Compassion for Celebrity Tea Party Loss

A quick politics check after yesterday's Mediocre Tuesday elections:

Republicans elected two governors, Democrats elected two Congressmen. Steve Benen breaks it down pretty well:

"Going into yesterday, it'd been a good year for Democrats in special elections, winning three races -- New York's 20th, Illinois's 5th, and California's 32nd. Yesterday, Dems made it five for five.

In California's 10th, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi (D), running a progressive campaign, defeated Republican David Harmer by double digits, 53% to 42.7%.

And in New York's 23rd, in the race that captured extensive national attention, Democrat Bill Owens scored a surprising win, beating Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, 49.3% to 45.2%, with nearly all of the votes counted.

While it's a mistake to characterize either of these House races as bellwethers, the New York defeat not only gave Democrats something to be happy about on an otherwise disappointing Election Day -- Owens will be the first Dem to represent this area since the 19th century -- it was also a setback for the right-wing activists and leaders who'd invested so heavily in this special election.

Indeed, the far right had a plan. Activists and their allies would drive the moderate Republican away and rally behind the right-wing candidate. They would then take this model on the road, making NY-23 a model for competitive contests elsewhere. Of course, the strategy looks less impressive when the Democrat wins."

Actor and conservative firebrand of Tennessee, Fred Thompson must feel pretty lousy after the things he said yesterday in a rally for the Conservative - I mean Celebrity Tea Party candidate - Doug Hoffman:

"The eyes of the nation — the eyes of the world — are on New York 23 tonight," he said. "And tomorrow you're going to shake the foundations of Washington D.C."

And then there was this from singer John Rich, of the duo Big & Rich:

"Tomorrow, there's going to be a lot of conservative partying going on in this neck of the woods," the singer said.

Mr. Rich also took swipes at Dierdre K. Scozzafava and the Republican officials who picked her as a congressional candidate over Mr. Hoffman.

"I'm a little sideways with the Republican Party for putting up Dede Schizophrenic," he said."

Aw, poor Fred and John - they likely feel all bruised and battered by the election day outcome, so here's something to soothe your boo-boos and make you feel better.