The @DaveWeigel Silly Conspiracy Theory | New Ledger #tcot #teaparty

OK, I couldn't resist. Dave Weigel drew me in like ... searching for a cliche ... a vulture to a dead raccoon. He threw out an interesting one-off tweet about Christine O'Donnell that made it clear he has no idea what's going on in Republican circles outside the DC cocktail circuit.



...Like a hungry drunk to an olive?



But it was fun to write the response, which you can read in full at The New Ledger.



...Like a meth head to a double-wide? I'll work on it and get back to you.

Amplify’d from newledger.com

Dave Weigel’s Silly Conspiracy Theory

Theory: Christine O’Donnell is catnip for liberal media so it ignores actual surging GOP candidates in WV, WI, etc.

Now, at first glance there is much to commend in this little tweet. It is identified as a theory, which, while somewhat redundant in the informal world of social networking in general and Twitter in particular, still serves notice that this is even more of a musing than usual. A theory can be useful even, or especially, when it is falsified, providing instruction for those willing to learn.

We see an unsubtle swipe at Christine O’Donnell, Tea Party darling and target of such strange bedfellows as Bill Maher and Karl Rove. Weigel contrasts her with “actual surging candidates”, pushing the narrative that she can’t win and should be ignored.

Charity requires that we interpret the theory in a way in which it makes sense. What Weigel means by “surging” candidates here is obviously candidates who are polling within striking distance. Or perhaps he misidentified the states in which candidates are surging. These things are forgivable, and do not prompt this post.

But here it is: if “Christine O’Donnell is catnip for the liberal media”, who is using her that way? Weigel clearly assumes an active control over which races the insurgents back (or something). The Republican Party has no such control. The Tea Party movement exercises no such control. The O’Donnell campaign certainly isn’t in it to be a distraction for Ron Johnson or John Raese. Read more at newledger.com

 

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