A Jolly Bad Time

When David Jolly won that special U.S. House election in Florida's Thirteenth House District last week, it summed up everything that's wrong with the party that purports to represent the American progressive movement - such as it is.  Jolly was a neanderthal conservative who's a former lobbyist, and yet Democrat Alex Sink managed to lose to him.  Jolly is at least as contemptible as Florida's governor, the horrible Rick Scott, meaning that Sink has pulled the impossible feat of losing to an unelectable Republican candidate in the Sunshine State . . . twice!

Polls showing lack of popular support for the Affordable Care Act and Jolly's exploitation of the issue suggest anger with "Obamacare" and portend to a Republican rout in the November midterms over the issue,  even though a Bloomberg poll recent showed 64 percent support for the law (though not too many other polls are so rosy for the Democrats on the issue), and Sink came within two points of wining in a Republican district.  A friend of my mother's who lives in the Tampa area (she's the sister of one of my friends, coincidentally) reported to my mother that not too many people voted because they were unaware that there was a special election.  A more enthusiastic Democratic base could have made the difference, but Sink  apparently couldn't get anyone enthused.  Also, Sink ran a defensive campaign on the issue of Affordable Care Act rather than forcefully advocating for it.  The conclusion is obvious - Alex Sink is a loser.  I don't care how close she came to winning; she still lost!  And she lost without having to spend a lot of resources in a bruising primary fight, as both Jolly in 2013 and Scott in 2010 had to do.  People who say she'd make a great governor or congresswoman miss the point that she's a lousy candidate.   Some Tampa-area Democrats are suggesting that Sink run again in November against Jolly for a full term.  Guys? Please don't!  She should be persona non grata among Florida Democrats by now.  Even the Tampa Bay Rays would have to admit that, in this case, two strikes should render her out!  If she can't beat two unelectable GOP candidates for public office, who can she beat?  And that's the problem with Democrats. They keep choosing candidates that don't know how to run for office and don't know how to connect with voters.  They can't even get their base enthusiastic enough to vote in a special election.

But, then, maybe this wasn't about Sink, milquetoast that she is, or even about the caliber of other Democratic candidates.  Maybe Democrats really are in trouble over Obamacare, and this election really is a harbinger of another shellacking.  Because the Affordable Care Act hasn't provided much in the way of affordability or care, and the American people are mad as hell about it.  Also, key Democratic seats up for election in the Senate are in Republican states that Mitt Romney won in 2012.  And the economy is still struggling along, and no matter how much President Obama blames Republican obstruction, well, if you're a wealthy campaign donor who opposes his policies, you want to make sure the people elect more Republicans to obstruct them, and all you have to do is spend lots of money to convince people to vote for your candidates by focusing on a maxim that anyone, even the most pea-brained voter, can understand . . . that Obamacare sucks.

And just remember, the only thing Republicans can't do is elect a President.  Congress, governorships, state legislatures . . . everywhere else, they're fine.  And they're sure to get the Presidency if the country stays in a malaise through 2016.  They'll have the money and the voter suppression laws in place to take over everything and ensure control of everything until the end of time.

Which, to be honest, given the situation in Ukraine, could be next Tuesday.

Either way, this will be the last we hear of Alex Sink.  And that's the one good thing that's come out of this special election in Florida.