Politics, with a twist

When I titled this, I did so with tongue in cheek inasmuch as last night was not a typical political victory party. It had a twist, but it wasn't a lime twist in a mixed drink - in fact, I spotted no alcohol anywhere in the room. And the room was full of supporters.

I was there to record and document a chore my friend Mark had been given by his two favorite elected officials, a state representative and a state senator. He was there to represent them in an adjoining district where a political ally had run in a three person race for an open Missouri Senate seat.

The winner, seen wearing the black T-shirt, survived a very nasty fight with a guy who threw all sorts of slimy accusations at him. It backfired, and that fellow came in third. Second place was a local resident, who had served several terms in the state House of Representatives, then ran unsuccessfully for Congress. A Marine Corps veteran and test pilot, he ran a dignified race, but came up short. The winner was to compliment the manner in which the second place finisher ran his campaign. I guess that proves that winners can afford to be magnanimous.

Now, this winner was clearly the best orator, and his speeches always spoke of Passion, Energy, and Experience. The passion part sort of led some folks to believe an anonymous letter campaign alleging all sorts of improprieties - we'll see if threats of legal action will ever pan out, provided it can be proved that the third place winner was behind this last minute dirty trick. As dirty tricks go, this letter was far worse than the days we'd send a dozen pizzas to our opponents campaign headquarters (they had to pay).

My friend presented the winner (we'll call him Brian) with another T-shirt with the message "Please withhold your applause until I have concluded my remarks". It was pointed out that whenever Brian spoke, people got home after midnight.

The winner was "termed out", a phrase referring to the maximum number of years one could serve in the House, so he made a run for the Senate. That explains the Experience part of his standard stump speech. And as to Energy, this guy is the Energizer Bunny of the conservative Republican suburbs - he'd often comment "I have only two speeds, full ahead and asleep". Last night, with 44% of the vote in a four man race, he was full ahead and is expected to win handily in November. The Marine combat pilot got 31%, and the guy who accepted bad advice from his handlers came in with 21% (a perennial candidate had the other 3%).

My buddy made several observations: "this was the first time I'd ever seen a political victory party without booze", and "I don't ever recall a winner standing on a chair, barefoot, wearing shorts and a T-shirt". Look over the picture of his loyal followers, and you'll see he is a man of the people, certainly THESE people.

Politics in 2010 may be evolving from a booze party, to a Tea Party.