says nothing more than “you stink,” and when I delete it I am accused of running away from issues. But the fact is that I mostly delete rightie comments because they don’t address issues. They just hurl insults, and do not even try to refute what I write.
If a rightie actually posts something substantive, with a real argument and some attempt at documentation of facts, I usually leave the comment up for us to discuss. But this is extremely rare.
And btw JD — I’m a girl.]
erinyes – I have had the exact same feelings. Turn the bloody mess over to the Becks/O’Donnells/Rushes/Ryans/Gingriches (the list is huge at this point) and watch what happens. Watch what happens when the angry have-nots finally realize that the people perpetrating this stuff could care less about them. Against Obamacare? Against Social Security and Medicare? Against unemployment benefits for the out of work? Against regulating Wall Street? Be careful what you wish for. What other people are suffering just might find its way to your doorstep.
He never called himself a bearded Marxist. That was a joke his friends made about the effect that trips to kenya have on people because after Coons came back from there his views had become more liberal and he questioned the sanctity of Reagannomic capitalism given the poverty he witnessed and the dismissive attitudes of Kenyan elites who sounded like Ameican elites he knew.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/weigel/archive/2010/09/16/of-beards-and-marxism.aspx
It’s not that he ever was a Marxist – that’s giving Malkin and freeiends to much credit. as usual, they’ve twisted reality to seve their ideological prejudices.
It’s one more proof that Republicans have a damaged sense of humor. Here’s the relevant bit from a piece at Politico:
Coon’s college buddies apparently joked that disagreeing with Reagan policies and becoming a Democrat was the equivalent of being a bearded Marxist. An amusing jibe between friends. Humor. Joshing.
Until the Mighty Wurlitzer of GOP propagandists took over.
maha,
You’re right. Who cares if she dabbled in Wiccanism, or Satanism, as long as no animals or humans were hurt?
O’Donnell’s good for shit’s and giggles. Unless she wins. Then it’s tears and fears…
I doubt this seriously. There are no shortcomings or facts that believing (or in this case dis-believing) fervently in numbers cannot overcome. Why start attributing the power of reason to those who have never exhibited any?
JD probably can’t respond, though maybe some one else will.
What, precisely, is wrong with social justice, redistribution of wealth from rich to poor, and collective action or solving problems by cooperation?
I’ve found that many Americans use Marxism or communism as a crutch and an insult all the while avoiding speaking of the actual underlying issues. Let me ask a few things:
(1) What were the principle tenets of Marxism?
(2) How were the conflicts described by Marxism intended to be resolved?
How does your economic philosophy differ practically…
(3a) …from the conditions Marx described ?
(3b) …from Marx’s intended world?
Generally, when someone cannot fairly and intelligently answer these questions, it’s a strong clue they have no idea what they are talking about. Marx is rather just being raised as a buzzword, a red herring designed to distract, divide people, and shut down meaningful discussion.
The principle” tenents” of marxism are Chico, Groucho, and Harpo.
I thought everyone knew that….
And sometimes Zeppo.
I happen to find Ms OD rather charming in her own loopy way. Awful cute, emphasis on the awful. I wouldn’t want her in charge of a covered dish social, let alone dogcatcher.