Red State Foolishness

If there is one politician who I truly hate, it is the Republican Senator from Minnesota Norm Coleman (former democratic mayor of St. Paul by the way). If you have ever seen this man on C-Span before, you will likely know and share the same nauseous revulsion I have for Norm. The sleaze is practically bubbling up from underneath his pressed dress shirt. He is more insincere and politically calculating than Hilary Clinton and Karl Rove combined times ten.

Yet there is another midwestern “Son of Norm Coleman” who has been running around as of late – whose level of slime almost rivals that of his evil father - and that is Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning. Recently, it was revealed that Jon is thinking about running against Chuck Hagel in 2008, to coast on hardcore right-wing consternation with Hagel’s continuing criticism of the Bush “policy” in Iraq. Because sadly, despite the fact that Hagel is the biggest rubber stamper for Bush (he votes more with Bush than any other senator), many republicans would rather burn themselves alive than see Hagel continue to part with the rest of the party robots on the single issues of the war. Bruning is pretty savvy when it comes to generating bone-headed media campaigns that showcase his earnest prosecution against child sex predators. But campaigning against child sex predators who everyone hates anyway is different from going up against a millionaire business tycoon and experienced senate incumbent like the Chuckster.

Getting rid of Hagel – probably the best foreign policy thinker in the senate now – would be a huge mistake for the republican party in my opinion. And it won’t happen. My prediction is that Jon will get some support from the hardcore nuts out there, but will basically get eaten alive after Hagel gets together with his Berkshire-Hathaway Omaha country club buddies and develop a campaign that will castrate that punk and leave him for dead in a ditch along I-80. I can’t say I will be sad to see that.

Graphic above from Paging Power.