GOPer Ousted After Aggressively Championing Offshore Drilling
While you were watching that Jew-baiting House candidate go down in flames, another potentially far more significant contest played out last night: A GOP primary challenger ousted GOPer David Davis from his seat in Tennessee's first district, prevailing by less than 500 votes.
Davis' loss was a big deal, for two reasons: First, he's the first incumbent knocked off in this state since 1956. More important, he went down largely because his foe, in an unusual move for a fellow Republican, aggressively yoked him to "Big Oil."
This could have broader national significance, because it shows that championing offshore drilling, as Davis did with extreme enthusiasm, can't always be counted on as the sure winner the GOP thinks it is -- after all, he lost on the issue even among GOP primary voters.
Indeed, Davis was more than just your typical pro-oil industry GOPer. He aggressively championed political attacks on Dems over offshore drilling, and was a leading member of that "Republican Uprising" that has been vowing to tie Congress up in knots until it lifts the drilling ban.
Indeed, Davis was so sure that the issue was a political winner for him and the GOP that he issued a triumphant press release Wednesday about his heroic role in the initial "revolt" several days earlier, and even bragged that he'd be returning to Washington to keep pushing the issue. And indeed, according to a Dem leadership aide, Davis was on the floor yesterday pushing the drilling stuff -- on election day.
In other words, this hapless GOPer basically made drilling a big focus of his campaign. And he lost.
The Dems have a ton of political work to do on drilling and on gas prices in general. But, in a sign that the issue is less and less the slam dunk the GOP thinks it is, in one deep-red district, the politics of it played in favor of the Dem position.
Late Update: DCCC spokesperson Doug Thornell sends over the following quote on the outcome:
Clearly, being in the back pocket of Big Oil will hurt Republicans in November.
This was a primary, wasn't it? So the incumbent GOPer was knocked off by another GOPer, correct?
August 8, 2008 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
yes, fixed, thanks. makes it even more interesting
August 8, 2008 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was happy about this one too, but the Tinker takedown was definitely my favorite story of the night.
August 8, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
This part bares repeating:
More important, he went down largely because his foe, in an unusual move for a fellow Republican, aggressively yoked him to "Big Oil."
Wake up Democrats. There's a lot of ground for you guys to go on attack with. I'm not just or even necessarily talking about Obama. But if Republicans are willing to go to bat for the Exxon/Mobil, then make them pay for it.
August 8, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Damn right.
Don't know how long it will stick around, but this is the banner image at the moment at democrats.org:
http://www.democrats.org/page/-/images/headlines/20080806_exxon_mccain.jpg
August 11, 2008 2:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
It sounds contradictory, that attacks for being connected to "big oil" can work at the same time that calls to drill everywhere also work, but it makes sense if we remember that at the same time that the public resents the oil companies, they don't know the facts about drilling. They assume Congress decides where drilling is allowed and isn't allowing it, and that all oil drilled here stays here and is essentially free. That point about 68 million acres being already opened doesn't help because no one knows how big 68 million acres is. It's about the size of Colorado, but I had to look that up myself, when every Democrat in front of a microphone should have been saying it.
August 8, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Psst. The "Drill Here, Drill Now" rant is not working.
If a politician is wetting his pants about freeing up offshore drilling, he is not standing up for the little guy, he is in the pocket of Big Oil.
Tell your friends.
August 8, 2008 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's working, but it's early enough and thin enough that there's plenty of opportunity to pierce that mantra. There's a lot of potential ways to do it, but it's clear that it can happen, and Democrats, especially those running for the House should be very anxious to do it.
August 8, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
The "Drill" bit can't get traction because gas prices are going down.
If prices at the pump were notching up 15-20 cents every couple of days, maybe these bozos could make it work. But prices are inching down without the offshore drilling.
The "Drill" bunch are just sucking up to Big Oil. Easy case to make.
August 8, 2008 4:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Finally as the great DemBillc has pointed out all along since the beginning of this campiagn, in his astonishly horrible vote in 2005, Barack Obama chose to side with his lobbyist benefactors over the American people, when he voted FOR the Bush-Cheney Energy bill. Of course Hillary Clinton or John McCain voted against the bill. DemBillC has said repeatedly that he would never vote for Oilbama since he proved he is in the pocket of Big Oil by voting for the worst Energy Bill in History crafted by Dick Cheney and Oil Lobbyists. That alone is reason enough to not nominate Barack Obama. When push comes to shove, Oilbama always sides with same old money men. If every American voter knew that Barack Oilbama voted with Dick Cheney and George Bush on energy and profiteering for big energy companies, they would dump this pretender of Change and Hope. Oilbama is more full of shit than GW Bush. Of course they are both ex Alchoholic Coke heads.
August 8, 2008 5:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
How close are you to the John McCain monogrammed his and her bathroom towel set now, Bill?
August 8, 2008 5:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oil prices are heading down. I'm thinking somewhere between $80 and $100 a barrel by the fall. That means $2.00 - $3.00 gas.
McCain's "drill here, drill now" idiocy should be played every 30 seconds in Florida this Fall.
August 8, 2008 11:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oil prices are heading down. I'm thinking somewhere between $80 and $100 a barrel by the fall. That means $2.00 - $3.00 gas.
The only way oil is going down to $80 to $100 a barrel this fall is if the whole world is in a serious recession. The oil cos. and the Saudis might pump a bit more into the market to try to help their Republican buddies but there isn't much more they can squeeze out. The fact is we don't have a lot of oil left, not stuff that's cheap to get at and refine anyway.
We ought to hit the Repubs on the nat'l security angle of their shortsighted thinking. We have 2% of the world's oil reserves and use 25% of the world's oil. Drilling it all up ASAP might make them feel good for a year but all those tanks and planes run on fuel oil, not soybeans or corn. Dow we really want to burn all the oil the US has left before we're ready to use alternatives? Is Osama bin Laden their energy adviser?
August 9, 2008 1:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Your right about the public being played for suckers over drilling.The fact that I too had to look up the information about drilling,oil leases,the equipment needed to drill.By the way the equipment is on back order world wide for 5 years.We pay the same price for domestic oil as we pay for imported oil.Congress has not passed a law to force big oil not to sell domestic oil on the open market is the reason.There have been 149 oil refineries closed down in this country by oil companies.We send 10% of our oil to be refined into gas over seas yet this country does refine oil from Mexico and Canada.These should and could be the Dem,s talking points.I wonder why they are not?
August 9, 2008 6:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can't believe that Amy Silverman's major profile of McMajorShit published in the Phoenix New Times News on August 7th has sunk beneath the waves so quickly. It reads as being balanced and presents him in a DEVASTATING light. She has a longtime perspective on his career centering in Arizona and has covered his activities for nearly three decades from Phoenix. After reading it, one understands why the Nancy Reagan endorsement last month was such an ICY affair. Apparently, the lady in red loathes him. It was all political expediency.
Here's the link for anyone interested:
http://phoenixnewtimes.com/content/printVersion/848709
Please distribute widely!
August 10, 2008 12:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
I can't believe that Amy Silverman's major profile of McMajorShit published in the Phoenix New Times News on August 7th has sunk beneath the waves so quickly.
I can.
It reads as being balanced and presents him in a DEVASTATING light.
That's why it sank beneath the waves so quickly.
The AZ press has been onto McCain for a very long time. The national press Just Doesn't Care.
August 11, 2008 2:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, never mind.
Just noticed where the link takes you. As good as the article may be, it's from one of the "alternative" weeklies. That stuff just doesn't get picked up in the national press or even the local dailies.
I doubt it would have a lot more traction if it ran in the Arizona Republic. Nevertheless, the "alternative" weeklies have been running this kind of stuff for 40 years. It never goes anywhere.
August 11, 2008 2:44 AM | Reply | Permalink