Carpetbagger: Let's play "Spot the Looney"

[Bucky]

The Carpetbagger is one of the best blogs around. Today he's beating up on Republicans and hypocritical media at the same time.

Let's play, Spot... the... Looney!!

Alan Keyes is the Republican candidate for Senate in Illinois; Tom Coburn is the Republican candidate for Senate in Oklahoma. They're both far-right conservatives running for the same office at the same time.

The difference in the way the two are being treated, however, is dramatic. Keyes is a "roll your eyes" candidate -- ignored by the GOP establishment, shunned by the NRSC, mocked by pundits, and so disregarded by the White House that Bush aides won't even mention his name out loud in public. Coburn, meanwhile, is embraced as a man the Republican establishment desperately wants in the Senate, and who also enjoys the enthusiastic support of the White House and the party's campaign apparatus.

Given this, you might assume one is a fringe candidate while the other is mainstream. Let's test this notion a bit -- I'll list some nutty remarks, you figure our which candidate said them. If one of the candidates is clearly out of his mind while the other deserves a place in the world's most deliberative body, this should be pretty easy, right?

What you'll notice from a comparison of the two candidates is that, while they're both equally crazy, Keyes is a hell of a lot more entertaining. Or perhaps it's just that what passes for crazy in Illinois is somehow mainstream conservative values in Oklahoma. Either that, or the media is side-showing Keyes because of his race. But surely there's no way that's the reason why last year's Mr. Maryland is getting short shrift. :eyes: