Will Rand Paul win in Kentucky?

[wonky]

@Chronos

Depends on how you unravel the causation, there. I would interpret that not so much as those legislators voting that way because that’s the nature of their district, as that they vote that way because that’s what they believe, and the fact that they believe that is what enabled them to win in those districts to begin with.

Or that they are the product of their environments.

[calgreg]

I never been in KY but after watching his opponent yesterday, I would say Rand is a shoe in. I am ultra Liberal, in case you wondered.

[Measure_for_Measure]

@Chronos

Depends on how you unravel the causation, there. I would interpret that not so much as those legislators voting that way because that’s the nature of their district, as that they vote that way because that’s what they believe, and the fact that they believe that is what enabled them to win in those districts to begin with.

That’s a fair hypothesis, consistent with the facts as I presented them.

I don’t buy it though. The nominating process is just too crude for such precision. I’m not saying that all pols are consciously cynical: most of us understand that we make a more persuasive presentation if we believe what we say, so we persuade ourselves to do exactly that. Besides, few congressional folk are especially wonkish: it’s simply easier cognitively to represent your district than to think through every policy issue from first principles.

All that said, I trust that a good political scientist could at least qualify my stance in all sorts of ways.

[Euphonious_Polemic]

Interesting news about Rand Paul’s Tea Party Supporters.

Apparently they’ve taken to pinning down and stomping on the head of female protesters whose message they don’t like.

As the candidates arrived, a group of Paul supporters pulled a female MoveOn member to the ground and held her there as another Paul supporter stomped on the back of her head and neck.

The head stomper has been identified as Tim Profitt, Paul’s (now former) Bourbon County Coordinator.

The stompee, Lauren Valle was apparently known to the men, as she had protested at Rand functions before. She has reportedly suffered a concussion and multiple sprains in the assault.

Tim Profitt has said that the “camera angle made it seem worse than it was”.

Ironically, one of the men who held her down so Profitt could stomp her head was wearing a “Don’t Tread on Me” button

[gonzomax]

One of the big news outlets called it a scuffle. They knocked her down and Profitt stomped on her head. perhaps it was a light stomping and it is all right to do that to a woman in Kentucky? He was a big guy and she was a middle aged woman. I hope she presses charges. She spent the night in the hospital.

[Zephyurs]

Here’s a handy enumerated list of excuse-making everyone in the thread should make use of when trying to justify/explain/excuse the stomping:

1. She had it coming by being disrespectful to the Clown Prince
2. Both sides are equally at fault
3. Camera angle made it look worse than it was
4. She’s faking it
5. It was a setup by the Conway campaign to make Rand Paul look bad.

Did I miss any?

[wonky]

@Zephyurs

Here’s a handy enumerated list of excuse-making everyone in the thread should make use of when trying to justify/explain/excuse the stomping:

1. She had it coming by being disrespectful to the Clown Prince
2. Both sides are equally at fault
3. Camera angle made it look worse than it was
4. She’s faking it
5. It was a setup by the Conway campaign to make Rand Paul look bad.

Did I miss any?

You forgot:

6. How could they know she didn’t have a gun?

That’s my favorite.

[Euphonious_Polemic]

7. isolated incident, Profitt is not a true Tea Partier

[Euphonious_Polemic]

@jsgoddess

You forgot:

6. How could they know she didn’t have a gun?

That’s my favorite.

Yes, I love that one.

"Say, there’s that bitch from MoveOn again! She’s got that fake award to give to Rand Paul again. Maybe she’s got a gun this time!

[joebuck20]

@Euphonious_Polemic

7. isolated incident, Profitt is not a true Tea Partier

Or that he’s actually a secret liberal out to undermine the movement.

[Robot_Arm]

8. She started it, so it was legal for them to detain her.

[Boyo_Jim]

Keith Olberman replayed an old Bill Hicks joke about the video of the Rodney King beating, and some comments by the defenders of the cops that it all depends on “how you look at the tape”.

And when Hicks asks how you might look at the tape another way, the answer is, “Well, if you view the tape in reverse, the police help Mr. King up and send him on his way.”

[Cisco]

@Euphonious_Polemic

7. isolated incident, Profitt is not a true Tea Partier

That’ll be the winner.

Hell, Starving Artist could tell you that without even knowing who Profitt is, I bet.

[Chronos]

OK, so if the camera angle made it look worse than it was, what camera angle do you need to make it anything other than completely reprehensible and inexcusable?

And since when is it Republicans who encourage beating up gun owners? If the NRA had any balls, they’d be all over that one.

[BrainGlutton]

@gonzomax

One of the big news outlets called it a scuffle. They knocked her down and Profitt stomped on her head. perhaps it was a light stomping and it is all right to do that to a woman in Kentucky?

Well, of course it is. It’s not as if she were a horse.

[Measure_for_Measure]

Assault and battery pisses me off. The victim of the incident claims it was a a premeditated attack: the perpetrators had recognized the attendee from earlier events.

@Lauren Valle

“Rand Paul’s car arrived, and as soon as it did, a couple of them stepped right in front of me and so I stepped off the curb to get around them, back out to the front, and at that point they started grabbing for me and I ran all the way around the car with them in pursuit, and the point at which they see the footage is after I’ve run all the way around the car and am in front of the car and that is when they take me down,” Valle said. …

“A concussion and mild sprains are not terrible injuries. I was certainly injured. And I think watching the video, if you have any questions about that, maybe watch it again,” she said.

This reprehensible behavior ought to result in jail time, IMO. The Rand Paul took its sweet time responding to the matter, but eventually did the right thing.

@Official Statement by Campaign

The Paul for Senate campaign is extremely disappointed in, and condemns the actions of a supporter last night outside the KET debate. Whatever the perceived provocation, any level of aggression or violence is deplorable, and will not be tolerated by our campaign. The Paul campaign has disassociated itself from the volunteer who took part in this incident, and once again urges all activists – on both sides – to remember that their political passions should never manifest themselves in physical altercations of any kind.

Um, yes. I hope they follow that up with confirming statements like, “Zero tolerance for violence” and the like. In the wake of calls for post-election military action in Texas if things don’t turn out their way, this sort of violent criminality should receive more than a slap on the wrists.

[Zephyurs]

We missed the obvious

9. He used his foot to try and keep her down because he can’t bend over because of back problems

[Boyo_Jim]

1. Shove protester to the ground.
2. Stomp on protester
3. Profitt!

[wonky]

@Zephyurs

We missed the obvious

9. He used his foot to try and keep her down because he can’t bend over because of back problems

I’m speechless.

[Ludovic]

Do you know who ELSE — awww shit, it’s not even funny anymore