The Very Useful Idiocy of Christine O’Donnell (the "marvelous gift out of nowhere"), By FRANK RICH

[jefferson_dem]

The Very Useful Idiocy of Christine O’Donnell
By FRANK RICH

ALL it took was some 30,000 Republican primary voters in a tiny state to turn Christine O’Donnell into the brightest all-American media meteor since Balloon Boy. For embattled liberals, not to mention the axis of Comedy Central, “Saturday Night Live” and Bill Maher, she’s been pure comic gold for weeks: a bottomless trove of baldfaced lies, radical views and sheer wackiness. True, other American politicians have dismissed evolution as a myth. Some may even have denied joining a coven. But history will always remember her for taking a fearless stand against masturbation, the one national pastime with more fans than baseball.

Yet those laughing now may not have the last laugh in November. O’Donnell’s timely ascent in the election season’s final lap may well prove a godsend for the G.O.P.

At first some Republicans had trouble figuring this out. On primary eve, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee badmouthed O’Donnell’s “disturbing pattern of dishonest behavior.” On election night, Karl Rove belittled her “nutty” pronouncements and “checkered background” on Fox News. But by the morning after, bygones were bygones. The senatorial committee’s chairman, John Cornyn, rewarded O’Donnell’s “dishonest behavior” with an enthusiastic endorsement and a big check. A sweaty Rove reversed himself so fast you’d think he’d been forced to stay up all night listening to Glenn Beck’s greatest hits at top volume in a Roger Ailes re-education camp.

Edited to conform to DU's fairuse policy for copyrighted material. Lithos, DU Moderator
<SNIP>

They are acing it, these guys. Election Day is now only a month away. The demoralized Democrats are held hostage by the unemployment numbers. And along comes this marvelous gift out of nowhere, Christine O’Donnell, Tea Party everywoman, who just may be the final ingredient needed to camouflage a billionaires’ coup as a populist surge. By the time her fans discover that any post-election cuts in government spending will be billed to them, and not the Tea Party’s shadowy backers, she’ll surely be settling her own debts with fat paychecks from “Fox & Friends.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/opinion/03rich.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Frank Rich has become a "must read"

[hlthe2b]

2. Do you agree that O'Donnell is actually a "gift" to the REPUGS?

At first I thought I was agreeing with him, but upon reading a bit more closely....:shrug:

[depakid]

3. She does make most of the rest seem "relatively" sane and responsible by contrast

[JamesA1102]

5. He lied about Al Gore in 2000.

Will never forgive him or trust Rich again.

[fugop]

6. They all did

The entire media spent the entire campaign season lying about Al Gore and laughing. They didn't like him, so they enjoyed taking him down, even thought most of the crap they reported as fact was garbage. I read an article later about the way the press despised him. God forbid we back the smart guy when it's so much more fun to prop up Mr. "I have a funny nickname for you" Bush. You know, we were electing a guy we wanted to have a beer with, after all.

Wow. Every time I think I'm over it, it all comes back. Just call me Bitter McBitterstein.

[Uzybone]

10. +1

He is one of the nicer media whores, but he is at the head of the pack when it comes to lies.

[fugop]

4. Seems bizarre

Is Rich actually suggesting O'Donnell is a GOOD thing for the GOP? Because, um, I am NOT seeing it. When I saw the headline, I thought it was saying she's a gift for Dems. Which SHE IS!

[hlthe2b]

7. My point exactly... I wonder if those who rec this article by Rich

are just seeing the headline and not reading it carefully? It seems bizarre to me. I don't agree at all....:shrug:

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. His point is that she allows the facade of a 'populist' movement to be maintained

by the rich Republican backers. This helps them present their other candidates as 'from the people' as well, although they are the 'elites' that O'Donnell is meant to be against. And most of all, it covers up the fact that the entire Republican platform is "tax cuts for the rich". While O'Donnell will lose her personal race, because most normal voters could not possibly think she should be left in charge of anything, she helps keep up the publicity across the country for the Tea Party candidates.

Frank Rich thinks she may help energise the Tea Party/Republican base nationwide, by giving them stories suitable for Fox News to spin, while only putting off the centrist voters (or getting the Democratic vote out) in Delaware. This relies on the Republican voters not being as rational as the average voter, but then, that's been their strategy for decades.

[karynnj]

9. But even that thesis is bogus

O'Donnell grew up in an affluent town and went to very preppy, expensive, but not very competitive college. She then spent nearly 20 years during which she never had a job for any long, nor did she bother for 17 years to actually finish and pay for her BA, while speaking of graduate work! Her life is completely chaotic.

She is not the poor girl, who has worked hard and had to deal with a bad economy making life difficult. She was a sheltered little darling, given everything, who in spite of that and her looks and energy, has still managed to accomplish very little. It is galling that she speaks of overcoming tough times - what tough times? (that were not of her own making)