Does the National Journal's Hotline inhabit the same universe as the rest of us? Democrats lost two-out-of-three among last night's big races. But in declaring Winners and Losers among non-candidates involved with the campaigns, the only Losers Hotline saw were . . . Republicans and conservatives, with nary a Dem in sight!
Chris Matthews was only too happy to seize on the Hotline hitlist during his Sideshow segment on this evening's Hardball. Here were Hotline's three Losers:
- Sarah Palin: for jumping into Hoffman's losing cause, whereas McDonell and Christie didn't invite her in and won.
- Pete Sessions: the Chairman of the NRCC, who went 0-2 in special congressional elections.
- Club For Growth: which backed Hoffman.
Hotline's inconsistent logic was glaring . . .
If Palin's a loser for backing Hoffman and not getting involved with the winners, what about . . . Barack Obama? He campaigned extensively for losers Corzine and Deeds, but stayed far away from winner Owens.
And if Session's a loser for going 0-2 in congressional races, what about Gov. Tim Kaine, who as head of the DNC lost both governor's races, including the one in Virginia where he's the sitting governor?
And as a Winner, what about Haley Barbour, who as Chairman of the Republican Governor's Association went 2-2? Hotline didn't pick him—but Chuck Todd did.
By the way, the only Republican Winner Hotline declared [and whom Matthews failed to mention] was Mitt Romney, for having stumped for Christie and McDonnell but stayed away from Hoffman. Does Hotline really believe that Republican primary voters in 2012 will reward Romney for NOT helping Hoffmann? Surely the National Journal jests!
