Dwayne Yancey refers us [1] to a release from Tim Kaine’s Senate campaign in which the former Governor links George Allen to the tea party and the desire each has for a balanced budget amendment to be part of any debt ceiling deal. While Dwayne, quite rightly, calls attention to Kaine’s “Lord of the Rings” metaphor to describe Allen’s position, a more appropriate one is Br’er Rabbit.
Think of it this way…
At one time, say briefly in 2009, lumping Allen in with those scabrous tea partiers might have been seen as wise and strategic thinking. Or at least it was within the confines of DNC headquarters. But in the context of the Republican senatorial primary, in which Republican contender Jamie Radtke has wrapped her campaign in the flag, rhetoric and post-it notes of the tea party, it would seem such a linkage actually helps Allen. Yes, it helps, because now even the Democrats are saying Allen is singing from the tea party hymnal. This must mean he’s as flinty-eyed and, in Kaine’s words, “dangerous” as they are.
But that’s not doing justice to the briar patch into which Kaine tosses Allen. Here’s the paragraph that will really sting (others):
“Even Republicans have called George Allen’s and the Tea Party’s unwillingness to compromise on this point ‘foolish,’ ‘unfair,’ ‘deceiving’ and an idea from ‘Middle Earth’ fantasy land. I’ll add dangerous to that list.”
Who are those other Republicans? The release cites John McCain, for one. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, for another. And, oddly, the liberal Brookings Institute’s Norman Ornstein.
So in a single press release, Tim Kaine’s campaign has managed to paint Allen both as a friend of the balanced budget amendment, a tea partier to his core, to the right of John McCain and at odds with the Journal editorial page and an NPR regular.
That’s some briar patch. But I don’t think Br’er Allen minds it a bit.
(Cross-posted at Score Radio Network) [2]