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Flop Sweat in Texas
Coaches, CEOs and campaign managers often tell their charges, “never let them see you sweat.” Cool confidence rattles your opponents, making them second-guess their game plan or poll numbers.
The opposite of this air of inevitability is the flop sweater. A rookie stand-up who realizes the audience isn’t getting his jokes. The boxer begging his trainer to call the fight. Or, Wendy Davis.
Last week the Texas Democrat attacked her opponent Greg Abbott for somehow profiting off the accident that confined him to a wheelchair. Pundits from the right and left groaned at the ugly “Hail Mary” ad and wondered how this darling of the coastal elites had sunk so low. What they didn’t realize is that Ms. Davis had not yet begun to sink.
Today on Twitter, the pink-sneakered abortophile tried a new attack on her Republican gubernatorial opponent:
Did you see that? Well read it again because decades from now, poli-sci professors will mock this ad to your grandkids. Again, all of political Twitter was unified — a rare occurrence — in contempt for Davis’ embarrassing face plant. Since Abbott is married to a Latina, perhaps he never saw a need to mention miscegenation on the campaign trail — much like every other politician outside of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? script.
A few hours later, Team Wendy released another bizarre attack on Abbott via press release:
This is not the closing message of a winning campaign. But I’m glad to see Christine O’Donnell’s campaign team find work again.
Published in General, Politics
That was my take too. Whatever gig she wants after the election, she needs to cozy up to crazy people, who will find this stuff “edgy”.
Something else strikes me about the crazy attacks on Abbott. They are predicated on laws that he supposedly “chose” to defend as Attorney General. Interesting that this seems to have become the new normal in Democratic politics – as if the job of a government attorney is to control what laws exist by either defending them or not defending them against challenge, as the attorney sees fit. Case in point is the Obama Administration choosing not to defend DOMA.
Is there any real precedent for this? It seems like an end-run around separation of powers. It’s like outsourced judicial activism.
Jon,
Listen Jon I’m still nervous about this. I think maybe Greg Abbott needs an image consultant. Just in case nobody else is looking for this position I’ve included this short demo video of what I could do for Greg.
He needs to be much more dramatic!
Let me know what he thinks.
Regards,
Jim
Some Texas voters on Twitter have scolded me, saying these moves are brilliant as they help motivate her base. But if her sole focus is motivating her base in late October, she’s going down HARD.
Well, I said the same thing. This is all aimed at the crazies in her base.
You have to realize, Wendy isn’t running a campaign for governor. She’s running a fundraising campaign for the Democratic party in Texas.
So all these moves make sense in that regard.