"Campaigns win elections, and events influence campaigns. When a congressman’s wife pleads guilty to a federal felony charge, my friends, that is an event," writes Stacy McCain, who's come up with a catchy new re-election slogan for MA-6 Rep. John Tierney: "Married to the Mob." Above, 1996 file photo of Tierney and "his then-girlfriend, and now wife, Patrice Tierney." (AP) Click here to support Tierney challenger Bill Hudak.
"Maybe Scott Brown Wasn't an Outlier," headlines RCP, linking James Antle's "RedBay State" at The American Spectator:
A strange wind is blowing in Massachusetts. Or maybe it's a red tide. Just over the past few weeks, there have been signs that the Democratic Party cannot necessarily take the homeland of Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and Michael Dukakis for granted.
We'd caught the scent of that strange wind on the ground here in Taxachusetts way back in mid-January, as reported in our post "Chelsea Democrat for Scott Brown: "This one-party thing isn't working out":
Waiting for the phone-banking operation to get rolling, we fell to chatting with… a union man who thinks for himself: "When I was younger I voted with whatever candidate the union was backing [always the Democrat], but as I got older, I started thinking more independently and became aware during the last few years that union leaders don't care about helping the individual, just about helping themselves."
Now comes Congressman John Tierney's wife, convicted in a federal tax-fraud case. The story's all over the local papers, the blogs and the airwaves. Even local NPR affiliate WBUR had to face the rising red tide this morning. Tuck reports:
They interviewed three people from District 6. One was business as usual, pro Tierney, but the other two were disgusted.
A Newburyport machinist echoed our own electrician's disillusionment of last winter:
He said he was tired of career politicians and the corruption of this one-party state. He'd voted mostly Democrcat in the past, but this time he was going to vote Republican.
"Rep. John F. Tierney lying to a cat," we captioned this murky image taken inside Newburyport Town Hall during the Essex County Tea Party and Rally March 28, 2009, in our post "It looked like the politician had figured out pretty quickly which raised hands to call on."
Back to that RCP headline: Maybe Scott Brown wasn't an outlier? As we wrote in our midsummer post "Sissy Willis, Scott Brown doesn't want to hear from you," putting our disappointment in Brown's voting record into perspective:
The "Massachusetts Miracle" served as a catalyst to break up the incumbent logjam, promising "term limits by other means" in local and national elections this spring and come November.
We've been supporting strategic small-government candidates across the Commonwealth and beyond at least since October of last year. As our readers know, we spared Chelsea's small-potatoes MA-8 Rep. Michael Capuano this year to focus our social-networking skills on Sean Bielat's campaign to "Retire Barney" Frank. Please join us now in supporting Tierney challenger Bill Hudak. Check out his qualifications at Johnny-on-the-Spot blog/twitterbuddy Da Tech Guy's Blog, then click here to help restore "The People's Seat" of MA-6 to a genuine representative of "we the people." As Jeff S. wrote in the comments to our post "All local politics is national?" last winter:
All politics is still local — but now local is as big as the internet.
Update: Michelle Malkin Buzzworthy link!
Update II: Stacy links and gets a Memeorandum thread of his own!
Update III: Doug Ross links with an ironic twist (You had to be there):
We need real journalists on the case, not these fakes like Robert Stacy McCain. We need men like Dan Rather and Katie Couric and Bob Saget, for heaven's sakes.
Crossposted at Riehl World View and Liberty Pundits.
Tea Parties are leading to the Great Awakening.
Posted by: goomp | October 07, 2010 at 12:48 PM
Anyone who has ever studied anything about our nation's political history would know that the checks and balances don't just apply to the three co-equal branches of the government but also to the balance between the Dems and the Republicans. I think for our society to be its usual vibrant self, we need to have both parties doing well. Whichever party controls the legislative branch should not be in power in the Executive. That kind of thing.
Or we could put Tiny and Buddy and Rusty in charge of everything. Cats do, after all, RULE!
Posted by: Gayle Miller | October 07, 2010 at 02:34 PM
Purrky wants to be included!
Posted by: Sissy Willis | October 07, 2010 at 04:57 PM
THANKS FOR POSTING THIS! I love your blog!!
Steve
Common Cents
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
Posted by: Steve | October 07, 2010 at 06:51 PM
Thanks for tweeting me courtesy of datechguy's request!
sorry, this is a little off topic...but I could use your help!
http://datechguy.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/answer-because-hallie-miller-has-class-and-honor/
I will add your link to my site! I'm all for helping out other conservatives!
HallieMae
Posted by: HallieMae Miller | December 17, 2010 at 11:26 AM