The big news in SC Politics was 2nd District Congressman, and Chief Anti-Obama cheerleader Joe Wilson's endorsement of former Minnesooota Governor (not a misspell there, folks) Tim Pawlenty for President in 2012. To us it's a bit of a surprise.... Wilson is generally viewed as a much more conservative hawk than Pawlenty is. We'll admit, it does leave us a bit confused. Then again, in the Quid Pro Quo world that is politics, our paranoid side does have a theory....
Yeah, Pawlenty does need all the juice he can get, and South Carolina is a key state. Getting the Wilson endorsement is a positive for the campaign, especially in the logjam of candidates, where no one is breaking out. Will it work? We'll see.... The part that we don't quite get is from Wilson's end. Why now?
We've always had one rule when it comes to endorsements: we never do it until the field is closed. That rare occasion does come along where we see a candidate that we know well enough to pick, but almost exclusively, we wait. To us, Wilson's Pawlenty choice looks like a case of not waiting until the body gets warm.... Joe, what about Trump or Palin, or Rick Perry, or a dozen other possibilities? We just saw this last month with the SCGOP Chair election. The candidate announce in a set time period, and then the delegates or voters choose. If you're a candidate, you make up your mind sooner, and voters wait until later....
Maybe there is a Wilson - Pawlenty connection that we don't know about. To us, there are questions about the timing - but we'll go back to our paranoid streak, because right now, it makes the most sense to us: Quid Pro Quo. Like we thought two years ago, Jim Clyburn was shooting for a gig in the Obama Cabinet, likely Transportation Secretary. Instead, they gave him something even better - to have Obama's ear. The Sage. Sorry, we gagged a little on that one. We see Wilson going a bit to the same route. We all know his area of expertise. To us, we see Joe Wilson shooting for Secretary of Defense if Pawlenty makes it to the White House. The irony of it all is not lost on us... Joe Wilson going from 'You Lie' to 'You're Outta Here'.
It is a gamble and a half to us. The odds of a Pawlenty win are long, but you never know. Tradition dictates that those who commit early are heavily rewarded when it pays off in the end. That is maybe what Wilson is banking on. He really doesn't have much to lose - lots of people endorse candidates who lose, and don't pay for it, as long as it isn't a habit. We'll find out how hard Wilson works to see the thing through next year....
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1 comment:
Jim Clyburn the tongue in Obama's ear? EWWWWWW, just when Barney Frank's hissy fit over Rangle's quip that Weiner wasn't chasing little boys settled down I have that visual...
OTOH, SCEDEF Wilson could well have McConnell covered with NAVSUB Base Lake Murray in the district.
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