Primary Result Confirmation: "G.O.P." Does Not Mean "Go Out Peacefully"

The tea party has been cancelled. Well, at least in Indiana, where the only thing that kept the Republican Party from “shaking up Washington” last night was self-imploding ambition and arrogance.

In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate race, Dan Coats limped across the finish line with just under 40%, while Indiana state senator Marlin “I’m from a farm” Stutzman finished with 29%, former Congressman John "keep a nuke in your garage" Hostettler got 22%, and newbies Don Bates, Jr. and Richard "over my dead body" Behney picked up 4.5% and 4.2% respectively.

Hostettler was directly critical of Coats’ voting record on guns and "radical" Supreme Court Justices. Stutzman was as critical, though he used proxies to essentially say Coats was conservativism’s aged, Benedict Arnold. Had either Hostettler or Stutzman stepped aside, I am reasonably confident Dan Coats would not be the GOP candidate. (To the GOP voters, I say, “Thank you” for giving my party the opponent who ensures that the NRA will endorse Democrat Brad Ellsworth).

In the GOP’s 5th district free-for-all, Congressman Dan Burton rebuffed six opponents with an 29.7%, a jaw-droppingly anemic number for an incumbent. Luke Messer got 27.6%, repeat candidate John McGoff got 18.8%, Mike Murphy got 8.9%, and Brose “Who am I, and Why Am I Here” McVey got 8.5%.

In this one, I know that if any of Burton's opponents had stepped aside, Burton would not have to miss congressional votes to play golf any more.

Each Burton opponent publicly said he needed to step aside, but not one could bring himself to “take one for the team.” By hanging on to the bitter end, each said, “I’m more important than moving our party forward.” I assure you they all concluded that if Burton won, they'd have a chance to take his place in the future, but if one of the other guys won, they'd kiss the seat goodbye for another thirty years.

For Messer, ambition worked. By amassing 27.6%, he put himself at the front of the cue to fill the seat if Burton retires, or if he still shows weak public support in two years (he will). Messer's strong showing will allow him to chisel off money and support from the others by saying, “Which one of us is most likely to win this thing? Look at the history.” In other words, even though arrogance kept Messer in, it’s at least understandable. Same with McGoff, who actually put his arrogance on display by talking about “earning” the right to serve, as if a credible but losing campaign makes him best qualified to serve in Congress.

But what about Mike Murphy and Brose McVey, the dynamic duo of spoilerism? I know they have friends because they each got over 9,000 votes. Why didn't anybody tell them they would become the political equivalent of the insanely off-key guys from the first week of American Idol? Were I in the GOP (shudder) and in the 5th District, I’d serve them both potato salad that I had sitting in the sun for a day or two at the next GOP club meeting. Dan Burton needs to send them free subscriptions of American Rifleman because they were his biggest contributors.

In sum, the GOP said for months that its party needed a new direction, but not one of its ballot leaders made the sacrifice necessary to deliver it.

Coming shortly....

What Tuesday certainly says about party strength in Marion County....

What Tuesday arguably says about prejudice in Indiana

Primary Result Confirmation: "G.O.P." Does Not Mean "Go Out Peacefully"

Congressman Dan Burton Steps In It With Faux "Sidewalk Conservative" Ad

Dan Burton is running an ad he calls "Sidewalk Conservative."



In the ad, one of the individuals says that Burton is "one of us." Turns out by "one of us," he means an Ohioan.

Burton used actors from a Columbus, Ohio ad agency.

One of Burton's chief rivals for the Republicans nomination, Luke Messer (go Wabash!), undoubtedly understanding that all political ads have some stagecraft, busted the Congressman's chops from the right angle:

After 28 years in Congress, you'd think you could find someone in the district who would say some nice things about you.

Ow!

When asked about the ad, Burton responded like he was Lincoln Plowman on tape. His response was nearly incomprehensible, which is why I'm providing it in its entirety from the story because you just have to read it:

They told me if you have some people who want to talk about specific issues that you stand for, it probably would be a good thing. I didn't solicit any of these people. I don't even know who they are. One guy says, 'Dan Burton does this' and another woman says something else. You'd have to ask the people who did the commercial on that. They came over and talked to people, different places.

The Star story ads that when told the actors were not even Hoosier voters, Burton responded:

They may be. I don't know. You ask me questions about that, I don't know. I really don't know. The only thing I did say, 'I'm Dan Burton, and I approve this message.' The message I think is probably pretty accurate, but you'd have to ask them who did the commercial.

In what universe is this ad accurate? It represents that Burton has people in his district who relate to and appreciate him. So I guess this ad is "pretty accurate" except the part where it doesn't have anybody from the district who relates to or appreciates Burton.

Next time Burton should put "A dramatization of support for Dan Burton" on the ad.

Congressman Dan Burton Steps In It With Faux "Sidewalk Conservative" Ad

Dan Burton Tests My Facebook Etiquette Rule

My rule of thumb is that if somebody sends me a Facebook "Friend" request, and I know and like them, they get a quick "add," even if I don't agree with their politics. I've got Republicans, Libertarians, and apoliticos in my list. This is the source of my consternation today. Somebody from Dan Burton's campaign sent a "friend" request to me.

I do my Christian best not to actively dislike people, but it's a struggle with Congressman Burton. It started when I was a senior at Ben Davis High School. Three classmates and I qualified for the National Debate Finals (insert nerd joke here), and as a reward, our debate coach, Larry Highbaugh, said he would get us in to see a member of Congress. Unfortunately, Alex P. Keaton wannabes populated our debate team, so the other three cancelled out my Andy Jacobs vote. Two of the guys did policy debate, and the topic for the year was Latin America, an area in which Congressman Burton was immersed at the time.

To this day, I remember thinking how ridiculously arrogant the Congressman was. He bragged about a trip to Nicaragua and made it sound like he single-handedly stopped the Sandinistas from turning the entire continent into a Soviet satellite. I recall him saying that current Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, was a terrorist (he was - to his own step-daughter) and that Oliver North was a hero (he wasn't). I've always had a problem with people whose justification for violating a law is "I know better than you," unless they're willing to accept the full penalties as an act of civiil disobedience. As a result of my initial interaction, I have never been a Burton fan, although somewhere I still have an autographed photo.

Over the next two decades, the Congressman engaged in some of the most ridiculous theatrics in Congress and almost never took a position with which I agreed. His personal conduct while claiming to be so pious to his district's church crowd has always sat poorly with me as well. In fact, the only reason I can tolerate the man is because Congressman Andy Jacobs and Congressman Burton are good friends. Congressman Jacobs tends to be a good judge of character, so there must be something positive I'm not seeing in Burton. Like all of it.

But I guess he did take time to autograph a photo for me. I'll give him the "add"... but only so I can keep tabs on what I hope is his last term in office. If this were a two-way with Luke Messer versus Burton, Messer would own Burton. Unfortunately, Messer entered a field already populated by Brose McVey. Carl Brizzi has also allegedly stated interest, though the conventional wisdom is he'll only run if Burton steps down. A three or four-way primary that divides up the anti-Burton sentiment is the only thing that will keep Burton in office, and Republicans seem intent on giving it to him.

Wonder what a signed photo of a still-sitting Congressman can get you on E-Bay.

Dan Burton Tests My Facebook Etiquette Rule