Super Tuesday, Republican Edition

Huckaboom!

The Incredible Huck
Well, the big story of the day on the Republican side is the Huckabee phenomenon. Basically, evangelical Southern arch-conservatives may be dumb (oh, how very, very dumb they are), but even they notice a trend after a few decades. Instead of voting for the rich, elite, empty suit, former 'centrist' Governor of a Godless northeastern state, they voted for the bible-thumping southern pastor who wants to remake the Constitution in the Bible's image.

After a half-dozen Republican Presidents who promised Jesus and gave them tax cuts for huge corporations, they're finally voting for one of their own.

It actually is something of a surprise. This proves that thoughts do occasionally occur inside the skulls of Southern Baptists. Who knew?

For the record, Huckabee won four states and almost, almost took Missouri from McCain. If these guys were running in the Democratic primaries, which award delegates proportionally (mostly), they'd be much closer. As it stands, Huckabee took Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Tennessee on his own. McCain told his supporters to throw behind Huck in West Virginia, so he got that one too.

He's now in a very solid third place in delegate count and rising. Romney's victories occurred almost entirely in the North and Northeast, places that are meaningless to Republicans in the General Election. He may be ahead of Huck on delegates, but he's far, far less electable, when so much of his support comes from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan and the like.

He's screwed.

Source: CNN.com

Right Wing Loon Alert
Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter and other charming individuals are going berserk, over Huckabee and McCain, and the spoiler effect Huck is having on Romney in particular.

Limbaugh in particular went so far as to run an item on his website, "Vote for Huck is a Vote for McCain". Ann Coulter has meanwhile been out beating her.. well, chest, I suppose... about how McCain isn't a real Republican.

These attacks haven't actually been working, but the strain in the Republican party is building. Romney's the candidate of choice for the Big Business wing, and Huckabee is a natural bible-thump magnet. Romney can't build a working, traditional plutocrat-bible-lip-service coalition as long as he's around, leaving more independent minded Republicans voting for McCain in a big way.

This leaves the big business shills like Limbaugh with nothing to do but go further and further insane.

Rush Limbaugh has been relentless in his criticism of John McCain, prompting suggestions that he may have to soften his stance if the Arizona senator wins the nomination and faces off against Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. But if that happens, Limbaugh said in an interview over the weekend, he would rather see the Democrats win the White House.

"If I believe the country will suffer with either Hillary, Obama or McCain, I would just as soon the Democrats take the hit . . . rather than a Republican causing the debacle," he said. "And I would prefer not to have conservative Republicans in the Congress paralyzed by having to support, out of party loyalty, a Republican president who is not conservative."

When it comes to the McCain mutiny, Limbaugh has plenty of company on the right side of the dial. Laura Ingraham endorsed Mitt Romney last week, saying, "There is no way in hell I could pull the lever for John McCain." Sean Hannity, who also endorsed the former Massachusetts governor, regularly rips McCain. Hugh Hewitt is urging the audience for his syndicated radio show to fight for Romney against what he calls a media-generated "McCain resurrection." But with a program heard on 600 stations, including Washington's WMAL, Limbaugh is the loudest and brashest voice inveighing against the man he derides as "Saint John of Arizona."

Honestly, this is so fun, I should make popcorn.

After McCain won the New Hampshire primary last month, Limbaugh served notice that if either McCain or former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee got the nomination, "it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it forever."

As McCain has kept winning, Limbaugh told listeners that the liberal media were boosting the senator and "predicting my demise." It was pointless, he said, "to pretend that Senator McCain is the choice of conservatives when exit-poll data from every primary state show just the opposite." In Florida, for example, voters calling themselves "very conservative" favored Romney 2 to 1 over McCain.

...

McCain, for his part, has refused to engage with Limbaugh, telling reporters: "I don't listen to him. There's a certain trace of masochism in my family, but not that deep."

Why can't all of McCain's jokes be that funny?

Source: The Washington Post