Bennett Says No to Write-In Run
[Guest post by DRJ]
Utah Senator Robert Bennett has decided not to run as a write-in candidate because he doesn’t want to divide the GOP:
“Bennett had left the door open to an independent run for several weeks, telling USA TODAY and others that, “Once I make my decision, you’ll be the second to know.” Speaking at the headquarters of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Bennett said that a write-in run would only divide his party further.”
Perhaps he’s found other post-Senate employment.
— DRJ
Wow a Repub that likes his party over his own career. Where did this guy come from?
Mr. Pink (bb8267) — 5/21/2010 @ 8:49 pmThis POS only thinks of himself. He should have dismissed any talk of a write-in campaign at the convention and pledged his support then for the winner of the primary. He epitomizes everything wrong about politicians.
SaintGeorgeGentile (aa85b2) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:09 pm2
If he only thought of himself he woulda tried to run.
Mr. Pink (bb8267) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:32 pmIt finally dawned on him that the only people that supported him were his family members. And even there it was a close vote.
MU789 (d6579a) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:36 pmWow, you people are real a**holes. The man did a good thing.
JHE (9284aa) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:39 pmMaybe, but he lost the election. Is it commendable if someone who loses gives up, or is it expected?
DRJ (d43dcd) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:42 pmSen. Lieberman is positive proof that he didn’t have to do it, and precedent for the possibility that he might have been able to pull it off.
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:45 pmComment by aphrael — 5/21/2010 @ 9:45 pm
You’re assuming that Bennet has the same level of support among UT Dems, as Lieberman does among CT Reps.
AD - RtR/OS! (9200e9) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:47 pmI don’t think those facts are in evidence.
AD: I assume nothing. I’m simply pointing out that we have at least one instance in the current Senate of someone who was primaried out yet who still won re-election.
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:48 pmWhat’s the saying: All politics is local.
AD - RtR/OS! (9200e9) — 5/21/2010 @ 9:51 pmDifferent men, different states, different conditions.
aphrael,
Write-in candidacies are uphill battles but I think it’s true Bennett might have a shot at winning. For instance, IMO his supporters made a persuasive argument that the convention was loaded against him and didn’t represent the way Utah voters would vote. Nevertheless, it didn’t endear Lieberman to Democrats when he lost the primary and ran anyway, and I think the same is true with Bennett and Republicans.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 5/21/2010 @ 10:26 pmCertainly not – the liberals I know all loathe Lieberman now, and I suspect the same would be true of Bennett if he were to have run.
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 5/21/2010 @ 10:44 pmWhy would a liberal loathe Lieberman? I only ask because he is a liberal. Is there something un-liberal about him that makes him loathsome?
Ag80 (b97c3e) — 5/21/2010 @ 10:49 pmfunny: the lieberals i know just loathe…. it’s their default setting.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 5/21/2010 @ 10:49 pmAg80: from the viewpoint of liberals, he’s (a) a DINO, (b) someone who betrayed the Democratic party by losing the primary and then running as an independent while mostly getting Republican votes.
He’s less well liked on the left than Specter was on the Right.
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 5/21/2010 @ 10:52 pmAg80, Joe’s slightly to the right of JFK. Today’s liberals must be progressive to the max. He’s pro-war, pro-defense… and Liebs went after Clinton during impeachment, IIR.
Vermont Neighbor (bc26c4) — 5/21/2010 @ 11:09 pmThat’s interesting.
And this is no insult to you, aphrael, because in my experience you are honest person:
Toeing the party line is more important to a liberal than actually being a liberal?
I ask because that type of opinion is pretty much what conservatives have to put up with all the time.
We’re constantly expected to justify our support of the actions of conservative — or libertarian — people who we may or may not agree with, simply because they align themselves with the Republican Party.
So, it’s OK if liberals do it, but conservatives don’t have that option, according to your liberal friends? Even if, by the obvious victory of Lieberman in the general election, he reflects the views of the people who elected him?
I’m not asking you to answer the questions from your viewpoint, I’m asking to get a better idea of how liberals view liberal philosophy and its importance in shaping the nation.
Ag80 (b97c3e) — 5/21/2010 @ 11:10 pmGee, doing the obviously right thing. What do you want, a cookie?
Mitch (e40959) — 5/21/2010 @ 11:16 pmHe’s less well liked on the left than Specter was on the Right.
With all due respect, aphrael, I hardly think that is possible.
JVW (08e86a) — 5/22/2010 @ 12:17 am#19, JVW, clearly, aphrael hasn’t fathomed the depths of his party’s affinity for depraved malignancy. And that’s to his credit.
ropelight (4a690a) — 5/22/2010 @ 7:05 amI think DRJ was making the point that it is generally accepted that when you lose your primary, you don’t then run as an independent, and to agree to do the norm shouldn’t be considered as anything noble for the sake of the party.
I think aphrael was simply pointing out that there is one current example of someone in the senate who did run after losing the primary, so while normative to bow out, it has not been universal.
And I think that was the “intent” of their points, nothing more.
Politics is local, and motivation is individual. Few (if any) people do things they think are against their own best interest (though their perspective may be very skewed), but we do see some motivations as more noble than others. I think everybody knows that Joe Lieberman is Democrat who is strong on national defense and the military, which was almost the norm 50 years ago (JFK) and still visible 30-35 years ago (other than Joe).
It is not surprising that Dems in general don’t like him, just that it is not surprising that Repubs in general don’t like Specter. All the talk from the media and the Dems condemning the Repubs for being dominated by the “far right” and calling them “monolithic” is just that, talk.
Remember the Jim Carey movie, “Liar, Liar!”? Wouldn’t it be great, if just for a day, that everything a politician said was stripped of disingenuous political rhetoric?
MD in Philly (cb8efe) — 5/22/2010 @ 7:29 amfrom the viewpoint of liberals, (Liebermans) (a) a DINO
He’s not. He’s quite liberal. He broke with liberals on one issue – the Iraq war. Blanch Lincoln is a moderate Dem, while Lieberman sits solidly in the parties left-wing.
[Released from filter. — DRJ]
Subotai (9a251d) — 5/22/2010 @ 8:01 amIf that happened, MD, all the politicians would go into hiding for 24 hours. Not one word uttered. They know they lie and continue to do so with nary a care.
PatAz (9d1bb3) — 5/22/2010 @ 10:11 amComment by PatAz
Good point. We would need to catch them before they hid. I think most of them would talk by holding a water spray bottle in front of them and saying “we’re going to water board you now”.
MD in Philly (cb8efe) — 5/22/2010 @ 10:24 amHe’s less well liked on the left than Specter was on the Right.
Oh boy – you should really watch the vids of Specter’s craptacular road show last summer, after he voted for the healthcare bill. The anger (and even hate) was really starting to build, and he saw the writing on the wall soon after that fiasco, and shortly after changed parties.
Dmac (3d61d9) — 5/22/2010 @ 10:25 amOh, no insult taken.
I think i’m going to bow out of the conversation at the moment, though, because I can’t give it the attention it deserves:
this guy was a friend of mine.
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 5/22/2010 @ 11:25 pmA tragedy. I’m sorry, aphrael.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 5/22/2010 @ 11:36 pmaphrael – You have my condolences on your friends death. I hate riding in city traffic for just that kind of reason.
Have Blue (854a6e) — 5/22/2010 @ 11:41 pmI wonder if they cited the motorist for opening the car door in the face of oncoming traffic?
AD - RtR/OS! (3c862f) — 5/22/2010 @ 11:57 pm