Cupcakes? I think Twinkies is more like it!

From Gene Lyons at  Salon:

To the connoisseur of American political theater, the most entertaining aspect of the 2010 election season has been the rise of the right-wing cuties — political celebrities whose main qualification is looking terrific on television. From where I sit, in a comfortable chair in front of the tube, the GOP Cupcake Factor has enlivened an otherwise dreary campaign season.

To put it another way: If you don’t love Christine O’Donnell, you don’t love America. The Republican Senate nominee from Delaware exemplifies a basic truth about politics in the age of cable television: An attractive woman with a glib demeanor and a telegenic smile almost can’t be too crazy.

I don’t think Sharron the Obtuse Angle qualifies as a cupcake. Maybe a stale slice of pound cake that’s only half-baked.

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Double Screecher

From Alaska Dispatch:

When former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin first endorsed Joe Miller on June 2 in his race for the U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the tone of that endorsement could be described as civil. […]  In her Facebook note, which is how Palin does these things, she also made sure that she dispelled rumors of personal animus between herself and Murkowski.

…snip…

That was Sarah then. And to go back further, the Sarah a year ago went so far as to donate $5,000 to Murkowski through her PAC, the maximum she could have given.

But today is another day, as they say, and a new Facebook face emerges with a totally different tone. This one doesn’t bother to talk about how she wishes Lisa well, or even about the value of competition. This one goes for the jugular. This one repeats every criticism leveled against Murkowski by Miller and the far right, makes note of the fact that Murkowski was “given her Senate seat by her father,” and accuses Murkowski of talking “one way in the Last Frontier and then vote the opposite way in the Beltway.” And that’s just for starters.

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The Wrong Women for Women’s Rights

From Stephanie Schriock (President, EMILY‘s List) at THE HUFFINGTON POST:

To say I was unmoved by Sarah Palin’s much-heralded new “Mama Grizzlies” video is an understatement. I think it’s time to get the story of the 2010 elections straight — and to call out Palin’s efforts for what they are: an attempt, in the name of “feminism,” to turn back the clock on women’s rights and to set American families back.

But I will say something you probably never thought you’d hear: I agree with Sarah Palin on one thing. I agree with her that women — moms, yes, but grandmothers, too, and daughters — will decide this election.

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Virginia should be reeling

From The Washington Post:

At age 34, two years before his first election and two decades before he would run for governor of Virginia, Robert F. McDonnell submitted a master’s thesis to the evangelical school he was attending in Virginia Beach in which he described working women and feminists as “detrimental” to the family. He said government policy should favor married couples over “cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.” He described as “illogical” a 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples.

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