NY Times: Specter's defeat signals a wave against incumbents
"In Kentucky, Rand Paul, the most visible symbol of the Tea Party movement, easily won the Republican Senate primary and delivered a significant blow to the Republican establishment. His 24-point victory over Trey Grayson, who was supported by the most powerful Republican on Capitol Hill, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, underscored the anti-Washington sentiment echoing across the country. "
WaPo: Anti-incumbent fever rattles establishment
"On a busy primary election night that put the political establishments of both parties on the defensive, Specter fell to two-term Rep. Joe Sestak. Elected five times to the Senate as a Republican, Specter had the support of President Obama and the political leadership of his state, but he ran into rank-and-file resistance inside his new party and became the third member of Congress to lose his own party's support in the past two weeks."
LA Times: Voters in primaries shake things up for both major parties
"Delivering a powerful message of discontent, voters Tuesday swept out veteran Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, nominated a "tea party" movement founder for a Senate seat in Kentucky and forced Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a runoff for the Democratic nomination in Arkansas."
WSJ: Primary voters rebuke parties
"In all three, voters showed they were ready to sever ties with candidates too closely identified with Washington and its political leaders. "
FOX News: Electorate Roars at Washington, Hands Setbacks to Establishment Candidates
"One by one, the incumbents or establishment-backed candidates in Tuesday's slate of high-stake contests fell or fell short."(More coverage after the jump...)
The cable outlets along with USA Today were somewhat less confrontational in the headlines, but not in the ledes.
USA Today: Specter out in Pa., Tea Party aids Paul in Ky.
"A growing wave of discontent with government crashed down on "establishment" candidates running in primaries Tuesday as voters turned five-term Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter out of office and nominated a populist "Tea Party" candidate in Kentucky."
CNN: Specter's loss, Paul's victory shake up murky political map
"The results reinforced the perception of anger across the country against Washington politics-as-usual, but also showed the public discontent may be aimed at both Democrats and Republicans."
CBS: (AP) Specter Loses, Rand Paul Wins in Key Primaries
"Political novice Rand Paul rode support from tea party activists to a rout in Kentucky's Republican Senate primary Tuesday night, jolting the GOP establishment. Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter lost his struggle for political survival in Pennsylvania, a five-term incumbent offering experience to voters clamoring for change."On the other hand, ABC News doesn't pull any punches:
ABC: INCUMBENTS BEWARE: Sestak Sends Sen. Specter Into Retirement
"In a symbol of the growing anti-Washington sentiment across the country, Rep. Joe Sestak defeated five-term senator Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary and in Kentucky, Tea Party-backed candidate Rand Paul captured GOP Senate nomination, defeating GOP establishment candidate and Secretary of State Trey Grayson."It's interesting to see that the Village is willing to actually admit that the establishment GOP is in trouble too and in fact always has been from the Tea Party movement. It's not the Democrats they're going after in the primaries, folks. It's the Republicans who failed to "stop Obama" or the ones seen as aiding and abetting him in his "Socialism" that will be replaced by new, even more partisan Teapublicans. Rand Paul's nearly 25-point victory last night is proof enough of that.
On the other side, it seems there's little appetite to send conservative Democrats back to the Senate either, especially ones seen as too friendly to corporate interests over Obama's agenda. Arlen Specter's gone, and Blanche Lincoln has been forced into a runoff. If I'm say, Ben Nelson or a Blue Dog in the House, I'm suddenly real worried. However, the same has to go for any Republicans seen as moderate in any way, shape or form. Those are the ones in more trouble.
In the end the Democrats have more incumbents to put up, but the Republicans have plenty of them too. Anti-Incumbent, not Anti-Democrat, is the key.
However why are people anti-incumbent?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the case in 2006-08, it was anti-repub. People were pissed with what the Republicans were doing, which was being more like Democrats. :-P
It's anti-incumbent because Congress is not listening at all. The Republicans are too busy trying to block anything and everything the Dems put out there, but to be honest the Dems aren't putting out much of anything worth a damn either and have shown via HCR that they don't really care what the American people think. Plus with people worried about the economy and jobs they hate to see their Government burning through money like a teenage girl with daddy's credit card.
Sorry but Greece is starting more and more to look like a glimpse into the future if we do not get spending under control.
Eh no I'm just wrong, we can just print more money, right?