It's tough to be a left-wing, pinko, socialist, liberal, forward-thinking commie rat in West Virginia.
Now, I'm not quite all of those things. Yet. But I do wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Democratic politics, and I still think it's possible to turn West Virginia blue in November.
Then again …
Who is this Keith Judd, you ask, and what was he doing on the West Virginia ballot?
Judd currently resides in Beaumont, Texas. He will be a guest of the state of Texas, at Texarkana Federal Correctional Institute, until June, 2013, and he has been there for more than 15 years after being convicted of making extortion threats at the University of New Mexico.
So 41 percent of the registered Democrats who showed up to vote yesterday picked a currently incarcerated federal prisoner over our current President. I feel pretty certain that just seeing an alternate name was enough for most of them. Candidate "Anyone But Obama" is pretty popular here in the Mountain State.
I'm embarrassed and ashamed. From the AP story in this morning's Charleston Gazette:
Judd carried about a third of the vote, further evidence of Obama's unpopularity in the Mountain State.I believe the reporter was exceedingly politically correct in his assessment. I think the evidence shows just how very racist some West Virginians are.
I'm anxious to talk with state party leaders. It appears to me we have a bit of mopping up to do. I've learned that the Obama campaign will not be spending much money or time in West Virginia. We've already been written off, tossed aside. Our five electoral votes are irrelevant in 2012. Swing states like Ohio, Florida, Virginia and, yes, North Carolina will see a lot of him in the next six months. I hope and pray he's able to carry those states with big numbers.
Or, at least, big-enough numbers.
As for me, I'm putting an Obama sticker on my car's bumper today. And I hope no one steals it.
