Charlie Pierce: The Lessons Of The Past Forgotten

[cali]

The national Democratic party can be depended upon to punch its own nose with startling regularity.

National Democrats stand by the decision not to play seriously in New Jersey, according to several who spoke with The Daily Beast. The calculation was two-fold, they said. First, the money required just to land a punch on Christie in the pricey New York and Philadelphia media markets could fund an entire campaign somewhere or sometime else when a Democrat had a chance of winning. "When you have someone this powerful and this popular, you shrug it off and wait for the next one," a top Democratic donor said of Christie. "It's not worth the financial investment to try to take him down or out."Second, Democrats firmly believe that no matter how strong Christie looks on Election Day 2013 in New Jersey, the Republican nominating gauntlet will eat his 2016 presidential candidacy alive before he ever gets a chance to face off against a Democrat in a general election. "When it comes to national elections, we've seen how efficient and effective Republicans are at destroying each other's reputations, so I'll leave it to them," said Robert Zimmerman, a national committeeman for the DNC. "Chris Christie is a very powerful national candidate, but the question is can a mainstream Republican be elected by the Republican Party today? No."

Wrong.

Wrong.

Very wrong.

Incredibly wrong.

Spectacularly wrong.

Also, stupid.


http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Lessons_Of_The_Past_Forgotten

[Fumesucker]

1. I disagree, the Briar Patch gambit is a major little-recognized negotiating tactic n/t