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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Robert Schlesinger
Paul, Angle, Buck Help Make 2010 The Year of the Bad Candidates: The wacky big three are joined by U.N. conspiracy theorist Dan Maes, jobless veteran Alvin Greene, and others
There was a time, we'll call it the '90s, when every political year had a theme. Remember 1992, the "Year of the Woman"? The historic 1994 elections brought the "Year of the Angry White Male." Then "soccer moms" were in fashion, in 1996. By 1998, the "year of the" meme was petering out, but it will forever be imprinted with the name Monica.
It may be time to dust off the "year of" formulation because 2010 is shaping up to be the "Year of the Bad Candidate."
That's not to say that 2010 is without stars. Florida GOP Senate nominee Marco Rubio is a comer. Ditto Nikki Haley, favored to be South Carolina's next governor. Democrats point to Kentucky's telegenic Attorney General Jack Conway as a potential star. But more than any other election cycle in memory, 2010 has produced general election candidates with arresting flaws. And neither party is immune.
Already, the 2010 campaign season has been marked by the wacky Big Three: Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, and Ken Buck. When Kentucky Tea Partyers vaulted Paul to the GOP Senate nomination, the victory spurred the antiestablishment fringe active in other Republican primaries. Paul instantly became the face of the inchoate
Nevada's Angle has actually outshone Paul for sheer weirdness. She mused about "Second Amendment remedies," and suggested that unemployment insurance has "spoiled our citizenry." She sees her
Buck, the GOP Senate nominee in Colorado, rounds out the Big Three. He said Coloradans should support him over his female primary opponent because "I do not wear high heels." He supports "birther" legislation, requiring that presidential candidates prove themselves natural-born U.S. citizens, in response to rumors that Obama is not one. And he questions whether the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing citizenship to those who are born here, applies to the children of illegal aliens.
Is Buck the
Not all problem candidates are challengers. Louisiana GOP Sen. David Vitter , another birther flirt, admitted in 2007 to using the services of the "D.C. Madam." In June, it was revealed that a Vitter aide, reportedly a point man on domestic violence, had attacked his girlfriend with a knife but stayed on staff for two years.
Not all candidates' flaws are as salacious. Take Rep.
Mark Kirk
, the moderate
Kirk's embellishing came to light after Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic Senate nominee, was caught overstating his Vietnam War service. Blumenthal is still favored to win, because the
Indeed, money can buy neither love nor a new background. Florida real estate mogul Jeff Greene briefly surged ahead of Rep. Kendrick Meek in the state's Democratic Senate primary. But questions about his partying days with his buddy, boxer Mike Tyson who was the best man at his wedding, sent Greene's poll numbers plummeting. He lost the primary Tuesday to Meek.
Incredibly, Florida does not have this year's worst Democratic candidate named Greene.
With candidates like these, is it any wonder voters are so angry?
Available at Amazon.com:
The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy
The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics
Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
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