WASHINGTON —
Like many in the political world, Tuesday’s election was an eye opener for me and gave me insights not just nationally but locally as well. I have several opinions to share, starting with the largest race in Daviess County, the Eighth District race.
When Dave Crooks started talking to me over a year ago about getting into the race, I thought he was nuts. The idea of running for Congress is romantic, but the actual logistics is something different. It’s a lot of rubber chicken dinners, parades, fairs and phone calls upon phone calls.
Not to mention the multi-million dollar operation one has to start, from scratch. I knew if there was anyone who could do it, it was Dave.
And although it was not the night the Crooks family wanted at the Washington Moose, it was still a good fight. According to their internal numbers, (By the way, Congressman Larry Bucshon’s were different) Crooks was gaining on the incumbent and with good turnout, he would have a shot.
Then, the Super PACs came in. A lot has been made on Super PAC money being inconsequential in the presidential race, but in the eighth and similar districts, the ads worked.
I can’t honestly say if the estimated $1 million in Super PAC ads won the election for Bucshon. The Republican said and done the right things with voters and campaigned well. The campaign might not have needed it, but someone in the GOP hierarchy was spooked enough to send funds to the district.
That might be the legacy of the Crooks campaign. The campaign was one of the best funded enterprises, raising $1 million of its own against Bucshon and it came close enough. Bucshon’s convincing win should give future competitors pause and be something he should be proud of.
But some of Bucshon’s contemporaries in the Republican party will have some searching to do. With the Obama coalition amassed for the convincing (Yes, it was convincing.) win over Mitt Romney, the GOP has to really work with those who are not just white and supposedly pay taxes.
And the Tea Party is now dead. Just look at right here and Senate candidate Richard Mourdock. Mourdock is a good friend of Daviess County and has been here several times before he ran for Senate.
He gave it a good shot, but Mourdock shot himself in his own foot with the rape and its intention from God comment. It is comments like these that come from attitudes of non-compromise that doomed Mourdock and the Tea Party.
The Right to Life movement must also take heed. If it wants a further seat at the table, it must move away from these second-tier candidates like Mourdock that will invoke their all-or-nothing mantra and accept compromise on exceptions.
But Mourdock wasn’t the only candidate with local ties to embarrass himself. John Gregg did a pretty good job of that. For some reason, Gregg and his staff thought he was Andy Griffith running for governor and ran commercials about the Blue Bird and his mom’s hair salon. No one remembered the good he has done while speaker or a university president.
All Gregg really had to do was talk about his opponent’s extreme views and he had a shot. Instead, he went to Mayberry. Embarrassing, really.
That leads us back to Crooks. Of all the local politicians to lose on Tuesday, he came off the best.
He fought the good fight and has no regrets. I’m proud of my friend for the job he did.
Someday, I can tell my kids of the campaign my friend made for Congress. How he worked hard, but in the end, didn’t make it.
Of course I’m going to use the line “They were so scared, they had to spend a million dollars to keep him away.”
•••
Nate Smith can be reached at nsmith@washtimesherald.com or on twitter at NateSmithWTH
Columns
Some thoughts on Tuesday
- Columns
-
-
Stop acting like sports are life and death
I’ve followed sports for much of my 27 years on earth, but one inescapable fact has caught my attention lately - sports make people crazy. You can't get around the fact that rooting for your favorite team can enrage you and turn you into a ravenous sports junkie. Passion isn’t always a bad thing, but combined with hatred for the rival of your favorite team can turn into something ugly and disgusting.
-
A confession directly from Genoa City, Wis.
I am a confessed hopeless addict. And, after a conversation this week, even my co-workers know the ugly truth. I rarely go an entire week without catching up on my soap opera - The Young and the Restless.
-
Quite simply less is more
Money can’t buy happiness, or at least that’s what you have been told. In Major League Baseball there has been a hot debate on when and how much should a team spend to improve the team on the field.
-
Daviess County talent runs deep
Oakland City University head men’s basketball coach Dr. Mike Sandifar has a long and successful career.
He has a combined high school and college mark of 631-383 and is 427-234 at Oakland City in a career that covers 1987-1999 and 2003-2013. -
The thrill of the grass
In the spring, they say a young man’s fancy turns to — baseball.
-
Jackie still a hero after all these years
Too often in our society we put elite athletes on a pedestal so high that they are referred to as heroes and we talk about the so-called adversity they face. This, of course, is laughable on every level.
-
A lifelong love of golf
It was an unusually cold, snowy day in April as I looked out the window at the clubhouse nearly 20 years ago.
Winter was hanging on, and golf on that particular Monday was not going to happen. -
All she needs is GPS, notebook
Lately some residents may have seen an out-of-county car driving aimlessly around town in search of some destination that even the youngest kiddo could find in a matter of seconds. That car would be mine, and the driver, who on occasion has nearly turned the wrong way down one way streets would be me, Lindsay Owens. Fear not though. I have GPS and a collection of maps Columbus would have envied.
-
At home - at Last
Today, on the Korean peninsula, missiles are pointed, troops are being amassed and political temperatures are reaching the boiling point.
-
IU still working towards sixth banner
Monday night in Atlanta, Louisville won the school’s first National Championship since the year I was born - 1986. This accomplishment is significant to Indiana basketball fans, because the last two times the Cardinals cut down the nets (1980, 1986), the Hoosiers did it the following year. The stat, of course means nothing, other than both schools had strong programs in the 1980s.
- More Columns Headlines
-
Stop acting like sports are life and death
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
Slow Pokes: Acupuncture Helps Sick Turtles
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Former IRS Chief: Can't Say How List Happened
Gov. Fallin: Okla. Facing Horrific Disaster
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
