The American Spectator

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As a casual observer of our political culture I was confounded by the Torricelli thing. With time to reflect, I have drawn my own conclusion (without witnessing any of the endless talking heads in our media). It became clear because the Carnahan and Torricelli stories came out so close together.

Here it goes:

If a dead man can win a Senate seat in Missouri, then there’s a good chance a nonperson Democrat can win in New Jersey. Both states have Democrat governors with power of appointment. Torricelli was losing because as his rap sheet grew he became a less and less attractive candidate. He could surely lose the race. A nonperson has no rap sheet, only party loyalty. Again, if a dead man can win why not a nonperson?

I predict the soft money attack ads against Forrester will be unprecedented. The National Democratic Committee will flood him with negative publicity and he will have no one to respond to. Clearly there’s no gray area regarding whether you’re advocating a candidate when there is none. All the soft money of the DNC is now New Jersey’s candidate’s money. The spin of “Forrester has no positions only that he’s not Torricelli” was starting right after the tearful press conference.

p>We should all beware of the ensuing legal wrangling over a replacement candidate — it’s a red herring. It’s a great vehicle to stir the base with and there’s a bigger Democrat base in New Jersey to be stirred. Republicans should not respond to the replacement issue in public debate only quietly pursue the legal issue in filings. br> — Howard Wimbrow br> Ocean City, MD /p>