Looks like Earl Ray has won, and this has absolutely no meaning to most of us other than that mercifully we have been spared from a few days of “This is bad news for Obama” and that Chuck Todd and Rick Klein will have to come up with new ways to spin this as bad news for Democrats tomorrow.
WV Results
by John Cole| 76 Comments
This post is in: Election 2011, Our Failed Media Experiment
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
First!
Sentient Puddle
What, you don’t expect that the margin he won by will prompt the “bad news for Obama” chatter?
Roger Moore
I suspect it means that it won’t spare us the “bad news for Obama” business, just put a different spin on it.
Hunter Gathers
May the 13 month sloppy media blowjob of Mitt Romney commence.
I’ve been told by our progressive betters that President Mittens will be a competent POTUS, and not beholden to the TeaBaggers whatsoever.
Morzer
But this contradicts the nineteenth law of the Village, namely: Obama cannot win in Appalachia.
Clearly, the news cannot be true and even if true can only be trivially so.
Corner Stone
Chuckles Todd had the biggest freakin’ baby pen!s erection known to the Villagers, just salivating the R would win.
He was beggin’ strips for it.
Scott P.
Does anyone sense a replay of 2000? A Democratic president branded as “too conservative” by the left, and a Republican candidate branded as “too liberal” by the far right. Inevitably the media will brand them as “just the same!”. Get ready for “Gush vs. Bore” II.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
I live in Texas. At least your state (re)elected a Democrat for governor. Try living here.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Scott P.: right down to Michael Moore and Bill Maher telling us the Democrat isn’t pure enough
Martin
Clearly this is bad news for Obama. Looks like 100% of voters went for the white guy.
Martin
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
No.
Jenny
This is all Obama’s fault!!
Morzer
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Can’t you find comfort in the Fifth Book of Romney, chapter 13, vv. 11-14:
For in those days Satan went down among the men of Texas and they did elect unto themselves a liberal in Republican clothing. And the name of him that was elected was Rick of the House of Perry. And he did force innocent little girls to endure government penetration by medical devicements. And there was no virtuous man upon the throne of Dubya.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
Belafon – are you in Houston? Worst bumper sticker I have seen recently: Save America / Perry for President. Trotted out by my neighbor the day after Perry announced…
opal
This is good news for John McCain.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@Martin: Martin – you would like Austin. And some parts of Houston… Maybe not that last part…
Jenny
A Democrat winning in a really, really red state (R+20) and overcoming an avalanche of negative ads, clearly shows Obama’s unpopularity.
/MSM’d
Corner Stone
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: Don’t encourage that dbag. Keep him in Sunny Kah-lee-four-nyah.
Got enough CA ex-pat assholes ruining Austin as it is.
Mr Stagger Lee
I told the Maloney people to run pictures of Tomblin in Pitt gear. And have pictures of him in bed with Rich Rodriguez, but would they listen??? NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!
MMM
my guy only received 2%…I thought he would do better
hitchhiker
@Scott P.:
Oh, please, not that. Anything but that.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: Dallas-Ft. Worth area. As far as bumper stickers go, I still fume over the “If 10% was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me” sticker I see around here. Even as an atheist, I know that that was nothing close to what Jesus taught.
hhex65
between this and new Squidbillies episodes it’s been a good week so far
Corner Stone
@Scott P.: Scott P., I have to tell you. You’re doing a masterful job. Somewhere to the right of gene108 and just left of jwest.
Your analysis is confusing while at the same time repulsive in its absurdity.
Kudos.
SiubhanDuinne
@Hunter Gathers:
I don’t know if this exactly counts as “sloppy media blowjob” in the technical sense of the term, but I noticed a new billboard today: photos (head shots) of several attractive people, carefully selected to be as racially and ethnically diverse as possible, the caption for each simply saying “I am a Mormon.” Of course, it could just be LDS marketing with no political implica-
Naaaah.
SiubhanDuinne
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
I’m not even sure what that’s supposed to mean.
beltane
The teabagger trolls on Twitter really don’t seem to like Romeny very much, they never even mention him at all. Herman Cain is their man for the time being. I think Romney is going to have to pick a running mate who strongly appeals to the fundies in order to fully gain their trust. It will probably be the Liberty U. governor of Virginia.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@SiubhanDuinne: Could a Mormon with a sense of humor put up a sign that says “And we do all of this without caffeine”?
opal
@Scott P.:
Cool.
I’ll be old enough to participate in the riots this time around.
beltane
@Corner Stone: The difference between now and 2000 is that the kids are not going to passively accept another stolen election.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
This is the opening sentence below the headline of one of the Christie stories on the NY Times:
“The decision by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey not to run for president ended a heady roller-coaster ride, and now forces Republicans to focus on those already in the race.”
On first glance, I read “heady” as “heavy.” Does that make me a bad person?
Corner Stone
@beltane: And then?
Gromitt Gunn
@Corner Stone: please tell me that you’re the creative genius behind the commenters Socialist Frenchman and Tea Party Tina on statesman.com.
MikeJ
@SiubhanDuinne: The claim that the tithe is all you owe gopod, rather than when the communists Christians of the first century were told to sell everything they own and split it all up between then.
Shorter: many xtians don’t know shit about the bible.
amk
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: The fucking ‘heady roller-coaster ride’ was only in the heads of fucking media talking heads. The fat fucker was as emphatic as his not refusing another serving of dessert.
debit
@Corner Stone: No and then! /dude where’s my car
asiangrrlMN
@SiubhanDuinne: Tithing to the church. Ten percent. Therefore, government should only get ten percent. Also. Too.
Um, congrats, Cole?
beltane
@Corner Stone: Wingnut martial law? I have no idea. I do know that the Sunday morning show centrist pablum most of us were raised with has no influence whatsoever on young people.
Corner Stone
@debit: And then? And then and then and then!?
I am so happy right now.
debit
@Corner Stone: Sometimes I love you.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@Corner Stone: Austin is pretty cool. Was there for school for a couple of years. Houston more or less ever since. Would love to get back there permanently, but Houston is okay in my book.
mk3872
I’m sure that we’ll learn tomorrow from Fox & Friends that the WV election was stolen from the GOP by ACORN.
Djur
@SiubhanDuinne: Nah, the scoops have been running that campaign for a few years now. They often have pictures of such as a black man, because they need to remind people that they accept black people now.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@amk: Completely agree. The average person I interact with on a regular basis, whether colleagues or customers, is not tuned into what is going on at all. Anecdotal to be sure, but nevertheless…
SiubhanDuinne
@MikeJ:
@asiangrrlMN:
Well, that can’t be good news for Cain’s 999 proposal.
(999 upside down is The Sign Of The Beast. How long until Cain is ID’d as the Antichrist by the superfundies?)
Funny edit: the auto-correct spelling software wanted to make “superfundies” into “super undies.” LOL, and we were just speaking of Mormons!
MikeJ
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: I worked in Houston for the Q. What a horrible stench. I felt ill every time I went anywhere and had my car window the slightest bit cracked. Just a complete shithole. I got called off that project to go to Mexico City and the air quality was better there.
I did enjoy going to Austin at the weekends, but I probably would have enjoyed Mississippi at that point.
On T: if anyone wants some voting, try cleek’s music poll.
trollhattan
I’m trying to imagine ever having the choice between Earl Ray and Bob Henry, in California.
debit
Okay, I have to go to bed so that I can wake up and go to work tomorrow where no doubt more barf covered papers await me to be copied. (Tax client being audited. It could be worse; could be cat piss.) Night all.
opal
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine:
“Pundits weigh in on Christie’s decision”
asiangrrlMN
@SiubhanDuinne: OK, that cracks me up! Super undies. Snort.
@debit: Ugh. Night, debit!
Corner Stone
@debit: I am really easy to get along with. Just love a mix of 6 to 10 movies as much as I do, use their pull quotes liberally in every day life, and let me cook for you/give you massages a few times a week.
Do that and I am a real teddy bear. Easy peasy.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@MikeJ: The Q?
Air quality is pretty good here generally. very breezy even on the hottest of days. This summer powerfully sucked though. Worst in the decade I have been here. You must have been on the east side by the petrochemical complex.
Yutsano
@debit:
I didn’t do it. :)
Seriously, as long as the paperwork is in a row, you’ll be fine. And make sure you get clear instructions on what the auditor is looking for. Don’t let them be vague or mushy about the details.
Corner Stone
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: Austin is awesome. Have several friends there and visit a number of times per year. Love that place.
Houston is really under rated by a number of haters. Mid-town has really come alive with night life, and the restaurant scene has always been top notch. Movie theaters every where you turn and a fine arts district that can satisfy quite a few ranges of tastes.
The big knock on Houston is really the outdoor life. The plain landscape and the brutal, brutal summer months really kill a lot of action. But, you can golf here in shorts 9 months out of the year.
There’s lots of good in Htown, but I have to honestly acknowledge a lot of my buddies’ negatives as well.
I just can’t hook up the same kind of opportunities in Austin that I have by being onsite in Houston. So, maybe one day.
MikeJ
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: Big computer company that ended in a Q was the client.
I was mainly northwestish? Down 249. But when my gfriend, who had been a kid on Galveston came to visit wanted to go to the San Jacinto monument I felt like shit for days.
Hurricane Alison was among the most pleasant times I had there.
Corner Stone
@MikeJ:
No, it was not. You’re a lying asshole.
I’ve been there a number of times. Not even close.
Corner Stone
@MikeJ: Hurricane who?
Violet
@MikeJ:
Tropical Storm Allison. Not Hurricane Allison.
@MikeJ:
I remember being in the airport in Mexico City and the smog was so bad the terminal itself was smoggy.
Alex
http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/10/04/democrats_hold_on_in_west_virginia.html for the inevitable this is bad news for Democrats article.
Cat Lady
I wonder how many WV crackers thought they were voting for James Earl Ray?
MikeJ
@Corner Stone: Alison. Sorry, I forgot it was only a tropical storm that killed 41 people, not an actual hurricane.
Corner Stone
@MikeJ: Unlike you, I was actually there during TS Allison.
There has not been a human being in the last 20 years who could have visited Houston, and also visited Mexico City and said they prefer the air quality in Mexico City.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@hhex65:
I’m addicted to that show, FSM does it make me laugh my ass off. The characters are a riot and Dan Halen seems like the perfect corporate crook. I’ve been watching it since day one and never miss an episode.
Martin
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: I would like Austin, somewhat. My mom lived in Plano for a while, so I’m familiar with Texas. The main thing I wouldn’t like are the summers. A typical summer day here in my pocket of the OC is 80 degrees and down into the 60s by sundown. And we have no bugs. And today it rained for the first time since March, I think.
Expensive as all fuck, but it’s a damn nice place to live.
I’ve commented in the past on the mismatch of high-end cars to median homes in my neighborhood. Yesterday driving home I realized that I was behind the 1-2 year old Nissan GT-R that lives somewhere before my house in my neighborhood. He turned off and there was ANOTHER brand new GT-R in front of him – and the GT-R in front of me was first in the turn pocket when we turned into the neighborhood, so these guys weren’t together at the start. Where the fuck would you find two GT-Rs following each other coincidentally? I think they only sell 2500 or so per year in the US. And then I have to pass the Lambo across the street as I park my 6 year-old Honda. Felt a little poor yesterday…
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@Corner Stone: have to agree. Not even close. Agree with your above comment as well. A lot more than meets the eye here and one interesting perq is the diversity that comes with a large number of foreign nationals that calling Houston home because of the energy industry. At my kid’s soccer games, I hear, English (three kinds!), Swedish, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Afrikaaner, German… the list goes on. Really cool. You end up hanging out with these people on a regular basis. Way more diverse that the Long Island I knew as a kid…
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@Martin: we’ve had little problem with rain this year! Kind of ridiculous really. the weather turned this past week and we are back to cool nights (50s) and sunny warm days (80s)
Kris
The county-by-county results are fascinating — remember how we talked here a week back about the TV ad buys the Republican Governors Association made in the DC media market, and how it seemed to be unanswered by the Dems?
Well Earl Ray got whipped in the north of the state, winning no counties in the DC media market and underperforming Obama in most of the Pittsburgh and Clarksburg markets.
A lesson for every future Democratic campaign in WV — you have to raise enough money to counter ads in the expensive DC and Pittsburgh markets because Republicans will run them, and they will work.
Thanks to my brothers and sisters in central and southern WV and (and Fairmont and New Martinsville) for keeping Maloney out of the Governor’s chair — we don’t need a Walker or a Kasich here!
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
I’ll float this at the next open thread I am aroudn for, but what about a BJ meet up in Houston?
Martin
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: Little problem with rain, big problem with every fucking thing being on fire though! Been there – rain is much better.
Might come to Austin next year for the F1 race, though. That’s very cool.
What’s Thanksgiving in Texas like? You guys have a parade with big inflatable floats and when Santa shows up at the end you execute him by lethal injection?
AxelFoley
@SiubhanDuinne:
They have those fuckin “I’m a Mormon” video ads all over YouTube.
Spaghetti Lee
@Kris:
Do you have a link to the county-by-county?
Corner Stone
@Gordon, The Big Express Engine: Dude, seriously. If another mofo Californian shows up round Austin after selling his POS dump of a house for $750K and says, “That’s what it costs to live in the best spot round here? I’ll take two!”
I am going to be totes pissed.
Spaghetti Lee
@Kris:
I don’t know about this. Tomblin won 3 of 4 counties in the northern panhandle. He lost Morgantown, but that’s Maloney’s hometown, so you’ve got to factor that in. And the Eastern Panhandle never votes Dem anyway. I think it functions as a place for conservatives who want to live in metro DC but don’t want to deal with all those liberals in Fairfax and Montgomery.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
@Corner Stone: free markets will solve that problem eventually. keep the faith…
Kris
http://apps.sos.wv.gov/elections/results/statesummary.aspx
@Spaghetti_Lee
The Eastern Panhandle is traditionally republican (Berkeley County and the highlands especially) but Obama won Jefferson County so it’s not that bad. Nobody moves here because of ideology they move here because they can’t afford a house closer in.
Yes Earl Ray took some labor strongholds in the northern panhandle where there are other information sources. In the eastern panhandle and in Morgantown/Monogalia county Earl Ray crashed badly. Dems better remember what happens when you don’t play on TV.
Elizabelle
@Kris:
re the ads being successful: that’s discouraging.
However, delighted that Earl Ray Tomblin won.
A win is a win is a win. Maybe his will get more play in a day or two, once Christie slides off the top of the news.