Hope In Tennessee

No, Hope is in Arkansas!

No, I'm talking about the US Senate Race. I don't have the resources for polling and don't know what polls to believe, but Professor Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit disclosed his secret ballot after allowing readers to guess in an online poll. I guessed Harold Ford, Jr. but a slim plurality picked Bob Corker.

That's pretty much how it was in my mind, too. I liked Harold Ford, Jr. when we interviewed him, and I wouldn't shed any tears if he were elected; he'd raise the caliber of the Democrats in the Senate. But when push came to shove, I voted for Corker. I liked him, too, and ultimately the combination of Ford's "F" rating on gun rights and the sleazy "outing" behavior of the Democrats was such that I just felt I had to vote Republican in this race. (In our interview, Corker said he'd look favorably on federal legislation to require states to recognize each others' gun-carry permits.)

As I mentioned before, the Republicans don't really deserve my vote -- though as Bob Corker hasn't been in Washington that's not really his fault -- but nonetheless the Democrats have blown it again. Not long ago I was thinking that a Democratic majority in Congress wouldn't be so bad; but the sexual McCarthyism from the pro-outing crowd, coupled with the Dems' steadfast refusal to offer anything useful on national security, has convinced me that they just don't deserve a victory with those tactics. That's not Ford's fault, either, really. But I just don't think the Democrats are ready for a majority right now. We'll see how many other voters agree.

One vote will not keep Bill First’s seat Red (though a campaign bus trip through Iowa...never mind). But had the Perfesser gone with Ford, I would say the non-partisan GOP vote was lost.

Glenn pulls it as I would have in the end. I think highly of Ford and would like a potentially serious Democrat in the Senate but with the race this tight, a D vote is a vote to hand gavels to Reid, Dodd, Kennedy, Leahy & company.

GOP holds the Senate, providing containment fort House lunacy. President Bush "finds his Grover Cleveland hat" as Larry Kudlow says and starts vetoing bills like President Ford. Divided government stagnates. The market is happy. Life is pretty good. Just hope they don't force an ignominious withdrawal in the War on Terror.

UPDATE: The second I posted, I got Republican Spam from Patrick Ruffini, who underscored "Glenn Reynolds, a swing voter in this race" voting Corker. He also highlights a video of a campaign stunt that many are making a big deal of. Ford crashes a Corker rally and behaves non-senatorially, but I don't see this as a campaign ender.

Politics Posted by John Kranz at October 21, 2006 12:26 PM