SC-1 special election - May 7th

[Indy Texas]

http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/45550/115576/en/md.html?cid=150

Interesting results. Someone named Andy Patrick won Beaufort County outright but finished fifth overall.

And this poor fellow only got 86 votes. http://ricbryantforcongress.com/home

[Indy Texas]

In the made-for-TV movie based on this whole bizarre story, this is the part where we cut to Jenny Sanford smiling slyly to herself, putting on a pair of sunglasses, and speeding off into the distance in a convertible.

[Indy Texas]

We all knew that nominating Sandford was a horrible mistake for the Republicans, but could we have predicted that it would be this horrible?

No one knew that there'd be multiple Akin moments either, much less the original one.

Yeah, if only Republicans had some kind of indication that Sanford was likely to make incredibly flawed decisions regarding his personal life that would negatively impact his political career. Too bad no such incident existed prior to the primary.

I blame this, to an extent, on the infusion of the Evangelical/born-again ethos into Republican politics. Unconditional forgiveness and grace gets bastardized into carte blanche to do whatever you want and then shed some crocodile tears, claim you're a "sinner" but that the Lord has redeemed you and wait for the folks back home to say, "Well bless his heart, I'm sure things will be different now." And they never are.

[Indy Texas]

The nomination of Sanford shows complete hypocrisy.  If Republicans are going to support a traditional family, they can't be nominating people like Sanford.  Do any of you think this might be a "favorite son" because the seat used to be Sanford's?  So perhaps he can pull off a win.  The only upside to this is Tim Scott in the Senate.

Basically, the Republican party thinks that if you're an unmarried woman seeking birth control pills, you're a "slut" and need to be shamed. If you're a married man who cheats on your wife, you deserve to be nominated to run for Congress. And they wonder why people think they're the anti-woman party...

[Indy Texas]

Dear God: Sanford debated a cardboard cutout of Pelosi. Outdoors. Forget winning, I'm beginning to wonder if he's losing his marbles.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/24/mark-sanford-debates-poster/

Actually, I think it's a fairly reasonable campaign ploy.  It lets him call out his opponent for not agreeing to as many debates as he would like and it lets him paint her a Pelosi-type liberal. However, it's also the sort of campaign tactic used by those who are behind, and unless ECB commits a gaffe, it's not going to help him win.

Considering the kind of discourse Republicans care to engage in, debating a Pelosi made of straw would have been more appropriate.

[Indy Texas]

"Do you think that President Clinton should be condemned for the rest of his life based on a mistake he made in his life?"

The greatest sin in most political sex scandals is that of hypocrisy. As long as the Republicans insist on being the party of "family values" and "defending traditional marriage" they will always face a double standard in this regard. I think it's more than fair to hold people to the standards they want to forcibly impose on everyone else. Why does Bill Clinton get a pass? Because Democrats are not the party of "traditional values" and have never pretended to be. Therefore they are under no obligation to adhere to said values. Mark Sanford and Newt Gingrich have done far more damage to the institution of marriage than my middle-aged lesbian aunt-once-removed who has been with her partner for nearly twenty years.

Furthermore, Sanford used taxpayer money on his dalliances and severely neglected his duties as governor by up and disappearing the way he did. More hypocrisy from a fiscal conservative. It was immature and irresponsible and showed an appalling lack of judgment and leadership for someone who thinks they deserve to be a US Congressman (again).

[Indy Texas]

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lol lol lol

Sanford could still win but given that this is a solid Republican district the fact that Colbert Busch appears slightly ahead is quite hysterical.  If she pulls it off, I look forward to bad media headlines for the GOP.  Though truth be told, it's better for the national GOP if Sanford loses.  If he wins we will put that to good use.

Well judging from that specific snippet of conversation, Colbert Busch didn't ask a question. She made a statement. What question was Mark Sanford supposed to answer?

[Indy Texas]

You know you're in a good position when krazen is desperately arguing for the validity of a tied poll.

You know who is in a good position? Mark Sanford. You know who is not in a good position? The RNCC. The RNCC refused to spend a single dime in attempting to win this race. If Sanford wins, or loses in a close race the RNCC will have egg on its face yet again. The refusal of national party to meaningfully support the nominee of the Republican electorate in a reasonably close race will be an eye-opener to rank-and-file Republicans. Hopefully, Sanford will be able to ride the backlash against the Republican establishment.

Okay, the Republican Establishment has officially ceased to be a meaningful term and become whatever people like you feel like it means and whoever you happen to dislike.

Mark Sanford spent several years in Congress in the 1990s. He was a governor for two terms. At one point he was considered potential presidential candidate material. He is not an outsider. How is he not part of the Republican establishment?

The RNC isn't withholding support because he's not "establishment" enough. They're withholding support because he's a liar and an embarrassment. The Republican primary voters in SC-1 should be ashamed of themselves for nominating him. They don't have an inalienable right to the national party's money going to such a trainwreck of a politician.

[Indy Texas]

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/sanford-colbert-busch-election-results-91039.html?hp=t1_3

I guess SC-1 voters' hatred of Barack Obama and all things Democratic trumped their desire to have a decent, honest person representing them.