Investigative Ignorance

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that." --Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer; R- S.C.*

And thus, the end of western civilization, or simply civilization in general, has begun. Let me begin by telling you a bit about the background of Lt. Gov. Bauer. Born in Charleston, he is a graduate of USC and a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. His political highlight being his high endorsement of the Military Relief Fund, which financially aids the families of soldiers currently/previously serving in the Iraq War.

And for the most part, he has fallen well under the political radar and has stayed out of the spotlight, whether for fame or infamy. Although he has supported a few organizations and bills that I, as a Democrat, am inclined to disagree with, (i.e. "I Believe" act, which would make it law to imprint the words "I Believe" alongside a cross, on all state license plates), I myself have never had a problem with him.

Things change, and manifest destiny always has a place in the hearts and minds of psychopaths. Usually, it's when you taste the soles of your shoes, that we discover the qualities about you that you try to suppress deep down. And when asked about his feelings on government assistance for the poor, he said the following quote: *"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that."

I wonder what it feels like to be outed as prejudice towards the working class. I imagine this is not the part of his political platform that he wished to have emphasized. Especially not when Governor Mark Sanford is facing public problems of his own (i.e. sex scandals and the like), and Lt. Gov. Bauer has expressed interest in running in a gubernatorial race, should Sanford be impeached. In South Carolina, where the economy, job creation and education make up the majority of voter issues, there is a certain intolerance for elitists that mimics the disdain that Texan voters seem to hold for candidates with IQ's higher than 14.

Controversy happens and politicians eat their words. Yet, there is evidence that forgiveness seems possible, even for neo-Nazis. I think back to John McCain's infamous quote during his Nominee race that stated the possibility of being in Iraq for 100 years. The majority of his party was skeptical about his chances for winning the nomination after that comment. But the test of time has proven that Americans as a whole have very short term memory and forget even the harshest of comments.

In the defense of Lt. Gov. Bauer, he did try and clean up said mess by stating that he felt the metaphor was taken out of context and he didn't mean to offend anybody. However he then went on to eat his other foot by continuing to attack government aid, without the visuals this time.

But even without the salt to his wounds, this is the wrong time to say the wrong thing. In an economy where people are fighting for jobs, losing their Health Insurance, and barely making enough money to buy food for their families, the last thing that the voters want to hear, Republican or Democrat, is an attack on the poor. His words are forever carved in the stone that is the internet, eternally bound to his "poor choice of words".

To continue the horror that is this situation, there were calls by Democrats and Republicans alike, to both apologize and drop his campaign. This would prove as a death sentence to South Carolina Republicans, who appear to have hand picked Lt. Gov. Bauer as the replacement for the controversy ridden Sanford. Republicans from the East Coast state have been playing damage control for their party ever since reports of the sex scandal made appearance early last year. It is an election year with Gov. Sanford's term ending next January. The Republicans had a near-impenetrable stronghold on the Gubernatorial office. But with the recent attacks on the two most popular Republican candidates in South Carolina, this may be the Democrats' best chance to push a Superstar for election.

Mind you, the largely mixed South Carolina, will be a tough nut to crack for the Democrats, due to the widespread uncertainty of trust in the Obama administration by Republicans. Democrats who support Health Care Reform for instance, will stand very little chance in a state with a Republican Majority.

But lately, Democrats have become largely synonymous with the controversial Health Bill and have become the victims of persecution by association by Republicans who group any Democrats in with the "Obamunists". And yet, Democrats still have a huge majority in the Senate and up until recently had a Super Majority (a 60 seat majority) in the Senate, which came to an end with the election of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts.

Republicans seem to be more united than ever, specifically against President Obama. It's reminiscent of the Democrats' finding a common enemy in George W. Bush, who towards the end of his second term, had the worst approval rating in the history of the office.

If there is any hope for the Super Majority to be recaptured, the end of this year is the means by which to accomplish such a feat. There are 37 states that are having a Senate election this year, 19 of them being Democrat and 18 being Republican incumbents.

The biggest number yet seems to be the retirement factor. There are 5 Democrat Senators retiring at the end of their term and not running for re-election. There are 6 Republican Senators who are retiring. Of the Democrat Senators who are retiring, 2 of them are retiring in a state that either leans Democratic or is otherwise safe as a Blue State. 1 of the Senators retiring is leaving a state that is considered a Tossup. The other 2 Senators are retiring from a state considered safely Republican or otherwise safe as a Red state.

As far as the retiring Republican Senators, there are 2 Senators retiring from a state that either leans Republican or is otherwise safe as a Red State. The remaining 4 retiring Senators are from tossup states.

The Democrat incumbents that are running are highly favorable with 11 of them running in states that lean Democratically or are otherwise considered a Blue State. The remaining Senators are running in a Tossup state.

The Republican incumbents are running a near fool-proof campaign with all of the Senators running in states that lean Republican or are otherwise considered a safe Red State.

The big tossup states that are going to be fought over are Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Ohio.

Time will tell how effective the Democrats run their campaigns in order to attempt another Super Majority. Unfortunately, the Democrats in Congress right now are fighting against the Republicans who now enough sitting Senate members to filibuster the Health Bill.

-Dylan Starks
The Corpse Party