Mutually Assured Destruction in Virginia Primary

In January 2004 in Iowa, an infamous murder-suicide took place. No, not a real one. This was of the political variety. In the final days of the Iowa caucus, Dick Gephardt launched a series of attack ads against Howard Dean. Dean--supposedly still the front-runner--responded in kind. The candidates finished a distant third and fourth. There is some truth and some myth to this theory, but the tale lives on.

Much the same thing happened in Virginia last night. From the get-go, Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran viewed each other as their biggest obstacles to winning the Democratic primary for governor. In debates, radio ads and TV spots, Moran portrayed McAuliffe as a crony capitalist carpetbagger who vociferously campaigned against Barack Obama. McAuliffe tagged Moran as a hot-headed Richmond insider in the pocket of defense contractors and called his political consultant, Joe Trippi (long rivals from the Dean days), "an ass." McAuliffe claimed he was joking but neither Moran nor Trippi were much amused. The contest seemed oddly personal. The video below gives you a good example of the frequent absurdity of the race.

Voters got tired of the Moran-McAuliffe antics, which reeked of old politics, and rewarded the guy who stayed out of the fight, state senator Creigh Deeds. Mr. Anonymous benefited from being bland and likeable and shot up in the polls after receiving the Washington Post's surprise endorsement. McAuliffe and Moran both cratered, coming in at least twenty points behind.

Comments (17)

1. Hmmmm....okey-doke!

   Posted by Happy at 06/10/2009 @ 10:31am

2. You might want to pay attention, HAPP...

   for the 2012 GOP Primaries.

   You'll get some fun when Pawlenty goes after Jindal who goes after Sanford who goes after Palin...on "Who took LESS stimulus money" or "My legislature 'forced' me to take stimulus money AFTER your legislature 'forced' you to take it!"....

   or when Jon Huntsman goes "moderate" and they all (including Palin) attack him for being "another McCain"...

   or when Newt has to explain his "She's a racist...no, she's not....yes, she's a 'racialist'" on-again/off-again views on Sotomayor.

   Posted by Mask at 06/10/2009 @ 10:54am

3. The Little people (that's most of us excepting perhaps the VCYAmerica crowd)are fed up with the lying, the character assasination and the pure ugliness of politics. I will support a Democrat who responds to criticism or corrects an untruth, but if they are just spewing a bunch of crap and hoping something sticks(poor John McCain in SC back in 2000 comes to mind) I wash my hands of them.

   The only hope they have at that point is that their GOP opponent is even more vile-which has been the case in the last few elections. My party needs to take heed tho. If the moderate Republicans ever regain control of their party-unlikely as that is-we will need an establshed reputation as civil, honest adults in order to hold our center.

   Posted by Pogge at 06/10/2009 @ 1:41pm

4. BTW, Mr Berman...you might want to change the title of this piece.

   Not the best day for such references, and Virginia's proximity to D.C.

   Posted by Mask at 06/10/2009 @ 2:43pm

5. Deeds was the beneficiary of Moran and McAuliffe's mutual destruction, but it's unfair to imply that he lacks merit and substance because of that.

   "Bland and likeable"? Some of us don't want our politicians cut-throat. Vicious doesn't equal effectiveness.

   Don't perpetuate this idea that he's an aw shucks rube from hicksville. Deeds has been in Virginia politics a long time and run for statewide office before.

   Posted by lucie13 at 06/10/2009 @ 3:03pm

6. During the election many said he's muslim roots, others said he's socialist. But no one could figure out how to combine muslim and socialist? There is mo muslim country with socialist system, except Kadaphi's Lybia.

   ----------

   President's say on pay By Silla Brush and Michael O'Brien Posted: 06/10/09 08:20 PM [ET] The Obama administration on Wednesday announced a broad new effort intended to curb excessive corporate pay and empower shareholders with a greater say on compensation practices across corporate America.

   The proposals, requiring congressional approval, are already sparking a major lobbying battle between big business, unions and some activist shareholders who have yearned for years to have a greater role in management decisions.

   Posted by HelenDAO at 06/10/2009 @ 9:03pm

7. During the election many said he's muslim roots, others said he's socialist. But no one could figure out how to combine muslim and socialist? There is mo muslim country with socialist system, except Kadaphi's Lybia.

   ----------

   President's say on pay By Silla Brush and Michael O'Brien Posted: 06/10/09 08:20 PM [ET] The Obama administration on Wednesday announced a broad new effort intended to curb excessive corporate pay and empower shareholders with a greater say on compensation practices across corporate America.

   The proposals, requiring congressional approval, are already sparking a major lobbying battle between big business, unions and some activist shareholders who have yearned for years to have a greater role in management decisions.

   Posted by HelenDAO at 06/10/2009 @ 9:04pm

8. Posted by HelenDAO at 06/10/2009 @ 9:

   Helen, you DO realize you've now completely given yourself away?

   No longer the "Hillary supporting PUMA"....but the fact you were a right-winger the whole time doing her own little "Operation: Chaos" manuever?

   Posted by Mask at 06/10/2009 @ 9:20pm

9. Helen the plan in Virginia for the Demoncrats is the same as 2008, use contributors money to buy elections and "pay them off" after the election!

   "In 1921, oil tycoon Harry Sinclair gave several prize head of cattle and around $269,000 to President Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall.

   In return, Sinclair got the exclusive rights to drill in an oil field in Wyoming. Sinclair's no-bid contract became the Teapot Dome scandal, the most notorious example of political corruption in America prior to Watergate.

   Between 2000 and 2008, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union gave $23,675,562 to the Democratic Party and its candidates.

   In 2008 alone, the UAW gave $4,161,567 to the Democratic Party, including Barack Obama.

   In return, the UAW received 55 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of GM, plus billions of dollars.

   But nobody's calling this a scandal. It's time we start."

   The Demoncrats call it rewarding their little citizen contributor friends!

   Posted by BigPasture at 06/10/2009 @ 11:36pm

10. "In 1921, oil tycoon Harry Sinclair gave several prize head of cattle and around $269,000 to President Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall.

    In return, Sinclair got the exclusive rights to drill in an oil field in Wyoming. Sinclair's no-bid contract became the Teapot Dome scandal, the most notorious example of political corruption in America prior to Watergate."----Posted by BigPasture at 06/10/2009 @ 11:36pm

    Hey RIO....what political party did Warren Harding of Teapot Dome and Richard Nixon of Watergate belong to?

    ROFLMAO!

    Posted by Mask at 06/11/2009 @ 08:09am

11. the party of those too ignorant to see the relationships between then and now!

    Posted by BigPasture at 06/11/2009 @ 11:15am

12. Posted by BigPasture at 06/11/2009 @ 11:15am |

    So YOU cite the PAST ("then") examples of Teapot Dome and mention Watergate....

    but after it's pointed out that those were two REPUBLICAN Presidents, suddenly you want us to stick to the present("now")?

    ROFLMAO...again!

    Posted by Mask at 06/11/2009 @ 12:36pm

13. You are truely either a bonified idiot Mask or someones failed parenting example!

    Posted by BigPasture at 06/12/2009 @ 02:22am

14. There is mo muslim country with socialist system, except Kadaphi's Lybia

    How about...

    There is no muslim country, (nor a muslim country with a majority of the population muslim) not a war with their neighbors.

    According to Obama, whose middle name was never allowed to be mentioned, whose more influential formative years were formed in a muslim country,the US is one of the lasrgest muslim countrys in the world..or was this just being nice as he bows to the King of Saudi Arabia to get his bling?

    The Israelis are sweating because they are on their own....and so are we..here in the soon to be renamed..the Socialists States of America...complete with the new currency...the Yuan...all driving the Peoples car...made with the saved unions jobs...so we save jobs by having the govt buy the company? Will the new govt boss regulate union salaries are car sale crater?

    Posted by YourJomamma at 06/12/2009 @ 07:35am

15. Posted by BigPasture at 06/12/2009 @ 02:22am

    Good lesson for you RIO....don't use REPUBLICAN scandals to attack those nasty "Demoncrats".....LOL

    Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 08:03am

16. Posted by YourJomamma at 06/12/2009 @ 07:35am

    Hey, MAASCH....

    doesn't ISRAEL have "socialized medicine"?

    Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 08:04am

17. Mask, as an Independent Christian Conservative why would reference to sourses of past Republican or Demoncrat scandals be a problem for me? You really are either dense or a supporter of evil perpetrated by the Demoncrats!

    Posted by BigPasture at 06/14/2009 @ 5:09pm