One of the most intriguing Senate race primaries occurred on Tuesday in South Carolina where, as the press puts it -- a “nobody” won the Democrat nomination over the hand picked Democrat backed candidate (Vic Rawl) to face off with Senator Jim DeMint come November.
The State and Federal levels of the Democrat party have floated two possibilities:
1) Alvin Green won because his name appeared first on the ballot alphabetically, and
2) The GOP planted him in the Democrat race
What the Democrats don’t understand is that it is probably because anti-incumbency is so great on their side that their own voters would pick someone with no experience over an established one with over 40 years of public service.
Never mind the Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts victories in holding up the example of voters distrust, anger and disenfranchisement with Democrats (and yes Republicans too) because South Carolina is the best example yet of the mountain of voter angst established candidates are to face come November.
Think about it for a moment…..
Vic Rawl, the Democrat establishment backed candidate lost to a “nobody” within their own ranks. It tells us a lot that if either of the two excuses they have floated as their reasons for the loss of their candidate is true then what does it say about their strategies and the research of their constituents -- Dismal failure is what.
Vic Rawl (taken from his website) ran on a pro –
“The health care reform bill passed by Congress is a huge step forward in improving our national system. Jim DeMint made opposing this bill the cornerstone of his last two years in the Senate, promising to give President Obama his “Waterloo” and to “break” him over it.” (Rawl is pro Universal Health Care)
“Health Care” (DeMint coined Obama’s Waterloo) – "The health care reform bill passed by Congress is a huge step forward in improving our national system. Jim DeMint made opposing this bill the cornerstone of his last two years in the Senate, promising to give President Obama his “Waterloo” and to “break” him over it." (Rawl is an ardent supporter of Obamacare, but wanted a more robust bill that included the public option)
“Jobs” – “My opponent, Jim DeMint, is dismissive of the needs of working South Carolinians. He supports “free trade,” which opens our borders to cheap foreign goods. He’s opposed to regulating safety in the workplace. He works actively to keep wages low by opposing the right of workers to organize (Rawl is PRO Union). He’s opposed to the minimum wage (Rawl supports JOB killing). He sees no role for government in saving our major industries, like automotive manufacturing (Rawl is PRO GM – Government Motors). He’s opposed to government support for new jobs in renewable energy.” (Rawl is PRO Global Warming).
“Education” – “Dissolving the public primary and higher education systems and substituting unregulated “free market competition” will guarantee permanent, second-rate status for our country. DeMint’s solution is to cut funding, to throw vouchers at the problem, and to let parents take their chances.” (Rawl is anti competition and instead of saying “let parents take their chances” should read “take away parents choices”).
“Environment” – “In fact, Jim DeMint remains the servant of unregulated exploitation. He supports widespread deployment within our state of coal-fired power plants, which pollute our rivers and land with mercury, and unproven nuclear options. These projects will send electrical power to other states, leaving huge amounts of coal ash and nuclear waste here forever. DeMint voted to block approval of a rule that would have limited mercury emissions from oil and gas smokestacks.
He’s dismissive of the wind, biomass and solar energy options that could free our children from the power of foreign energy sources. He continues to support off-shore drilling in South Carolina, even after the disaster in the Gulf has proven that “drill, baby, drill” has massive risks.” (Rawl is anti coal, nuclear and indigenous oil exploration and pro wind and biofuels as the answer to wean ourselves off foreign oil dependency.)
“Military” - America has also become ensnared in a system in which war is profitable to far too many people.” (Rawl is a 20+ year National Guard veteran and this writer thanks him for his personal service).
“Net Neutrality” – “Superficially, DeMint’s plan for an unregulated Internet sounds like freedom, but it’s really handing a dangerous near-monopoly to a few large companies, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast being among the largest. These companies are already immensely profitable, but there is a huge potential for even greater profits in auctioning off access to a system with limited capacity.” (Rawl says it sounds like freedom because it IS freedom, but if Rawl has his and the Democrats way that freedom will be lost)
“Financial Reform” – “Over $15 trillion in American wealth was destroyed. Retirement funds were drained by collapsing stock values. Governments slashed budgets for schools and libraries. Non-profit groups have radically scaled back as endowments and donations have shrunk. Over eight million people have lost their jobs.
This cannot ever happen again.” (Rawl is so concerned about “non-profits” like ACORN and Annenberg scaling back their endowments over job loss is telling so much so that he add that “it cannot EVER happen again”)
“2nd Amendment” – “Despite the claims of grandstanding special interests, gun rights have actually expanded under the Obama administration. The President signed a bill into law granting gun owners new rights to carry weapons in our national parks.” (Rawl really needs to be called out on his statement. The President signed the bill begrudgingly after the court battled was lost by “environmentalists and anti-gun lobby”. In fact Obama initially stated (about the law) “I am not in favor of concealed weapons -- Would you feel safer having more loaded and concealed guns being carried in the public places you and your family visit?”
“Social Security” – “If we do nothing, our current Social Security system can pay full benefits until 2041. While that is a legitimate concern, it’s not an immediate crisis. There are years to work out a reasonable plan if we start now. AARP has identified options that could cover over 200% of the anticipated shortfall. None of them are free. Some involve paying more into the system. Others involve taking less out through raising the retirement age. http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/econ/i3_reform.pdf. We don’t need to do all those things; just enough of them to make sure Social Security are still there for the next generation.
It will take thoughtful compromise and sharing of sacrifice between different generations and economic groups to make this monumental adjustment. It’s a job that will become harder the longer the United States waits. It’s the type of job Jim DeMint, who specializes in pitting Americans against each other, doesn’t do well. If politicians like Jim DeMint squander those years in gridlock and the politics of shouting “no” and “Waterloo,” there will be a crisis that can only end with the return of widespread poverty among our elderly.” (Rawl insists Social Security is not an immediate crisis? His answer is the same as Obama’s and socialist AARP to pay more into the raided trust fund (higher taxes) and cut benefits while doing nothing to ensure this fund is not continually raided in the future.)
The fact that Mr. Nobody beat the establishment Democrat choice is not surprising to this author. When you read his stance on the issues you see establishment positions that have angered voters and constituents of all stripes. As usual, the Democrat party is in denial. They either have no clue or they are sticking their heads in the sand.
What is surprising is the candidate that won is facing a felony sexual obscenity charge that has been discovered since his win. The headline should have read Rawl Mauled. Vic Rawl probably woke up on Thursday morning feeling like he lost to a candidate that had died and his name remained on the ballot. The Democrats are in trouble and DeMint is a tea party favored candidate. Need I say more……..
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