Anti-Incumbent or Anti-Turncoat

So far this year four sitting Congressmen or Senators have been defeated in a primary. While mass media is spending all their time claiming the wave against incumbents, this should come as no suprise that TV pundits are stupid and something else is happening so far. The reasons for defeating these incumbents--Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT); Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL); Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL); and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA)--can be divided into three categories. 1) Bitch slapping party-switchers 2) Ignoring self-hating turncoats and 3) A party system dominated by theocratic idiots.

1) The Switch in Time that Saved No One.
Rep. Griffith and Sen. Specter decided in this Congress to switch parties and run under the banner of their opposition. While this would be a wonderful idea in the land of failed personal principles, mind-numbing ignorance, and unending self-love (though Alabama does finish high on the list for the qualities), the voters in Alabama and Pennsylvania weren't having any of it. Nothing says, "I'm a Republican" like spending 2008 running in an anti-Bush wave and then voting for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. However, after gobbling up Democratic campaign donations like Jerry Nadler at an all you can eat buffet, Giffith left the party. Thankfully, the Republican party opted not to offer him the nomination. Griffith, whose political savvy is only outmatched by his resemblance to a creepy, child-less, binoculars carrying, children's playground observer version of Colonel Sanders, apparently showed us that no matter how pathetic a former Democrat is, the Republican Party of Alabama can find someone even more horrifying to go to Congress.

2) The Race to Finish Second
Rep. Artur Davis, another Alabama gem, was refused the Democratic nomination for governor. Now Artur has been a Member of Congress for a few terms and has some pretty solid name recognition. And all Artur Davis, a black Democratic politician, did was ignore the large black electorate in his state and fail to get the endorsement of the state's major civil rights organization. Oh ya, and despite representing a district with a large black population in one of the poorest, unhealthiest states in the US, he was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against the Obama health care plan. Instead, white and more progressive Ag Commissioner Ron Sparks showed him the door---and rightly so. Rep. Davis, enjoy your years of early retirement and think long and hard that even in a state with an average IQ of 21, they can get that burning rise of partially digested Southern fare whenever a politician turns his back on everyone he should and shows the backbone as firm as mashed potatoes and pancake batter.

3) The Utah GOP Threw out Bob, Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb....
Finally, Sen. Bennett was defeated by a party caucus (not the full electorate) by a combination of perfect, pure, and morally superior LDS theocrats and Tea Party members whose statements and speeches make the rantings of a schizophrenic like the Son of Sam Killer seem as stable and calm as a bedtime story from Mother Teresa. They threw Bennett out of office, despite being a great representative of Utah's interests, because he wasn't "them" enough and actually used his mind to deal with the scaaaaaaary black president. This sits in stark contrast to Tea Partiers path to dealing with Obama: speak about constitutional issues you know nothing about and close your eyes and have a wet dream about the antebellum South and what you could do in a city sitting below the Mason-Dixon line.

So, there you have it. The four incumbents have lost because they either ignored the people who gave them their rise and turned their back on their principles. Or they unfortunately faced a group of party elites with Bund-Rally-style passion for a "cause."

~Ginger