I’m wary of anything that RNC chairman Reince Priebus says. His overly broad, gloating assessment of David Jolly’s win over Alex Sink in the District 13 special election is no exception.
“His victory shows that voters are looking for representatives who will fight to end the disaster of Obamacare, to get Washington to spend our money responsibly, and to put power in the hands of families and individuals,” said Priebus.
Actually a swing-district win by 1.8 percent and 3,500 votes shows something other than a mandate. Sure, there was the health care dynamic, the ongoing ripple effects from Citizens United, some carpet-bagging baggage, possible robo-call harassment, an unappealing candidate persona and enough base GOPsters to vote their party’s ideological talking points. But what it came down to, as a number of pundits pointed out, was a lack of Democratic turnout in an off-year, special election. The rationale: A moderate Democrat, reaching out to independents, didn’t motivate the base.
That makes, alas, sense, but there’s also this. What a dumb, lazy-ass base. It needs more progressive pampering because preventing a GOP yes man from keeping the seat in Republican hands isn’t incentive enough? A Republican who favors the repeal of Roe v. Wade as well as the ACA? A Republican who favors an economically-restrictive balanced budget amendment and a more hawkish foreign policy?
Preventing a Republican win in a district the whole country was watching wasn’t motivation enough? That wasn’t an ironic outcome from idealized progressives. That was the inevitable payback from clueless regressives.