Blue Dogs Going Down

I was surprised to hear that Alison Lundergan Grimes has fallen behind that idiot Mitch McConnell in the polls.  How is that possible?  McConnell has done more to disrupt the workings of government for the people of his state than just about anyone except Tim Scott in the Senate.  Maybe it's because she begins a new ad with, "I'm not Barack Obama," and then says that she disagrees with him on "guns, coal and the EPA."

Well, I'm here to say that she may have just gotten a whole lot of supporters to decide to stay home on election day.  There appear to be in Kentucky actual liberals who don't equate gun control with tyranny but with increased safety and a reduction in crime.  They may also think that coal should not be their children's future; they just may want their kids to grow up without the threat of cancer and climate disasters; they might want to see renewable energy be the source of jobs in Kentucky.  And as for getting rid of the EPA, well, we've heard that old song a lot, but we didn't think we'd hear it from a fellow Democrat.

We don't need another blue dog Democrat undermining the progress the current president has worked so hard (against the tide of Congressional ignorance) to promote.  And I don't think the voters in Kentucky are going to get quite as excited about someone who promises to be McConnell-lite.

Hearing Grimes promise not to be like Barack Obama raises some other questions.  For example, while she supports equal pay for women and help for victims of abuse, she fails to mention whether she supports a woman's right to reproductive freedom and privacy.  I shudder to imagine her failing to support access to birth control and abortions, but can you really trust someone who opposes environmental regulation?

Just as here in South Carolina, we have had to make some tough choices, and Grimes is a sight better than McConnell, but it is disturbing to see members of our own party attempting to curry the favor of those who oppose Democratic principles.  And I have to think that I am not alone in my disappointment.  Those of us who understand the consequences of not voting will grit our teeth and pull that lever for the Democratic candidate.  But sadly, a lot of those who are less informed will go with what they know rather than someone who is trying to sound like them.  And way too many others of us will just stay home.