The frustrating thing about electoral politics is the sheer “Selling Soap” to us aspect of it, where the market it tapped.  One difference is that if one brand of soap surges past the other in sales, and the other falters — you still get to use your preferred soap brand.
I smirk a bit to some critics who claim Obama was elected off pure branding.  It’s not that it’s entirely baseless — the red and blue “Hope” image flag, but the case was that he spelled out his legislative program and approach to a pretty indepth degree that nobody should be surprised about his presidency.  The weird thing about the notion Manufactured Political candidacy, that Image is getting more and more manufactured, is that the Worst Presidential Election by this definition was William Henry Harrison in 1840.

Daniel Larrison, perhaps biased toward a sour view of Modern Conservatism, perhaps just in need of what is at this point in time Contrarianism, comes out with a “Republican Party falls short” prediction.
Interesting.  I think he misses the power of the new visceral affect.  We’ve seen all the negative ads on television that use dire bleak images to paint an unfavorable image of the Incumbent politician.  It is a wonder anyone in the “Tumble-weed” Belt ever gets re-elected!  If these campaigns fall short, it’s because they haven’t gone to the next step in Political Campaign Evolution.  The problem is that these ads rely on sight and sound to create viscarel reactions, when Scent is the most immediate and powerful sense.

Tran is sending out a scratch-and-sniff direct mail piece attacking Sanchez that features a hideous odor emanating from it.
Much like magazine perfume advertisements, the mailer says, “Open for a fragrance sample of “Loretta, The Scent Of Washington.”
On the inside of mailer, the piece says, “Something smells rotten about Loretta. It’s the stench of Washington.” Below that is the scratch and sniff panel.
A GOP source who experienced the Eau de Sanchez put it this way: “It is a horrible odor, like the combination of the five or six worst possible scents you can imagine.”

With that in the arsenal, to make the public associate the six worst smells in the world to the Democratic Party, how can the Republican Party possibly lose?

Hm.   Speaking of the power of the Lizard Brain in politics…
I think it’s ludicrous to hold Rand Paul responsible for this, but nonetheless, he needs to be outspoken in his denunciation of what happened. Political violence against people carrying signs is not okay.  Yes, conservatives, I understand that there is a lot of hypocrisy coming from folks who were making excuses for Martha Coakley when one of her employees attacked a journalist, but see this as the second coming of the Hitler Youth.  Two wrongs, however, do not make a right, and in this case, by normalizing physical aggression when it comes from the “right side”, they make an even greater wrong.
One random thought about Martha Coakley, assuming the worst (I don’t know the story) — she was losing, Rand Paul is winning.  Rand Paul’s supporters are frustrated by the existence of the moveon-ers.  Curiouser and Curiouser.
The stomper has been identified as Rand Paul’s Bourbon County coordinator, Tim Profitt. More details upcoming.

I’m expecting the Paul-heads to point to the random story of the Conway supporter caught holding up inflamatory signs for Paul.
Then again, the Paul contingency — the online contingency at least — would be divided about the campaign, Michael Savage’s Cause Celebre, of this fellow.  (For what it’s worth, Nate Silver of 538 has him losing barely.)

Y’know… as a debate starts swirling about whether Obama might be “better off” for having a foil to point to…
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” — Almost Certain Senate Minority Leader.  (Are the Republicans going to win the Senate seat of Washington or California?)
… as against having a razor thin House Majority with this contingency of Congress-critters wagging the dog…
… Can I point out that the nature of Presidential Campaigns will produce an actual foil — a Republican Presidential candidate — President Obama will literally be campaigning against?

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