The RT endorses Brandon Bell, batters itself in the process
By Norman Leahy | Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 | Politics, Southwest Virginia, VirginiaThe editorial page gymnastics at the Roanoke Times reach Nadia Comeneci levels, as the paper finds its way to endorsing both Republican Sen. Steve Newman (because, despite his potential “leader[ship] in passing legislation that furthers an extreme conservative social agenda” he also favors rail) and one-time Republican, and now expensive Democratic boy-toy, Brandon Bell. The Bell endorsement is quite amusing. Not only is he branded the pragmatic moderate who can work across the aisle, but he’s eager to wring more blood from turnips (also known as raising taxes).
This is so much hand waving. The RT gives the real reason for Bell’s run against Sen. Ralph Smith, the man who unseated him back in 2007, in the introduction to their piece:
Redistricting squeezed Ralph Smith out of his Virginia Senate district. He could have stayed in his Botetourt County home and challenged his colleague Sen. Steve Newman in a primary — one he’d likely have lost. Smith instead chose to move to Roanoke County and claim the 19thSenate District. This touched a nerve in Brandon Bell, the Republican incumbent who lost his party’s nomination to Smith by a slim margin in a 2007 primary.
While one hesitates to ponder which of Bell’s sensitive nerves was touched by Smith’s actions (the splanchnic group leaps immediately to mind), a likely candidate is the one which leads directly to the reptilian part of the brain dedicated to vengeance.
Under a microscope, this particular batch of neurons bears an uncanny resemblance to Russ Potts, particularly in the brains of politicians who have suffered perceived slights, bruised egos and a traumatic separation from attention.
That the RT can contort itself into such a shape that it views such base motives as pragmatic, let alone worthy of endorsement, makes one wonder whether the paper’s own splanchnic nerves have been touched a bit too much.
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About the author
Norm Leahy has written about Virginia and national politics online since 2002, beginning with One Man's Trash (OMT), and continuing through Bacon's Rebellion (both the blog and the e-zine), Sic Semper Tyrannis, NBC12's Decision Virginia, Richmond.com and Tertium Quids. He is the chief blogger at "The Score" and a producer of "The Score" radio show as well as being a Washington Post contributor.
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2 Responses to "The RT endorses Brandon Bell, batters itself in the process"
Any post that contains references to Nadia Comaneci and splanchnic nerves elicits my admiration. I almost hesitate to quibble about the reference to “a nerve which leads directly to the reptilian part of the brain dedicated to vengeance.” I will view it as simply a literary device of a kind that a bloviating but unscientific politician (example here) might attempt.
But one feat of gymnastics left unmentioned is the respect of leftists for “Dems who can work across the aisle” with a group of right wing extremists bent on returning the country to a particularly vile form of the Dark Ages. It’s always good to have an open mind in crafting responsible legislation with berserk barbarians. Leftists can actually say such things and believe them for a moment until the next vicious attack.
My Foghorn Leghorn tendencies undermine me once again…
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