On "The Swiftboating of Christine O’Donnell" (Reply to Barrett Brown) : The Other McCain

The Swiftboating of Christine O’Donnell (Reply to Barrett Brown) : The Other McCain

On this one I am with Mr Stacy McCain. The attack on O'Donnell by Bill Maher and company should make people more sympathetic to the woman. Is she the best possible candidate? No, and I think that people like Rove who suggested that Castle was more electable had a point and should not be attacked for having offered their professional opinion. Once the primary was over they should not have descended to personal abuse of the candidate.

Over the long haul we need to think about the role of political parties in America and how we choose our candidates. The caucus packing by Axelrod in Texas and Iowa in 2008 that gave the nomination to Obama and the primary jumping by David Duke in Louisiana in 1990 and '91 show how vulnerable the system is. Strong local organizations with members committed to principles that know their candidates should have more control. The trick would be to keep the local clubs from becoming dominated by corrupt machines.