Spoiler Alert! And The Obama Fiefdom *Open Thread*

This morning brings us some new folks in positions of power up the Eastern Seaboard. We now have a Socialist as the Mayor of New York; an overwhelming win for Chris Christie in NJ (make of that what you will); and a very close race for Governor of Virgina.

It is the latter on which I want to focus. The race between McAuliffe, former DNC Chair and Hillary Clinton Campaign Chairman, and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s AG, Cuccinelli, was much, much closer than anyone thought it would be. It is telling to me that after ALL the heavy hitters who came to campaign for McAuliffe from President Obama to former President Bill Clinton, that is was this close. And without the Libertarian spoiler, Sarvis, the chances that Cuccinelli would have won rise dramatically.

I mention this, and the role of the Spoiler because so many people are upset about this win, and assume it is a win for Hillary Clinton in 2016. I am not convinced of that myself. I think that, considering all the cards stacked against Cuccinelli, from the President appearing in Virginia to being outspent in a MAJOR way, things are not as dire as they might appear.

That said, the Cuccinelli people were pretty upset at the way the Republican Governors Association assisted Cuccinelli, or rather, did NOT assist him. Seems Sarvis wasn’t the only Spoiler. The Daily Caller has the story:

“Bobby Jindal and his political team totally blew it,” harrumphed one advisor for Ken Cuccinelli the morning after a closer-than-expected loss.

Cuccinelli, who narrowly lost last night’s gubernatorial election to Terry McAuliffe, was badly outspent in the days and weeks leading up to the election. The New York Times‘ Jonathan Martin described Cuccinelli’s plight as having been “close to abandoned at the end.” He was. As Politico’s James Hohmann reported, ”The Republican National Committee spent about $3 million on Virginia this year, compared to $9 million in the 2009.” And as the Roanoke Times noted, in 2009, the Chamber of Commerce spent $973,000 on Bob McDonnell, but “[t]his year, the chamber gave Cuccinelli nothing.”

But it was the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) and chairman Bobby Jindal who drew the most ire from a Cuccinelli advisor I spoke to on Wednesday morning — this, despite the fact that the RGA spent millions on the race.
Bobby Jindal’s presidential campaign is over,” said the Cuccinelli advisor. “He screwed this up so bad. And I don’t know why. The campaign knew it was moving numbers over ObamaCare. And the RGA was not very far from that information, they could have obtained it themselves,” the advisor continued. “They should have given the money to the campaign to spend as opposed to running these stupid China ads. They just blew it.” […] (Click here to read the rest.)

It does beg the question why in the world the RGA would spend a THIRD less this time around than in the last election, especially with such heavy hitters coming in on the other side, but also the momentum the Cuccinelli campaign was generating toward the end.

Moreover, it defies logic that the RGA would choose THIS time to focus on CHINA, of all things. Really??? WTH was Jindal thinking?

Meanwhile, Chris Christie has an interesting take on how the Republicans are conducting themselves now:

[…] “I think that the party’s got to focus on winning again,” Christie told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “You know, sometimes I feel like our party cares more about winning the argument than they care about winning elections. And if you don’t win elections, you can’t govern. And if you can’t govern, you can’t change the direction of a state, like we’ve done in New Jersey.” […] (Click here to read the rest.)

The Governor may have a point there. Whether one is a Republican or Independent, right now, the Republicans are the only ones who can stand up to this runaway overreach by Democrats. So, if they don’t get it right, it affects ALL of us as we are seeing with the impact of Obamacare.

And speaking of Obamacare. Kathleen Sebellius will be questioned today by the Senate about the debacle that is Obamacare. I have to wonder if Sebellius will also be asked about Obama’s willy-nilly changes to an existing law. Perhaps someone should share the following Letter to the Editor from my local paper, the Post and Courier, with Obama and the rest of the Democrats:

[…] In the separation of powers, the Founders were very deliberate in their design. Only the legislative branch has the power to create law or change existing law, and only the House of Representatives has the power of the purse strings. Madison makes it very clear in Federalist No. 58 that the power of the purse strings was designed “to redress grievances’’ and restrict executive power.

Five times after its passage, Mr. Obama has unilaterally changed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) by granting waivers to political constituents.

Most brazenly, he has exempted Congress and given employers a year-long suspension. Obama is not king; he doesn’t get to modify the laws he likes or dislikes.

[…]

It also violates a basic belief that people should not be given preferential treatment based on their ties to power.

Obamacare was a major overreach of power. Whether Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or civil rights, never in this nation’s history has major social legislation been enacted on a straight party-line vote.

In every case, there was significant bipartisan agreement that gave the law legitimacy. Obamacare, however, was passed without one single Republican vote. Moreover, it was rammed through using a conjured, if not unethical, parliamentary maneuver —reconciliation. Reconciliation is a legislative procedure of both houses, but used mainly in the Senate. It’s intended for budget bills only, using simple majorities. To avoid a Republican filibuster in the Senate, Democrats made an end run around legislative rules by declaring that the bill was a budget item. This allowed passage of the bill in its final form needing only 51 votes (vs. 60 to stop a filibuster). […] (Click here to read the rest.)

I think the author of that letter makes a lot of good points, and it is high past time that this Fiefdom notion was spoiled for “King” Obama.

Interesting, often disturbing, times in this country. The next year will be intriguing to watch, that’s for sure.

Okay, your turn. What’s your take on the winners and losers? The role of Spoilers? The hearing on Weds. with Sebellius? It’s all yours now!