Endorsements and Establishments

Do endorsements matter? Not judging from Tuesday’s primaries.
 
A candidate endorsed by President Obama loses a Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. A candidate endorsed by the Senate Republican leader – and the state’s senior Senator – loses the GOP primary in Kentucky.
 
So how does Ken Lewis’ endorsement help Elaine Marshall?
 
Well, it’s a spin game now. Lewis got Marshall some good headlines – here and nationally. That might hurt Cal Cunningham’s national fundraising.
 
But no politician can deliver votes for another politician these days.
 
The interesting sideshow in the Marshall-Cunningham race is the race to be more anti-establishment.
 
Lewis, who once called Marshall a career politician, now praises her for not being the choice of “Washington insiders.”
 
Maybe not, but she’s hardly anti-establishment. She has been running for or occupying political office since I met her in the ‘70s.
 
Cunningham – calling her “a 14-year statewide office-holder” – said Tuesday’s results prove that “Americans are tired of the same career politicians.”
 
Of course, Cunningham earlier dropped out of the race when he couldn’t get the support of career Democratic politicians in Washington. Then he got back in when they changed their minds.
 
Neither Marshall nor Cunningham is an anti-establishment politician. But their scramble to play the role says everything you need to know about politics this year.
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Gary Pearce

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Endorsements and Establishments

Do endorsements matter? Not judging from Tuesday’s primaries.
 
A candidate endorsed by President Obama loses a Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. A candidate endorsed by the Senate Republican leader – and the state’s senior Senator – loses the GOP primary in Kentucky.
 
So how does Ken Lewis’ endorsement help Elaine Marshall?
 
Well, it’s a spin game now. Lewis got Marshall some good headlines – here and nationally. That might hurt Cal Cunningham’s national fundraising.
 
But no politician can deliver votes for another politician these days.
 
The interesting sideshow in the Marshall-Cunningham race is the race to be more anti-establishment.
 
Lewis, who once called Marshall a career politician, now praises her for not being the choice of “Washington insiders.”
 
Maybe not, but she’s hardly anti-establishment. She has been running for or occupying political office since I met her in the ‘70s.
 
Cunningham – calling her “a 14-year statewide office-holder” – said Tuesday’s results prove that “Americans are tired of the same career politicians.”
 
Of course, Cunningham earlier dropped out of the race when he couldn’t get the support of career Democratic politicians in Washington. Then he got back in when they changed their minds.
 
Neither Marshall nor Cunningham is an anti-establishment politician. But their scramble to play the role says everything you need to know about politics this year.
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Gary Pearce

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