Red State of Mind

I have a masochistic streak, apparently, that compels me to spend a lot more of my blog-surfing time among the nuttier reaches of the Rightosphere than among friends and allies. I think it's easier to get a feel for the zeitgeist by reading the stuff derived from what are, to me, the most alien (but widespread) points of view. Julian Sanchez pointed out, a few days ago, the low bar set by commenters at Red State - more accurately, Sanchez was taking note of the level of paranoia - but I think it amounts to about the same thing. I commented there on the quality of Erick Erickson's posts, specifically, and the example he sets for the mob of commenters there.

All of which leads me to this crystaline example of complete disingenuousness:

Turns out, according to sources we have in Texas, that Nick Lampson's wife is not even registered to vote in Texas 22.

She lives in Beaumont, TX - at an address well outside of the district - and this is where she is registered. She's in the 2nd District, and is represented by Republican Ted Poe. The address is on Collier Road in Beaumont.

Why does this matter? Well, two weeks ago, Democrat Congressman Nick Lampson's cronies accused Pete Olson of voter fraud. They claimed he had voted improperly in a Connecticut Special Election while he was working for Texas in Washington, D.C.

Ok, that's the setup. Now for the dénouement:

Even the most basic research shut down this wacky theory. It turned out that on the day of the supposed vote, Pete Olson was traveling from Capitol Hill to Texas on Senate business in his role as Chief of Staff for Texas Senator John Cornyn. He has the airline receipt to prove it.

And as you might expect, it also turned out that Connecticut does not require a photo ID or signature from anyone casting a vote. Of course, the idea that Olson would somehow go from 1998-2005, voting like clockwork in nine different elections (according to the Democrats' own records), and interrupt it to drive up to Connecticut to participate in an unimportant special election just doesn't pass the smell test. Well, for anyone but crazy liberals who happen to be supporting Nick Lampson, like Matt Glazer and others.

Pete Olson's experience shows us why you should be required to show a government issued photo ID before voting. But let's hope Nick Lampson wasn't counting on his wife's vote - if he gets it this year, something's wrong.

So Nick Lampson's wife has a different address than he does. Somebody who might know Nick Lampson accused Pete Olsen of voter fraud. Some mumbo-jumbo about a "smell test." (Why is it that nutcase conservative demagogues insist on sniffing everything?) Et voilà an apparent opening to smear Lampson about a future event and his wife's hypothetical voting habits.

This guy makes AoS look reasonable.