Ravenel

"Nutso Mark" Sanford -- why won't he just shut up?by KenAs I occasionally note, sometimes it takes a right-winger to bag a right-winger, and so today we invite Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker to comment on one of the nation's leading sociopathic scumbags, fromer SC Gov.

We've been writing about how the DSCC is missing their best opportunity of 2014 by not taking advantage of a peculiar situation in South Dakota where there are 3 Republicans on the November ballot against populist Democrat Rick Weiland. The Party Establishment has a garden variety corporate shill in the race, Mike Rounds, and he's the official party designee, but 2 very well-known Republicans, ex-U.S.

Ex-Republican/BRAVO TV star Tom Ravenel announced he is running as an independent against Lindsey Graham in the general election. If he manages to pull just 10% of the anti-Graham votes, the Democrat will win the U.S. Senate seat.

We've been talking about convicted cocaine dealer/ex-Treasurer of South Carolina Tom Ravenel ® and how he is hoping to pivot from ex-con and BRAVO sit com/reality show star to anti-Lindsey Graham general election Senate candidate in November. If he does, he's likely to throw the election to the Democratic candidate. You don't think so?

Last night, Rachel Maddow's opening segment was the Scott Brown Story (above). It's an excellent piece of reportage and I recommend it. Thursday he makes his "official" declaration of candidacy to run for Senate (in New Hampshire). There are 4 other Republicans running, including an ex-New Hampshire 2-term U.S. Senator, Bob Smith. He might find it awkward using the carpetbagger charge against Brown because after he was ousted by John Sununu is the 2002 primary he moved to Florida (and ran for Senate there, unsuccessfully, in 2004 and 2010). But, awkward or not, he'll use it.

The only state that has both Senate seats up in November is South Carolina. That's because Lindsey Graham has served his 6 year term and is up for reelection for one seat and because Jim DeMint resigned and was replaced with a gubernatorial appointment, right-wing extremist Tim Scott, for the other seat. There will be a special election to fill out the rest of DeMint's term.

The South Caolina Senate race may be more of a tossup than anyone realizes. With Patty Murray, the architect of the DSCC's stunning series of victories in 2012, having turned over the reins of the committee to one of the Senate's weakest, lamest and least capable members, Michael Bennet, there are ominous signs ominously pointing to the possibility that Democrats will narrowly lose the Senate this year.

No one knows if South Carolina Republican-turned-Libertarian Thomas Ravenel is floating trial balloons about running for Senate this year-- against his nemesis Lindsey Graham-- as a publicity stunt for his new BRAVO TV show, Southern Charm or if his participation in the shocking TV show is a publicity stunt for his Senate run.

It was Samuel Johnson who, in 1775, coined the phrase "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." They didn't have reality TV back then. Do you remember Thomas Ravenel, the Republican wing nut who was elected Treasurer of South Carolina, the head of Rudy Giuliani's ill-fated South Carolina presidential campaign and the last Tea Party opponent for Lindsey Graham-- all before he was caught selling coke.