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The Spectacle Blog
In 1948, then-Congressman Lyndon Johnson of Texas, who was under the distinct impression he had a special Senate election stolen from him in 1941, tried a second time for the Senate.
The election was close, there were reports of hanky-panky, but in the end LBJ was declared the winner by 87 votes. As a result, he won the nickname of “Landslide Lyndon.”
Now here come the Iowa Caucuses of 2012.
There are no hints of irregularities. But there are angry charges from Newt Gingrich that Mitt Romney is a “liar,” this resulting from a few million dollars worth of anti-Gingrich ads that were run against Newt in Iowa. In short, the charge is that the Romney campaign needed to throw mud to win.
Generally this kind of thing happens when the candidate is philosophically rudderless and is running a personality-based campaign.
So the question arises.
If, as Gingrich charges, the Romney campaign threw mud to win — but only managed to win by 8 votes — does this mean Romney wins a new version of LBJ’s mocking nickname?
Has “Landslide Lyndon” become “Mudslide Mitt”?
Just asking.
Bob Miller| 1.5.12 @ 3:35PM
In general, a candidate's choice of negative vs. positive campaigning boils down to "what'll work?"
Proud Mormon| 1.5.12 @ 4:05PM
Newt's antics show what a little man he really is. He can't even register in time for the primary in his adoptive home state. What happened to your positive campaign? He is the liar here. He will be gone after defeat in SC so will the rest after Fla.
Jack in Wi.| 1.5.12 @ 7:32PM
The Mormon in this race is disliked by most people because he is rudderless and a hollow man. I thought the Mormons were against Gay marriage and Abortion and for personal responsiblity. If Romney showed a little spine on these matters, regarding Romney care, abortion, and Gay marriage he might be electable. The impression I get about him is that he will say anything, he thinks will get him elected.
Marco2| 1.6.12 @ 8:06AM
So, you dislike the Mormon. I dislike the Moron, Dr. Nutjob. Let's see who's left standing after Florida (hint: put any money you haven't given to the Moron on the Mormon. That'll help you get to Jonestown). Mitt's cult's just a lot bigger than Moron's.
Dai Alanye | 1.5.12 @ 4:23PM
How much did each vote cost the various candidates? Do PAC expenditures get added in?
Has anyone calculated that?
DRed| 1.5.12 @ 4:26PM
How does someone with no charisma run a personality based campaign?
Bob Grant| 1.5.12 @ 6:31PM
No charisma and dislikes people immensely, yet, we are told his favorability ratings remain high.
Anyone buying that?
Story after story about how he refuses to interact with his staff, advisers, political allies, etc.
He has a small circle of people he interacts with: Valerie Jarrett, Reggie Love, his socialist spiritual adviser, etc. and that's pretty much it.
How come the republicans aren't all over this?
Bob Grant| 1.5.12 @ 6:35PM
Nevermind, I thought we were talking about obama.
Flip Flop Romney| 1.5.12 @ 5:03PM
Romney's numbers bumped up slightly to 27%, but coincidentally they are close to his 24.6% showing in Iowa, down from what he procured there in 2008 (which was 25.2%). And this drop in Iowa came even after millions of dollars were spent in Iowa. Romney's numbers remain consistently stagnant.
This Huntsman ad which exposes Romney may help to explain why Romney gets no traction:
Backflip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhyMplwY6HY
Clint| 1.5.12 @ 5:37PM
Mr.Neutered Has An Opportunity To Tune Up Mittens On The Saturday Night And Sunday Morning Debates.
They Could Get Into A Real Cat Fight, If They Got The Stones To Say It To Each Other's Face.
Like Michele Bachman Said, " Newt/Romney Aren't Real Conservatives."
Bob Grant| 1.5.12 @ 8:56PM
Clint, couldn't ask your boy to at least wear a suit that fits on Saturday night?
I mean, I thought wash and wear suits went out in the seventies.
martin j smith| 1.6.12 @ 8:04AM
Bob Grant you ask why the Republicans are not all over Obama's antics: Because they are currpt,inept,ignorant,foolish,naive,and in need of brain surgery. They the leaderaSHIT need to be fired and replaced by stronger more committed leaders. That Bob is what we need NOW. That also means to me that Paul,Huntsman and Romney are out as viable opostion candidates.
teflon93| 1.6.12 @ 8:12AM
He's always been "Mudslide Mitt"---and the mud only gets slung at conservative Republicans.
Wonder why?
Wayne| 1.6.12 @ 12:39PM
"irregularities?" - a precinct came in with ALL its votes for Johnson, and it had more votes than registered voters. No Johnson won in 1948 by being quite corrupt.
Meanwhile we are now finding out that a person in one precinct in Iowa mistakenly wrote down 22 votes for Romney rather than 2 votes. So it appears Santorum won Iowa.
sirbourbon| 1.6.12 @ 7:36PM
LBJ and Box 13
http://blog.chron.com/txpotoma.....e-victory/
wikipedia gives this accounting of LBJ's miraculous win:
"In the 1948 elections ... ran for the Senate and won ...in a three-way Democratic Party primary Johnson faced a well-known former governor, Coke Stevenson, and a third candidate. He raised money to flood the state with campaign circulars and won over conservatives by voting for the Taft-Hartley act (curbing union power) as well as by criticizing unions.
"Stevenson came in first but lacked a majority, so a runoff was held. ... The runoff count took a week. The Democratic State Central Committee (not the State of Texas, because the matter was a party primary) handled the count, and it finally announced that Johnson had won by 87 votes. By a majority of one member (29-28) the committee voted to certify Johnson's nomination, with the last vote cast on Johnson's behalf by Temple, Texas, publisher Frank W. Mayborn, who rushed back to Texas from a business trip in Nashville, Tennessee. There were many allegations of fraud on both sides. Thus one writer alleges that Johnson's campaign manager, future Texas governor John B. Connally, was connected with 202 ballots in Precinct 13 in Jim Wells County that had curiously been cast in alphabetical order and just at the close of polling, with all of the people whose names appeared on the ballots being dead on election day.
"Robert Caro argued in his 1989 book that Johnson had stolen the election in Jim Wells County and other counties in South Texas, as well as rigging 10,000 ballots in Bexar County alone. An election judge, Luis Salas, said in 1977 that he had certified 202 fraudulent ballots for Johnson."
"The state Democratic convention upheld Johnson. Stevenson went to court, but—with timely help from his friend Abe Fortas, [a future Supreme Court nominee], Johnson prevailed."
Sac a main Prada | 1.10.12 @ 4:30AM
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