ash is always pleased when phonies and rascals are stopped in their tracks. In this case she was so delighted she wrote two variations of the same letter. Which version do you prefer? This one:
Jack Ryan is making the rounds of talking-head cable TV, appealing to the Republican king makers to reconsider his candidacy, though he won’t admit it.
During his appearance on Deborah Norville’s MSNBC show, she asked him why he has yet to submit paperwork officially declaring himself out of the Illinois Senatorial race. He smiled coyly and ducked the question.
Apparently it is a two-pronged strategy. While bemoaning his fate and taking his case beyond the state to the national forum, he is waiting out the chaos and desperation among party insiders struggling to produce a viable alternative as time works against them. When the dust settles and no one else remains, Ryan will graciously reemerge to finish the race, his dignity resurrected if, ultimately, he loses to Obama.
It’s as impressive as it is utterly selfish. Republicans will look as foolish as if they had run Mike Ditka, who made the calculations and concluded it paid no dividends to enter a game he could not win. Which brings me to my advice.
Republicans, run no one. That’s right. With the caveat that I’ll convert to Republicanism with Teddy Kennedy and Molly Ivins, I offer it sincerely and logically. Concede the futility and, as the clichés go, cut your losses and move on. Invest your resources in local contests, since statewide Democrats will prevail.
It’s called huge city trumps downstate. It’s called reality. Fitzgerald won over Moseley Braun only because she was irreparably damaged goods. That was an anomaly. This won’t be. To all the frustrated and disgruntled conservatives still clinging to the notion that Obama can be beat, no, he can’t. If you don’t like it, consider moving to (oh, yes!) Wyoming.
or this one:
In Washington, D.C. and elsewhere reside a peculiar professional political support group called strategists. Republican strategists. Democratic strategists. To my knowledge smaller parties don’t have them because they can’t afford them; instead party affiliates occasionally surface for double duty to make their case.
A strategist’s job is to sell the party in general, candidates in particular, issues secondarily, and perform damage control when on the defensive. Strategists regularly pop up all over cable news to convince viewers their party is right, their guy or gal on the high ground, or, alternatively, it’s not as bad as the opposition claims, pay no attention to your own logic and gut instinct.
How persuasive they are I have no idea. I’ve always wondered how effective they can be when presumably the more gullible audience is tuned to USA, FX, or MTV. Nevertheless they persist, some of them making a lifetime career of this pseudo psychological art form while occupying quite a chunk of time on the 24-hour networks only too willing to give them a forum.
Currently, our state Republican party is scrambling to replace the defunct senatorial hopeful Jack Ryan on the November ballot. Heavy hitters such as former governor Edgar have declined. Primary also-rans have too many negatives. Enter Mike Ditka, a tantalizing prospect. A working class hero. A website to draft him. Simultaneously, the collective left-leaning electorate begins to sweat. Some of it even reconsiders. “I was all set to vote for the young, fresh, minority candidate who shares my views, but Ditka…I mean, a football legend. Now I don’t know whom to support. He really changes the whole dynamics. Why didn’t he run in the first place?”
“I think Barack Obama can still be beat,” opines former contender Rauschenberger, almost as preposterously as the notion of a Senator Ditka, in a classic case of pundit speak. No, he can’t. To Rauschenberger and other feverish, uphill-battle, bruised-ego Republican warriors I say: good luck, I sympathize, but I don’t need to tell you your salvage efforts will come to no avail. Then, on second thought, I offer more constructive advice.
Run no one. That’s right. Let Democratic candidate Obama run unopposed, since he’s going to win anyway. Though many Republicans prevail in local or regional elections, statewide and nationally Illinois is Democratic territory. The recent exception when Fitzgerald beat Moseley (sp?) Braun was only because her reputation was irreparably damaged.
That election was an anomaly. This one won’t be. Rather than expend considerable mental and financial resources on a candidate - the name recognition of Mike Ditka notwithstanding – who has no chance in this competition, concede the race and, as the clichés go, cut your losses and move on.
But what do I know? I’m not your ally. In fact, I’ll convert to Republicanism when Teddy Kennedy and Molly Ivins do. I’m also no sports enthusiast but even I’ve heard of Ditka. Maybe his fame will appeal to voters more than it will simply appear desperate and pathetic. In any case, Obama will become the new senator. Or to put it another way, whoever emerges as the Republican party nominee will win when Bush takes Illinois, when Kerry takes Texas.
It’s called huge, industrial, liberal city carries the state. It’s called reality. It’s called shift your focus elsewhere and stop pretending there’s anyone left to fool. Though state Republican strategists may be loath to admit it, they see it playing out better than I do, while the national players wrote off Illinois before they ever wrote it on.
As for you conservative readers, disgruntled, sullen, resentful, however you’re feeling, to paraphrase an admonition your side often employs: if you don’t like it here, move to (oh, yes!) Wyoming.
And then there’s this:
Nam Huh of the Associated Press deserves an award for his front-page photo of Jack Ryan in Wednesday's edition. It perfectly captures a desperate man, three parts terrified, one part defiant. Supporters, placards, microphones, cameras, and downtown Chicago buildings provide a stunning backdrop mixing all the elements of a political campaign.
Try as I might, I cannot comprehend the depth of the candidate's anguish. Didn't he know, before the unsealing of the divorce documents, that he would lose the Senate race anyway? Only now, as another Republican player once noted, he will lose "bigtime."